Residents Kadıköy district on the Asian side of Istanbul with surprise looked at three Russian women who went for coffee shops - traditionally male institutions - and photographed them from the inside. "Tourists rarely drop here, but because we have an unusual area - a secular opposition Turkey", - says Vasilisa Yilmaz about Kadıköy, where she lives with her husband, a Turk. The translator by profession, Vasilisa spare time earns a guide for "alternative to Istanbul." Guide helped her become Tripster - Russian project, which offers 1600 non-standard routes of local residents in more than 200 cities around the world.
In the tourist season Tripster takes about 1,500 orders per month at an average of € 90 per trip. He began as a typical online community where people share information about travel and attractions.
"First on the site were three people: me and my friends - says co-founder Alex Tripster Melchakov. - Then came the first question that we did not know the answer - about Berlin, I think. We asked friends and finally found an expert".
Melchakov with friends made an interactive map, on which site visitors celebrated place where visited - so that administrators can quickly know who to address a particular issue. Card could boast in his personal facebook, so Tripster get free advertising. The community grew and gradually switched to offline mode.
When in late 2012 Melchakov, and to work as a programmer, and the advertiser, and the technical director at startup incubator, had gone to another job, he thought about how to make Tripster commercial project. By that time, about 60 000 users registered on the site. Many travelers, Alex reasoned, in a short time want as far as possible to understand the local culture. To help in this are the locals. It remains to find wanting to hold amateur tour and bring them to the tourists.
Under the project Melchakov found private investment - about $ 400 000. This amount was necessary to rent an office and pay the team for the first half year (programmers, editors, marketers and site - only 10 people in the state). While was preparedRestart in different countries through a friend sought guides, speaking in Russian, and versed in a variety of subjects - from art to wine. We sent out a request and the community Tripster, which gradually transformed into a forum on the new site.
In early 2013 Tripster restarted. In the first phase of the order of one hundred offered excursions with guides-lovers more than a dozen cities. However, the project interested and professional guides. Many web sites (for example, "Turister") experienced guides publish ads for the money. Tripster as no fee is requested. As a result, the site began to enter the shaft to describe the classical routes. From professionals Tripster team decided not to give up - they simply offer to change the default program and to diversify routes. Some agree.
Each wishing to become a guide Tripster managers talking on Skype and in person if possible (this involved the project coordinators in key cities - Paris, Vienna, Istanbul). Asked about the idea of his trips, give advice on the organization and description of the route and generally check for hellkvatnost. If the guide conducts the tour for the first time, Tripster revision then calls the customer and if any claim is associated with a guide.
What makes Melchakov and its partners? 16% of the cost of the tour is paid when ordering online. This money leaves the service itself as a commission, and the rest guide gets directly from the tourists. Accordingly, the site does not need a system of transfer of funds to the different countries, and guides can be assured that they will receive the money without delay, as is the case with services that take full payment from the customer. For the majority of orders from Tripster guides not the main source of income, but for some - quite substantial.
"As we wrote one of our Turkish authors:" I earn about Istanbul as a top manager, "- laughing Melchakov.
According to Cyril Sermyagin, general director of the portal "Ekskursiopediya" provides a wide range of travel services from transfer to order tickets to museums, walks to share with non-professional guides to not more than 2% of sightseeing and tourism market in Russia (the entire volume of then estimated at $ 1.5 billion per year). "The idea is good, but the locals limited offer: this excursion today they spend and gone tomorrow - Sermyagin explains. - The same demand. There are tourists who enjoy unique guided tours, but if a person first comes to town, he soon needed a standard sightseeing with a visit to the main attractions. "
Exactly these problems faced Sputnik8 site, which launched in 2012 as a service of unusual excursions in St. Petersburg and Moscow for foreigners. Drove them too locals, but, according to co-founder Sputnik8 Alexander Kim, for various reasons, they were often unable to tour, and tourists prefer walks by the Petersburg Hermitage courtyards. Sputnik8 eventually moved to more standard and offers to work with Tour Desk - such a scheme works most of the tour booking services. His staff guides them like a Tripster, no.
In Tripster recognize both the complexity. For oyster farm near Casablanca, the tour on the trail of Jack the Ripper and the walk to the former brothels Kiev were added eq reviewcourses in major cities. The constant availability of guides provide a more complex, but here Tripster team relies on technology and statistics. A special calendar on the website helps the traveler has when choosing a tour to see what days free one or the other guide. Melchakov says that almost 50% of applications supported. Tripster team calculates the percentage of failures for each guide. If the guide rejects requests too often, he is asked to revise his schedule. Otherwise cease to cooperate with him.
Tripster lags far behind market leader ( "Ekskursiopediya", founded in 2011, offers more than 30,000 tours and other tourist attractions, its turnover - around € 1 million per month). But Melchakov says that he has his way: gradually build guides framework to monitor the quality of proposals and the way people respond to them.
"We are moving slowly and consistently, and we are confident in their product, because it is selected and inspected by us", - he explains.
The "slowly" means a four-fold increase in sales over the past season. Output self-sufficient standbyIt is given at the beginning of next season, but for now, according to Melchakova project spending over 20% more than it earns.
