3 Minutes on Villy, a Boston-Born Travel Site
As I spotted yet another friend’s vacation album on Facebook, I found myself daydreaming about blue skies, warm sand, and the sweet lull of the ocean.
Sound familiar? Perhaps you can relate. A recent survey for Charles Schwab shows Americans spend more time thinking about their next vacation than they do their own retirement.
But beneath all the beach pictures, there lies an ugly truth: Planning a vacation can be a lot of work.
Once you get past the fantasy, you have to start making those nagging real-life decisions like what to do, where to stay, and how much you want to pay. Research from the travel company Expedia found that travelers visit a whopping 38 sites while booking a trip.
So when I heard two guys in Cambridge were launching a website called Villy that claims to plan your next getaway in three minutes, I knew I had to give it a shot.
“I was constantly visiting new places and faced the challenge of understanding where to stay in a new city,’’ said Rami Lachter, a Harvard Business School student and co-creator of the site.
After spending five weeks abroad in Spain and many an hour on tourism websites, I certainly felt his pain.
Still, I had to wonder: Could a three-minute solution really offer up a fix?
Armed with my cellphone’s stopwatch and a healthy dose of skepticism, I logged on to find out.
3:00:
At first glance, the site seemed innocuous enough. It featured colorful images of the different cities for which Villy provides its guides: Bangkok, Barcelona, Berlin, London, Miami, New York, Paris, Rome, San Francisco, and Seoul. (For the record, Boston isn’t there yet, but Lachter assured me it would “definitely’’ be there soon.)
A few moments in, however, I began to feel uneasy. Was I really so predictable that my vacation could come ready made?
Ignoring my hesitation, I let Villy plan a trip to New York for me.
“For each city we cover, we have local experts who are natives of that city and they provide us with a lot of the information tourists or outsiders will have a hard time finding,’’ said Lachter. “We combine that local expertise with objective data to give our recommendations.’’
In the interest of full disclosure, I’m no stranger to New York. Growing up, I lived a mere 20 miles outside of the city and have a solid idea of where to go.
Still, there’s much of the Big Apple I haven’t seen. And the site promised I was about to discover my new favorite areas. So I was curious where Villy would take me.
I chose restaurants and nightlife as my priorities and allowed Villy to proceed.
2:00:
And … nothing. Apparently my $100-a-night price point was too low. What was I thinking, listing such a low hotel price? The site did, however, offer up four nightclubs, eight restaurants, and 24 bars for me to try. All were within Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the trendiest neighborhood in town.
As someone who was voted Little Miss Hipster in college, I have to say I was pleased.
1:00:
In fairness, I may have been ambitious in trying to find a hotel room in New York City for under $100 a night. I adjusted my bar to $200 and, sure enough, some options popped up.
It looks like I priced myself out of Brooklyn, however, as they were all located in Soho.
With my heart set on Williamsburg, I went back and did a quick breeze through Villy’s restaurant suggestions to see if they were in line with my tastes.
Based on names such as Extra Fancy, The Gutter, and Pies ‘n’ Thighs, I decided Villy was on point. With the clock ticking, I went to check out Extra Fancy’s menu and saw they were serving deviled eggs and sweet potato fries—two completely random and delicious offerings that are some of my favorite foods. What’s more, the site recommended the pizza company Roberta’s, which is a local legend and one of my most-loved haunts.
“Someone’s actually listening to you and curating the most relevant information so you don’t have to do it yourself,’’ Lachter said. “It works to create the ideal vacation for you.’’
I’ll admit, Villy’s suggestions were appealing. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that, if I put full stock in its experts, I would miss out on the spontaneity that’s made past trips stick out.
Even so, I think I can sacrifice three minutes to learn about venues I may not otherwise have thought of—and make my next experience a little bit more fun.
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