“Travita” - an online solution to link flyers with spare baggage capacity with charities that need items that are cheaper overseas, using the Twilio and TripCase APIs.
As a frequent flyer I often buy laptops, clothes and other goods overseas in duty free or in other shops overseas to take advantage of lower prices. Then a few years ago I was sent to South Africa, a lecturer at a local University asked me if I could get copies of an economics textbook they needed because textbooks are very expensive there. He also mentioned that electronic items like computers were also extremely expensive. So, I had a brainwave! Why not connect flyers who want to donate to charities that need items from overseas? Many travellers are reluctant to donate money to charities, because they maybe unsure about where the money goes, and may want to shy away from voluntourism. And so Travita was born!
Travellers use their Trip Case credentials to log into the Travita website or app. Based on the final travel destination of their journey, they are directed to Charities and items that the Charities want. The Traveller then selects an item they would like to purchase for the Charity. A text message alert is sent to the Charity via Twilio informing them of the purchase.
The user then picks up the item at an airport shop or may opt to buy the item second hand.
In the future an app version of the website will be available. The traveller will be able to drop off the item in a smart box at the destination airport and the charity will be informed of the drop off and in flight journey using text messages from Twilio.
We plan to also contact airlines to get them onboard. Monetisation will be through sponsorship from airlines as part of their strategy for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), who will also pay for the awarding of Air Mile points to travellers as a thank you for their charity work.
Other monetisation could come from advertising pop ups on the app or website. During/after a journey passengers could fill in a customer survey regarding the flight or trip and this information could be sold to the various stakeholders in the journey e.g. airlines, hotel chains and so on. And after completing the drop, the traveller has the option to share news of their charity donation (and Gift Aid) to Facebook or Twitter, which includes an advert from some of the sponsors.
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