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ArrangeYourExchange.com, the company which allows holiday home owners to exchange mongst themselves, will be pitching at The Get Funded Show@World Travel Market this November. Having already put in place an expert team, ArrangeYourExchange.com is looking for the funding that can turn their vision into a lucrative reality.
ArrangeYourExchange.com enables its client base to leverage their holiday home so that they can experience alternative holiday locations for a fraction of the cost compared with using traditional travel related services. This is done whilst maintaining the full benefits of owning a holiday home. It offers a cost effective way to travel to Europe and beyond through an extensive selection of available holiday homes and eliminates the ‘consumer pain’ of holidaying in the same location time and time again.
Niall Doyle, Director of ArrangeYourExchange.com spoke with Tom Ellum, Director of The Get Funded Show about some of his motivations, challenges and why he is looking forward to pitching at The Get Funded Show on 11-12th November.
Tom Ellum: Tell us a little bit about your company – what made you decide to start it?
Niall Doyle: Having owned a holiday home in Sardinia for the past five years I had grown tired of holidaying there every year and wanted to experience new locations and cultures. However, I didn’t want to ‘waste’ the use of my holiday home by not holidaying there. So, born out of my ‘consumer pain’, I decided to develop an online holiday home exchange service that could offer flexibility and choice to holiday home owners.
ArrangeYourExchange.com was created for the 2.8 million holiday home owners in Europe many of whom are tired of holidaying in the same location year after year.
T.E.: When was your eureka moment, most challenging moment and most enjoyable moment?
ND: Put simply, we’re eliminating the need for agreement between holiday home owners to exchange, and as a result have also eliminated the laborious ‘leg work’ that had previously been associated with organising an exchange.
We decided to commission independent market research focussing on what holiday home owners across Europe wanted in an exchange service. The results were very encouraging and revealed that 71% of holiday home owners would use an online holiday home exchange service with 63% prepared to use a ‘credits based’ system based on the type of holiday home, its location and when it is made available to exchange.
So we set about developing a website that recognised the needs of holiday home owners wishing to exchange their holiday homes to experience new destinations.
Unlike existing holiday home exchanges with Arrange Your Exchange, it’s not necessary for holiday home owners to agree to exchange their properties with each other – we’re developing an algorithm that allows our members to earn credits for posting availability of their holiday home before exchanging those credits for other properties without the need to directly contact the holiday home owner.
T.E.: And some information about the team?
ND: Our team comprises of myself – over ten years experience in sales & marketing – (with another five years of holiday home rental experience), along with a director in Ireland’s largest 100% Irish owned tour operator serving 45 destinations worldwide (employing over 100 staff in Ireland and over 120 staff at destinations overseas). In 2007 it had a turnover in excess of €100m.
The technology platform for Arrange Your Exchangeis being developed by the computer science department of ITT, Dublin.
T.E.: Why is your company set to impact the travel industry?
ND: I think we’ll have a huge impact on the travel industry, because we’re looking after a significant consumer segment that has hitherto been unreachable or ‘lost’ to the industry. We aim to become a ‘one-stop-shop’revolution for holiday home owners, not only offering them exchanges but also full travel solutions and services.
T.E.: 5 years time… what will the travel industry be like and where will your company fit in (or will you be at your holiday home in Sardinia sipping cocktails after a million dollar exit!?)?
ND: Difficult to say with any degree of certainty where the travel industry will be in five years given the upheaval it has been through recently. My ‘hunch’ is that the anticipated economic upturn will be positively felt by the Travel Sector over the next 12-18 months. I see market segmentation continuing in Travel with the ‘winners’ being those who identify niches with significant market share and respond to the needs of that market effectively. Choice, flexibility and convenience will become the bywords for success in the industry. In a nutshell, ArrangeYourExchange equals value for money by making the exotic affordable.
T.E.: What’s the most important thing you want to get out of The Get Funded Show?
ND: A couple of things. Firstly, ‘Informed investment’. What I mean by this is working with investors who already have considerable knowledge and experience of the Travel Industry and who recognise the potential of ArrangeYourExchange. Secondly, the opportunity to ‘tap into’ that knowledge base in terms of networking and partnering in order to accelerate our development into the future.
T.E.: So… top investors, senior travel executives and the world’s travel press – how are you going to make sure you stand out from the other companies pitching?
ArrangeYourExchange is a travel idea whose time has come. Rates of holiday home ownership have multiplied in recent years and can now be harnessed monetarily through our innovative online platform. We’ll make a compelling case for investment, based on market research and market share, and we’ve the team, experience and expertise to deliver this market to the travel sector. We’re looking forward to sharing our passion for ArrangeYourExchange with travel’s leading Investors at The Get Funded Show. We anticipate getting on famously!
ArrangeYourExchange.com (www.arrangeyourexchange.com) will be pitching to an assembled audience of senior travel executives, investors and the world’s travel press at The Get Funded Show@World Travel Market. Organised by EyeforTravel, on 11-12th November, the show offers innovative travel companies mentoring from travel veterans, worldwide publicity and real investment opportunity. For more information on the show please go to www.getfundedshow.com.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
