Former agent Scott Le Roi has launched a new app-based travel booking site that he claims will automatically curate holidays for individual users by showing them images of destinations and inviting them to swipe to select those they like.
Just like the dating app Tinder, if users like an image, they swipe right, if they don’t, they swipe left.
The travel app, called Orbzii, then uses the information to present the user with suggested holidays.
CEO Scott, who previously ran Secret Agent Services arranging holidays for ‘A-list’ celebrities, says the comparison with Tinder, first made by one of his team, ‘makes my flesh crawl’, but he admits there are similarities.
In addition to curating holidays, Orbzii allows users to share the trips with others directly from their mobiles, and there’s an in-app chat function where groups can discuss ideas with each other.
Funded by ‘angel investors’ from the tech industry and powered by Expedia, Scott says Orbzii offers a choice of 350,000 three- to five-star hotels worldwide.
It also offers flights via Galileo with ‘every airline from the UK’, except TUI, he said.
“We’ve got the low-cost airlines including easyJet, Ryanair and Jet2, but TUI aren’t sharing at the moment,” added Scott.
Orbzii offers £75 deposits, a price match guarantee, and promises to provide refunds for cancellations within seven days. It is currently trading as a partner of Major Travel, which provides ABTA and ATOL protection.
Scott says there’s also a UK-based customer support team, although at the moment that’s just one person in its Bournemouth HQ.
The app was originally made available in 2021 but it has only just launched its booking functionality and new features and filters are still being added.
A TV advertising campaign promoting Orbzii broke on Boxing Day. To date the company has taken 50 bookings.
Scott, who says he’s spent 25 years in the travel industry, having previously worked in sales and marketing for overseas hotels, admits the company is ‘still in start-up mode’. Eventually he hopes to crack the US market too.