Grow Tripster, in particular, helped launched this summer, "The course of the Muscovite" - excursion and educational program of the seven classes for those who want to get to know the capital. The demand exceeded the supply - ten streams (of 200) could not accommodate everyone. Tripster going to develop similar programs. "This is a whole new market for us - emphasizes Melchakov. -. The townspeople Market "
In the tourist season Tripster takes about 1,500 orders per month at an average of € 90 per trip. He began as a typical online community where people share information about travel and attractions.
"First on the site were three people: me and my friends - says co-founder Alex Tripster Melchakov. - Then came the first question that we did not know the answer - about Berlin, I think. We asked friends and finally found an expert".
Melchakov with friends made an interactive map, on which site visitors celebrated place where visited - so that administrators can quickly know who to address a particular issue. Card could boast in his personal facebook, so Tripster get free advertising. The community grew and gradually switched to offline mode.
When in late 2012 Melchakov, and to work as a programmer, and the advertiser, and the technical director at startup incubator, had gone to another job, he thought about how to make Tripster commercial project. By that time, about 60 000 users registered on the site. Many travelers, Alex reasoned, in a short time want as far as possible to understand the local culture. To help in this are the locals. It remains to find wanting to hold amateur tour and bring them to the tourists.
Under the project Melchakov found private investment - about $ 400 000. This amount was necessary to rent an office and pay the team for the first half year (programmers, editors, marketers and site - only 10 people in the state). While was preparedRestart in different countries through a friend sought guides, speaking in Russian, and versed in a variety of subjects - from art to wine. We sent out a request and the community Tripster, which gradually transformed into a forum on the new site.
In early 2013 Tripster restarted. In the first phase of the order of one hundred offered excursions with guides-lovers more than a dozen cities. However, the project interested and professional guides. Many web sites (for example, "Turister") experienced guides publish ads for the money. Tripster as no fee is requested. As a result, the site began to enter the shaft to describe the classical routes. From professionals Tripster team decided not to give up - they simply offer to change the default program and to diversify routes. Some agree.
Each wishing to become a guide Tripster managers talking on Skype and in person if possible (this involved the project coordinators in key cities - Paris, Vienna, Istanbul). Asked about the idea of his trips, give advice on the organization and description of the route and generally check for hellkvatnost. If the guide conducts the tour for the first time, Tripster revision then calls the customer and if any claim is associated with a guide.
What makes Melchakov and its partners? 16% of the cost of the tour is paid when ordering online. This money leaves the service itself as a commission, and the rest guide gets directly from the tourists. Accordingly, the site does not need a system of transfer of funds to the different countries, and guides can be assured that they will receive the money without delay, as is the case with services that take full payment from the customer. For the majority of orders from Tripster guides not the main source of income, but for some - quite substantial.
"As we wrote one of our Turkish authors:" I earn about Istanbul as a top manager, "- laughing Melchakov.
According to Cyril Sermyagin, general director of the portal "Ekskursiopediya" provides a wide range of travel services from transfer to order tickets to museums, walks to share with non-professional guides to not more than 2% of sightseeing and tourism market in Russia (the entire volume of then estimated at $ 1.5 billion per year). "The idea is good, but the locals limited offer: this excursion today they spend and gone tomorrow - Sermyagin explains. - The same demand. There are tourists who enjoy unique guided tours, but if a person first comes to town, he soon needed a standard sightseeing with a visit to the main attractions. "
Exactly these problems faced Sputnik8 site, which launched in 2012 as a service of unusual excursions in St. Petersburg and Moscow for foreigners. Drove them too locals, but, according to co-founder Sputnik8 Alexander Kim, for various reasons, they were often unable to tour, and tourists prefer walks by the Petersburg Hermitage courtyards. Sputnik8 eventually moved to more standard and offers to work with Tour Desk - such a scheme works most of the tour booking services. His staff guides them like a Tripster, no.
In Tripster recognize both the complexity. For oyster farm near Casablanca, the tour on the trail of Jack the Ripper and the walk to the former brothels Kiev were added eq reviewcourses in major cities. The constant availability of guides provide a more complex, but here Tripster team relies on technology and statistics. A special calendar on the website helps the traveler has when choosing a tour to see what days free one or the other guide. Melchakov says that almost 50% of applications supported. Tripster team calculates the percentage of failures for each guide. If the guide rejects requests too often, he is asked to revise his schedule. Otherwise cease to cooperate with him.
Tripster lags far behind market leader ( "Ekskursiopediya", founded in 2011, offers more than 30,000 tours and other tourist attractions, its turnover - around € 1 million per month). But Melchakov says that he has his way: gradually build guides framework to monitor the quality of proposals and the way people respond to them.
"We are moving slowly and consistently, and we are confident in their product, because it is selected and inspected by us", - he explains.
The "slowly" means a four-fold increase in sales over the past season. Output self-sufficient standbyIt is given at the beginning of next season, but for now, according to Melchakova project spending over 20% more than it earns.
Grow Tripster, in particular, helped launched this summer, "The course of the Muscovite" - excursion and educational program of the seven classes for those who want to get to know the capital. The demand exceeded the supply - ten streams (of 200) could not accommodate everyone. Tripster going to develop similar programs. "This is a whole new market for us - emphasizes Melchakov. -. The townspeople Market "
