A Tale of the Past
Having worked extensively as a Personal Assistant at some point during my career, I can beat my chest to say that when it comes to picking travel location, booking hotel space, choice areas of interest, tourist attractions, etc., I've seen it all. Since there was great complexity in finding a travel agency to maneuver your complete schedule from this part of the world without being defrauded, i had to consistently carry out a comprehensive research in order to make sure my employer got the best out of every proposed trip, be it business or pleasure.
Trust me, it was quite tedious and even more disheartening that after the extensive time I had put in on a number of occasions, the feedback given on return was never commensurate with the money spent, and the time taken to plan the trip. It was almost as if I wasn't doing my job correctly, and believe you me, in this part of the world, you don't sleep at night after such feedback.
I remember a certain trip I planned sometime in 2014, that nearly cost me my job. My Boss decided to travel to a new and different location with his family, and for some reason best known to him, they settled for South America; Peru to be precise. Why?!! I almost cried when was notified. What a tough choice for me to plan a trip; evidently, after my online research and trip-planning to Cyprus had not turned out to be perfect.
Whatever had spurred the choice, or wherever they chose to go, I had a responsibility to keep mulling and risk my job, or try everything possible to make that trip happen and prove my worth. I chose the later; you'll agree the choice wasn't that difficult.
The Quest
And so I began the search, having been given just under 6 weeks to make it happen. I got an idea of what the kids may want to do, and where the family would love to visit and then I began a detailed research, as always. Afterwards, I checked out hotels of quality on a platform that was recommended by a colleague, and boy their rooms looked heavenly. Everything was going smoothly, well until I discovered that I had too many places lined up, so much activities for the travel duration, and I had to cut them down.
This was a headache, after all I have never been to Lima, Peru, not even in my dreams. I didn't want a repetition of past experiences and I needed to act fast. I weighed all my possible options, I thought to the extreme, I consulted with many experienced personnel just for tips, until one fateful day.
A Solution
During a conversation over some bottles of cold beer with some friends one fine Sunday evening, I picked up a valuable idea. Oh, how on earth had I not thought about this? Having been a while I had beer, I thought to myself afterwards that " I'll have beer often now".
What was my idea? I'll tell you!
I decided to go online to trusted platforms, like LinkedIn and others to connect with Lima residents of note, have an interaction with them in case they could recommend citizens who knew the town well, and were interested in serving as a holiday guide for my Boss and his family.
If you think it was a rosy search then you're wrong; apart from the fact that I also bore in mind the risks involved, and that is a great chance of being duped. I was running out of time, as I had just about a month to the proposed departure date. I kept pushing, still no luck; however, deep inside, I knew this had to be my most trusted means.
Luckily for me, I got connected and was I happy. I went ahead to book their flights, while he, Espinoza made ground reservations at an Exquisite Hotel, he sent me mind-blowing pictures of Lima, possible tourist attractions and sites that are trending, and an all round itinerary of the trip he was planning for us.
Lima : The City of Kings Source
Another dilemma! How do I pay Espinoza for his services? That wasn't covered in the budget; however, with his help and knowledge, I realized that I would be saving more money, and duly agreed a fee for his services. Espinoza could easily have duped me, but he didn't and I remain grateful for that.
My Boss and his family had a great trip, I got a salary raise and commendations that had never come from using online pictures of hotels and places to plan previous trips.
I may since have moved on from that portfolio, however I learned a valuable lesson, and that's how to plan a great trip.
Cool Cousin
Whoever said that we needed to be related by blood in order to be 'Cousins' wasn't looking forward to the future.
2018.
Remember Espinoza in my story above, enter a more sophisticated and safe solution to your travel challenges, Cool Cousin. A pretty cool App -based decentralized system, that connects travelers with locals in their destination of choice, saving them valuable time and maximizing the use of their money.
An interesting application of blockchain technology (there's hardly anything blockchain can't do these days) designed to connect travellers with cousins who have very similar interests and know the town like the back of their hands. So say goodbye to tell dishonesty of many online reviews, and the truck-load of options that end up looking only attractive online.
Apart from going through a potential cousin's collection of photos and choice areas, the platform allows for direct messaging to further enhance communication. According to projections, Cool Cousin will;
save travelers time and bad experience. It creates a platform for visitors to truly experience the locality, while providing locals a chance to earn for their knowledge.
Cousins are locals who live in the destination of travel, and would open a profile and subsequently build it on the platform, with great opportunity to earn CUZ tokens for keeping their reviews and profiles up-to-date, as well as writing guides & answering questions that tourists may have.
Spenders Also Earn
As a traveler using the platform, one stands a great chance to earn CUZ tokens too, by simply posting reviews, correcting inaccurate information available on the platform, sharing the app with friends etc.
Cool Cousin (CUZ) Tokens
This allows for fast and convenient payments with the blockchain implementation preventing commercial manipulation and payment for higher ratings than competitors. International payments are possible, without exorbitant bank and hidden charges.
According to review;
The tokens will enable use of in-app services on the platform. This includes and is not limited to tipping Cousins and getting detailed information.
Also, their utility does not stop there. CUZ will grow in utility together with the platform as businesses join Cool Cousin and third party services such as restaurants, bars and events are offered at a discounted rate.
How This Changes The Travel Game
The fact that Cool Cousin is already a working model has laid a massive statement, meaning that it can be implemented immediately. Firstly, the prospect of this project is that it connects people and makes families for us out of our bloodlines. Furthermore, it gives everyone else the opportunity to make an extra income; because, as a cool cousin you could earn, in addition to your day job.
On the part of travelers, there's much more value for money and time, and an open radar to maximize every trip, any where in the world. They also get part of their spending back by posting and editing reviews available. Cool, isn't it?
For me, the offers are mouthwatering, and I'll be willing to sign up as a cool cousin without much persuasion.
So where there you're traveling from Kuala Lumpur or Ouagadougou; whether you're traveling to Texas or Talinia, someone right there is waiting to be your Cool Cousin.
Let's head out and build a world of Cool Cousins!!
To know more, click here
This is an entry for @OriginalWorks Contest
cc2018