The Polish startup has a new travel planning tool. It will save on hotels and flights

If an employee takes a cheaper hotel instead of a more expensive one, part of the saved funds will go to his account. This is how the Stery startup is supposed to work, which is supported by the popular eSky website.

When I first heard about this business, I was convinced that there couldn't be a worse time to start. The tourism industry saw steady growth before the pandemic, but the coronavirus has redefined how we travel. But maybe there is a method in this madness? Maybe thanks to this the company is starting right now, it will be adapted to the new normality?

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If we were to set up a travel agency, it would be a bad time for such a move. The rudders, however, will be a platform that has, inter alia, respond to the needs of customers that have just arisen from the coronavirus pandemic

Travels tailored to a pandemic

Stery is to be a platform for the organization of business trips that will comprehensively cover the needs of employees: from restrictions in different countries and disease outbreaks or lockdowns, to traditional hotel or means of transport booking.

The reins is going to a very competitive market that has been inhabited by global players for years, such as Egencia, which also offers "360 degrees around business travel". I have used this platform many times and unfortunately I cannot call it a pleasant process. I have seen similar mechanisms to encourage quick ticket purchases as on Booking.com or imprecise information about the refund policy. In addition, the application itself calls for vengeance to heaven for UX.

We want the platform to be "light" and pleasant to read for the traveler, which will significantly translate into the adoption of Stera in companies

The company managed by him is also to be distinguished by the incentive module. To understand it well, however, you need to take a step back and explain the corporate travel policy. It determines who, where and for how much can travel. Employees therefore have a certain upper limit which they should not exceed. However, from their point of view, it is best to take the most comfortable option - close to the maximum. How does Stery want to change it?

According to research, the last component of business trips taken into account by employees is price

“When choosing a connection and hotel, we want our employees to see positioned travel suggestions below their travel policy in the search engine. So they will be longer or class-less flights, or hotels further away from the city center. The amount that is saved will be fully or partially reimbursed to the employee, ”he explains.

So if an employee takes three stars instead of a four-star hotel, some of the money saved will go to his account in the form of cashback or benefits such as Amazon or Uber vouchers. Here, Stery gives its customers full flexibility.

Daftcode is responsible for Stery

Daftcode is a kind of startup factory that builds new ideas together with its enterprising employees. Its portfolio already includes a dozen or so technology companies created in the venture building model, incl. Skriware or Cateringoo,

Szafranow emphasizes that cooperation with Daftcode gave him access to a network of contacts, which later translated into a partnership with the eSky Group, which today provides not only Stery's transport and hotel base.

The eSky Group is our strategic partner. He is our experienced mentor who helps us not to make mistakes and effectively minimize the risks that lie in this difficult sector

Network Daftcode also attracted an investor. The Edtech Hub fund invested in Stery, which has been supporting startups with EU funds for a decade. The amount of the investment is PLN 1 million.

Why "Stery"?

I was also interested in the name of the new venture, which I asked Szafranow about. Usually, companies from the sector do not deviate from the usual pattern with "trip" or "travel" in the name.

“With this market density, we wanted to stand out from the competition. For a Polish user, "rudders", such as the rudders on a ship, are associated with travel, but not directly. For a foreign-language recipient, however, it is a short name, easy to remember and pronounce, without any connotations, which allows us to create associations related to our brand from the very beginning, ”explains Szafranow.