7 ms·

Ask HN: Can you take a quick survey to help gather information for my startup?

• massarog 15y ago
  Clickable link: https://www.survs.com/survey/HARIXFR938 https://www.survs.com/survey/HARIXFR938
• abbasmehdi 15y ago
  I just did it, champ! I think your idea is good! Power to you. Sidenote: let people optionally add notes to each answer - it's not A/B (when I travel for work, alone, with my fiance the answers are VERY different).
  • massarog 15y ago
    Thanks! We would mostly be targeting people who would want a personalized experience for occasions, but anyone would be free to book through us.
    • abbasmehdi 15y ago
      Shouldn't that assumption be stated at the beginning of the survey? 90% of my bookings are for work or leisure, rather than any occasion.
      • massarog 15y ago
        Technically no. There are people who travel for work/leisure and would still want a great experience at a boutique or upscale hotel.
        • abbasmehdi 15y ago
          Not me, my company has budgets and I just wanna be back home ASAP when I travel for work, and for leisure I go for "experiences" like staying on a boat, or momsy popsy spot. If you're coming from a major world city, you don't (I don't) want to stay at Omni, Mondrian, W etc because they are a few miles from my home (LA). I have a feeling I am not getting it.
          • massarog 15y ago
            Those are actually considered chain hotels, although they are upscale hotels. Boutique hotels are the ones that provide guests with a greater experience on all fronts. Say you wanted to go on vacation to NYC for your anniversary with your wife and you want to let the hotel know what you are coming for. Using a regular online booking service there is no way of doing that, however, with this service, you can let them know it is your anniversary and they can offer you a personalized deal based on the information you provide (free room upgrade, discounted room, gift card to the hotel spa, etc). Hope that clears it up.
            • abbasmehdi 15y ago
              Yes! How do you handle legitimacy? Why wouldn't we always say its our honeymoon or wedding anniversary to score free perks? I ask because recently I bought a 12 night cruise for our honeymoon, and the cruise agent told us that they had no way to verify and if they gave us preference then all passengers would ask for this. She said it in much nicer words though. BTW, omni's site claims its a "botique luxuries hotel". Your customer won't know the difference, that's my second point here. I do think you're onto something though. Gut feeling.
              • massarog 15y ago
                Legitimacy will be our biggest hurdle, but we will be screening the offers as well (at least during the beta phase). Even if the person is not being entirely honest about what they are booking for, the hotels are making the decision in the end to respond to any open offers.
• salman89 15y ago
  Done, good luck. Kind of like a personalized hotel experience? To be honest, I only care about price vs star rating. Might want to start with a very specific niche - like honeymoon packages and move from there.
  • massarog 15y ago
    Thanks, and yes. We'll be focusing on people booking for occasions.
• rdhn 15y ago
  Done. Take a look at http://www.mrandmrssmith.com/ http://www.mrandmrssmith.com/ - I've used them a few times for special occasions. Their model (for members) is to assume that you are going for a special occasion, so they tell you what extras you can expect. I like your idea to do it the other way around, so you find out what I want then get hotels to put together an offer tailored to me. Feels like I may get a better deal that way.
  • massarog 15y ago
    I've heard of them before, they seem like an online booking site for boutique hotels/romantic getaways. With our service, yes, you would get personalized deals based on your trip information, and you would have the option of picking the best one from the deals that are submitted by the hotels.