Whitney Shindelar, owner of Undiscovered Sunsets and creator of Masters in Travel, yearned for a directory of suppliers — including hotels, tour operators, destination management companies, transportation options and the like — all in one place, coupled with advisor ratings and reviews.
So, she created one.
From July 3-9, travel advisors will have the ability to demo her new platform, The Hive. Here, Shindelar shares more about the platform’s capabilities, and what travel advisors can expect when using it.
How did the idea for The Hive first come about? What inspired you to create it?
Researching potential supplier partners that match the needs of each individual client inquiry, reaching out to colleagues to gather feedback on those suppliers and too often "hoping for the best" have been a challenge that I've faced since the earliest days of starting my business as a travel advisor.
For the first few years, I thought these challenges were due to my lack of experience and knowledge of the industry, but the more experience I gained, the more difficult this became. Conversations with colleagues in 2022 led to further discussing our ongoing pain points and wondering why it is so difficult for us to find the most basic information we need to do our jobs efficiently and effectively.
What has the process been like for creating The Hive? Were there any challenges or surprises that popped up along the way, from a development perspective?
Of course. I initially thought this was going to be a robust database. The sheer amount of information and data that must be involved for a platform such as The Hive to be successful is something no one can truly understand until starting to compile the details. I never thought it would be a small project, nor did I think it was going to be easy, but there were many moments along the way where I thought to myself, "no wonder no one has ever done this before!"
For the first few years, I thought these challenges were due to my lack of experience and knowledge of the industry, but the more experience I gained, the more difficult this became.
How did The Hive benefit from your experience as a travel advisor?
A lot of effort has been put into the user experience for the advisor. I am the end user and the target audience — I plan to utilize The Hive daily — so this gives me a unique perspective on what we're building. Using it as a travel advisor really highlighted a lot of opportunities to tweak, refine and enhance the platform.
What platform capabilities do you find most useful for advisors?
A global database of suppliers that advisors can search. If a supplier isn't currently on The Hive, that's because we don't know about them. An advisor can add a supplier onto the platform at any time. Suppliers do not need to pay to have exposure on The Hive.
The ability for travel advisors to share their feedback and rate and review supplier partners is also very exciting. Finally, we have one place where we can share all the amazing partners we work with to benefit other travel advisors' research and trip planning. When leaving a rating, we can highlight where a particular hotel really shined and exceeded expectations, as well as which client profiles we feel would be the best fit for that specific property or experience.
Finally, we have one place where we can share all the amazing partners we work with to benefit other travel advisors' research and trip planning.
How can advisors access The Hive, and what can they expect when they first join?
Travel advisors can sign up for the hive for $37 per month, and from July 3-9, we're offering special discount pricing of $32 per month to celebrate our launch. Upon signing up, advisors will have a 14-day free trial to check it out and see what it's all about.
Over the first two weeks, they'll receive an email every other day with tips on how to best utilize each major feature of the platform, along with a short tutorial video to ensure they know how and where to tap into all the features that are available. Moving forward, we'll host “Destination Sprints” on a regular basis — this is a designated week where we select one destination — so we can share our collective knowledge and contribute to the hive mind. During these destination sprints, we'll invite users to sit down and brain dump everything they know about that destination.
Whitney Shindelar, creator of The Hive
Credit: 2023 Whitney ShindelarCan you share with us some use-case scenarios? How do you envision travel advisors using The Hive?
When logging into The Hive each morning, advisors will be greeted by the home screen that prompts: "What are you researching today?" I envision advisors utilizing The Hive's robust (and growing) database of supplier partners to see who's out there, who their colleagues are really enjoying working and collaborating with, and then discovering new-to-them suppliers that might be a great fit for the trip they're working on at that moment.
To answer this prompt, advisors can search something as broad as “hotels in Paris,” or something more specific such as “Virtuoso DMCs in Morocco” or “transportation in London” and then filter by those who provide VIP arrival services at the airport.
I envision advisors utilizing The Hive's robust (and growing) database of supplier partners to see who's out there, who their colleagues are really enjoying working and collaborating with, and then discovering new-to-them suppliers that might be a great fit for the trip they're working on at that moment.
Although The Hive invites advisors to leave ratings and feedback on their experience working with suppliers, it will take time to gather the volume of feedback that some might feel is needed to feel relevant; for example, one rating from one advisor on a hotel's profile won't be sufficient — this will feel more valuable when 10, 20 or 50 advisors have rated recent experiences with a particular supplier partner.
In the meantime, it is possible to "Request Feedback" on a particular supplier. This will create a post and notify users who might have feedback to offer on that supplier (based on their previous travel experience, their profile on The Hive or their client's previous travel experiences). This feature not only supports that user in the moment, but also supports all other travel advisors in the future who may be researching something similar.
The Hive's website is live.
Credit: 2023 The HiveAre you partnering with suppliers, too? What’s their role in The Hive?
Supplier partners have been so supportive over the last few months. I've created a form for supplier partners to file out so that we can gather the very important details on how to work with them and update their profiles on The Hive.
Currently, all suppliers are linked to location (so we can search "hotels in Paris" and find a list of those hotels), but when filtering for hotels with connecting rooms in Paris, for example, we need that information to be provided by suppliers. Currently, I'm talking with suppliers one by one, sharing the news about The Hive and inviting them to complete the form so that we can update the profile on their behalf. The support has been incredible, and there has been so much excitement.
The Hive: Fast Facts
- Beta users gained access to The Hive on June 21, and will have approximately 10 days to start populating the platform with conversation, dialogue, rating and notes, so that when the first users sign up in July, they'll get to experience a thriving platform already underway.
- The platform will have an official launch during the week of July 3-9. During this week, new users can join for $32 per month; after this period ends, the monthly subscription will be $37 per month.
- The Hive has a webpage specifically for suppliers, where they can learn more and submit their details to include on their profile on The Hive.
