Why The Trip Boutique?
Fernanda believes that at The Trip Boutique we can simplify people’s lives. The idea for creating the "web 4.0" type of travel advisor is based not only on personal experiences but also on scientific research: it was while writing her Master thesis on the issue of consumers being bombarded by information and suffering from choice fatigue from too many options that she realized that curation and personalization - enabled by technology - could be a great solution to the information overload. She felt that one particular field had amazing potential to apply that solution – travel.
When Fernanda moved to Europe to work in the headquarters of a multinational company in Germany, she wanted to explore different cities on the weekends. However, her busy work schedule did not allow her to properly plan her trips; instead, many times, she ended up simply buying a plane ticket, booking a hotel and landing in a foreign city, spending the first few hours sitting in her hotel room and googling what to do instead of enjoying the destination. As a result, she not only wasted valuable free time, but on many occasions also didn't have the chance to connect with the places she visited. Her frustrations, and those of many people around her, were the fuel she needed to design and create a service which would help travelers have meaningful travel experiences, even if lacking time to research and going on weekend escapes and short timeframes.
Why personalized travel?
According to Fernanda, looking at issues from customer-centric perspective is the best way to innovate. Personalized travel came from validating that travellers are more than ever looking for convenience, time-saving solutions but also memorable experiences, based on things they value. After consulting many sources – be it travel guides, apps, platforms, and so on – Fernanda realized that there was no travel service satisfyingly catering to people's specific needs: the online travel market lacked personalized recommendations. This is how the idea of The Trip Boutique came to life.
Fernanda’s goal
Today, Fernanda makes sure that The Trip Boutique addresses customers' needs and desires while adding direct value to people’s lives. The most rewarding moments of her job are those when our customers come back from their trip excited and satisfied, saying “this is exactly the kind of thing I would have chosen for myself”!