This piece is part of a collaboration with MLG Blockchain Consulting, a leading global blockchain development and consulting firm headquartered in Toronto, Canada, with a distributed team across North America, Europe and Asia that is focused on building next generation applications using blockchain and smart contract technology. Emie-Claude Lamoureux PR Director at MLG Blockchain Consulting writes on how a new blockchain platform promises to disrupt the whole travel & loyalty industry.
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Travel. It’s one of the great loves of my life. It’s the one thing I’m always thinking about— be it planning the next weekend city break or reminiscing about the time my family and I were ambushed by mountain goats on the highway running through Banff National Park. (Note: stay alert when driving in the mountains).
As I’m sure you know, those of us born between 1980 and 2000 belong to the group known as the ‘millennials’. We are different to our parents and grandparents in the sense that we place huge emphasis on the cultural richness and uniqueness of a travel experience, and lean towards customizable travel which suits to our personalities. I can definitely relate to this – I would never just ‘go on holiday’ for the sake of it…well perhaps I would, if I didn’t have to work hard to earn a living, but that’s beside the point. The fact is we are conscious travellers and want to seek and explore and enrich our lives beyond the norm.
Most of us have now heard how blockchain technology is enabling so many opportunities across many industries, and it’s particularly exciting to see the travel and loyalty industry be next on the list. Chozun is a new blockchain platform for conscious travellers – an online community of like-minded individuals where you can exchange experiences, recommendations and travel tips.
The tech entrepreneurs behind Chozun, Teresa Truda and Zia Word (aka. The Cryptoqueens), appreciate that we are all so different.
Another thing we “millenials” tend to do is cross-check multiple platforms for the same information to ensure it’s reliable. Combining proprietary AI and Data Science, Chozun ensures travellers are matched to the best personalised local experiences and services. This means that users can exchange with others across the platform, activating discounts, trading goods and sharing travel experiences while ensuring loyalty and honesty within the trusted community.
When I was in India with my partner, we went to New Delhi for his birthday. The central hub of New Delhi is Connaught Place, so I booked a place using Booking.com. I also cross-checked with TripAdvisor which I had typically used trying to determine hostels and guesthouses, allowing me to dodge some seriously sketchy spots. Ok, people sometimes tend to fabricate their personal reviews with perfectly candid photos but it’s a start for ideas on where to go and what to do.
But I digress. So we were told there was a pool on site, and from the photos, we couldn’t wait to cool off from the 45 degree heat. Once we arrived, we realized the pool was on a different corner of the block from where the hotel was situated. Tired after a standard “omg they were not transparent about that” debate, we went to the pool anyways – only to find 200 kids in it. They had also failed to mention that it’s a public pool. Frustrated, we decided to leave the not-so honest hotel. The lack of transparency in experiences like these left us wanting an honest and conscientious platform for reliable travel information, and finally we’ve found one.
After living first-hand such lack of transparency while travelling, I can see the need to reinvent incentivized loyalty ecosystems and creating a global travel community. I look forward to seeing Chozun clear up so much of the irrelevant and profit-driven glut from the travel market so that travel information is 100% relevant to travel and 100% relevant to you as an individual.
Oliver* 