At least once a year most people are faced with the task of planning a trip. This usually means spending hours online, browsing through blog posts and reviews to find the information they’re seeking. The average traveler spends more than 20 hours planning a trip. All of that to still land at destinations with doubts and insecurities. City Catt is a Free Trip Planner just launched this week, that simplifies trip planning, giving travelers access to exclusive and personalized information by connecting them with knowledgeable locals.
Co-Founder Lizia Santos says the idea came from her frustration as a mother and journalist when planning trips for her family: “Reliable and relevant information is something I’m often seeking as a mom and reporter. While trying to plan trips for my family, I realized that in this age where information is super abundant and with my current needs as a mom, there’s too much information to browse through, but it’s really hard to find the one that matters for me. It takes too long, and time is a commodity I’d rather spend with my family before and during trips than with planning trips.”
City Catt’s Trip Planner gives easy access to relevant and personalized information for any traveler. Users can organize activities on a calendar, print and share plans with friends. It also combines Artificial Intelligence with human connections, as a bot gathers information such as ‘who you’re traveling with’ and ‘attractions you plan to visit’, and then prompts customers to make their own questions about their destinations. The information is then forwarded to a knowledgeable local, who responds each request personally with a turnaround of 24 hours max, depending on timezone differences.
The knowledgeable locals are nicknamed ‘Catts’, and they’re all screened, tested and trained by City Catt to work by providing travelers with personalized tips for their trips. Catts are locals from different walks of life, who have lived at least two years at their cities, and who are older than 21.
City Catt’s currently focus is in US cities, Australia, France and Japan, being able to serve travelers attending the Tokyo Olympics this summer. By combining technology with old-fashioned human connections, the platform aims to turn hours of stressful planning and the anxiety of exploring unknown destinations into the experience of being helped by a friend who knows you well and is always ready to make your life easier by providing you with just the piece of information you needed.
