If you are a crypto enthusiast, you will be surely knowing about HADAX 2.0. In the recently concluded voting, Tripio(TRIO) the first travel marketplace based on the blockchain won the vote, gathering around 147.5% of needed votes. (ie 47.5% extra above-targeted votes).Tripio is expected to be listed on HADAX shortly. Let’s first try to understand more about this project and how they are aiming to disrupt the travel marketplace.
Challenges faced by the Current Travel industry.
I used to work in Sales. My job required me to travel a lot not only within the country but overseas as well. Let me quote you from my experience the challenges I faced which I think will be the common issues faced by all.
Every month I was allocated a fixed budget for travel expenses. If I overshoot it, it will be then deducted from my salary. So it was important for me to select the hotels/rooms within my budget. As most of the common traveller’s do, I also rely on various Online platforms for booking. One interesting factor I always noticed was the price difference. The price of the same room in the same hotel was quoted differently on various websites. When I dug deeper, I understood that the price difference was due to the charges levied by the website (Yes, They are the new generation Middleman). Most of the time these 3rd party charges can range from 15% to 22%.The next challenge is the product difference. I
n some cases, The product (in this case, “Room”) offered on the website will be inaccurate in real life. The service offered, the room experience etc won’t be in line with what was described on the website. For eg, some hotels advertise 24 hours of Fast internet. But they won’t tell you that it will be charged on premium rate. Now if you feel that you can select the best experience based on the online reviews, rarely you know that majority of them are faked.
Then comes the nightmare “ The dispute resolution”. Most of the time when you feel cheated, you try to raise your concerns with the hotel. Majority of the time they just send you a formal reply that they are looking into it. Nothing happens after that. If you try to follow it up, the maximum you will be getting is a formal apology letter. If money is involved its rare that you will get the refund. Even if you get it will be partial or most of the time it will be too delayed.
The Tripio Solution
As per the Whitepaper“ Tripio is the first travel marketplace based on the blockchain. It leverages the decentralized network provided by blockchain technologies to directly connect global customers and service providers. Moreover, it builds a service ecosystem based on transparent, tamper-resistant trust and incentives”.In simple words, Tripio aim’s to bring the goodness of Blockchain technology in the travel marketplace and aims to build an ecosystem based on transparent, tamper-resistant trust and incentives.In order to tackle the above challenges, Tripio has introduced their own platform the below-given systems.
- Service and Identity Registration System (All Service providers have to pass KYC and Users data will be encrypted which ensure its security)
- Payment and Transaction System (Flexibility to pay using local or digital currency. It also has the ability to hold the payment in a smart contract and payment will be released once both parties have confirmed the completion of service)
- Reputation System ( Platform to rate the services of both user and service provider.All Rating and review will be stored on the blockchain)
- Dispute Resolution System ( Helps to resolve the disputes. Once a dispute arises, an arbitration committee is formed. The dispute is settled based on the voting power of the arbiters. The arbiter’s voting power is determined by her reputation and number of TRIOs held)
The above flowchart shows how the system is designed. Once the customer selects a service and goes ahead with the booking, he has the option to lock his conditions with the help of smart contracts. Once the service is rendered, both particles are satisfied, the payment will be released. In case of any disputes, Tripio will provide dispute resolution with the help of community self- government mechanisms.
From a traveller perspective, the major advantage I find in the platform is the dispute resolution system, Payment option in both Fiat as well as Crypto and Almost Zero commissions on Tripio(it only charges a 1–3% currency conversion fee).
Like in Airbnb, service providers( hotels, airlines, homestays, individual hosts, etc) have to option to list their service offering on the platform. What makes Tripio better than Airbnb is that service providers have the option to publish their service terms and conditions using smart contracts which ensure a better and honest listing. The other features which make Tripio better than Airbnb are the Zero commission concept ( Airbnb charges guests a 5% — 15% and Service providers 3% fees) and the presence of a dispute resolution system.
Currently, there are around 454,531 rooms listed in Tripio and on an average 350–400 bookings are happing on daily basis.
Token Metrics
The tokens are termed as TRIO. Currently, an ERC-20 based utility token, it will be used in the ecosystem for payment of service, as a reward token, the incentive for review writing, Arbitration Commission etc.The total supply is capped at 5,000,000,000. Token currently in circulation is 1,750,000,000 (70% will be vested, the Token release is set at 10% every 15 days, starting from 2018/3/3)
Team
Tripio was Founded in 2017. It is currently led by CEO Wesley Shen and CTO George Zhu. The other team members include talents from Agoda, Alibaba, Amazon, Ctrip, Elong, Expedia, Microsoft, Qunar, Tripadvisor etc.
Investors
Tripio’s has attracted investments from top-level investors including OK Blockchain Capital, BlockVC, INBlockchain, FreeS Fund, Blue Ridge Capital (China), Ceyuan Ventures, Node Capital, GENESIS Capital, TRON, F2Pool and others. Let’s take a look on some of them
Blockchain Capital
Blockchain Capital was founded in 2013. It is currently one of the oldest and most active venture investors in the blockchain sector.It has invested in more than 72 companies, protocols and tokens. Some of the investments include ABRA, BITGO, Civic, Coinbase etc.You can read more about Blockchain Capital here
Ceyuan Ventures
Ceyuan Ventures is a Beijing-based early stage venture capital firm focused on Blockchain and emerging growth companies. Some of the investments include OKcoin, Pacer, Omni Prime etc.You can read more about Ceyuan Ventures here.
Conclusion
As an investor, I prefer to invest in blockchain projects that has real potential or have a worldwide use. Tripio is aiming to make its mark in a 7.6 trillion USD (10.2% of global GDP) industry which is currently plagued with a lot of issues as I discussed above. The effective platform which Tripio is providing can resolve most of the issues which shows why it can reach to a wider audience.
One more factor that makes this project attractive is the trust it has gathered during HADAX 2.0 ( Rebranded as Huobi NEXT) which ensure it’s listing in one of the top-rated Exchange which will ensure its future growth.
If you still don’t have an account in Huobi, you can use this link to create one.
Social media links for Tripio
Official site: https://trip.io
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thetripio
Youtube:
Whitepaper: http://trip.io/wp/Tripio_Whitepaper_EN.pdf
🇨🇳 Chinese Group： t.me/thetripio🇺🇸
English Group： t.me/tripioglobal
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