Travel News
26 February 2025
He wants to create the world's best travel app
Soon it will be here: the travel app that focuses on experiences and personalized recommendations based on AI and data. It's called Vicity and wants to challenge traditional OTAs like Booking and Tripadvisor, which often only focus on price and whose content is trusted by few. OTAs have generally looked the same since 2010. Travel News has met with Vicity founder Michael Sullivan to find out more.Read more
“Our goal is to build a billion-dollar company”
Travel News has had a look at a beta version of Vicity, and it is very impressive. With the support of your previous data from, for example, Google or Facebook, the app knows who you are and what you probably like. It gives you recommendations and tips on restaurants, experiences and hotels. There is also a function where the app gives you a whole program for, for example, a weekend stay in Stockholm, New York or other cities. The pictures and videos are incredibly beautiful and flow as seamlessly as on TikTok or Instagram. 15,000 people have been able to test the app and they spend an average of at least five minutes in Vicity.
We will return to how the app will become a billion-dollar industry. But first a few words about the founder Michael Sullivan. He speaks refined Scanian after growing up in Österlen and Malmö. He completed high school at Petriskolan in Malmö, specializing in photography and graphic design. After an internship at Kvällsposten, he got a job when he was 17. “Then I got my own keys to the school so I could come and go as I wanted,” says Michael Sullivan when we meet in room 640 at Hotel Diplomat. Later in the day, he will meet future investors here. Of course, he does not want to reveal who they are. “Then you will get a huge scoop, but then everything might fall apart for me,” says Michael Sullivan.
A lot of his upbringing was also spent in Mallorca, where large parts of the family live. The name Sullivan was acquired by the family in the late 19th century because the ancestor was an Anglophile. He owned a property on Grev Turegatan in Stockholm where he ran a tobacco shop. Yes, there are traces of this entrepreneurial spirit even in Michael Sullivan's revelation.
After a few years, Michael moved to Barcelona and started an advertising agency. It started with him making a city guide with a map of Barcelona. It was renamed Metropolis, which also became the name of the new advertising agency. He quickly got assignments in the hotel industry and started making apps for companies like LVMH, Sofitel, and Marriott. “ We worked on building hotel and lifestyle brands. I had over 200 travel days a year. Every time I came to a city, I wanted tips on the best things for me, but there was no service for this. You can’t trust most travel apps today, because they just want to sell you something. Companies can always buy their way onto the list, even in the organic tips. You’ll never be able to do that with us,” says Michael Sullivan, looking very pleased in his black cap.
In 2016, he sold his advertising agency and the idea was to launch Vicity. But instead, he ended up working as Head of Brand Experience at the consulting firm Accenture. It took a few years before he returned to his dream project. Michael has two partners in the project: Emelina Nyqvist, who is a strategist based in London, and Daniel Karlström, who is the technical director. He is based in Cambodia. There, he and seven technicians built the app and especially the algorithm that forms the basis of all the tips.
– There are 47 million data points behind the system. These are reviews, ratings, travel magazines, blogs, media and everything that happens in social media. In this way, we can exclude fake reviews. It is the wisdom of the crowd. We remove 90 percent of the offer and only give you exactly what you want… and a little more that you didn't even know you liked.
Today, users can only match into the system with Google and Facebook. But soon you will also be able to improve your experience with data from TikTok, X and other social platforms.
– What is unique about us is that we give you personal tips based on who you are. No one else in the world does that. We also know when the Eiffel Tower is most crowded, so we don't send you there when it is less crowded.
The app contains maps, images and texts. All of them are created by AI. Vicity is backed by Google Cloud for Startups, which gives them opportunities that are not available to everyone. You will also be able to get tips via an AI agent with tailored content. The content and experience in the app feels premium, but if you want budget tips, just enter this into the app or of course just talk to it directly into the system. There is no doubt that Michael is satisfied with his product.
– I have worked with user experience and front-end my whole life and know that there must be a stickiness. Right now we have a beta with 22 cities, but it only takes us a day to set up a new destination.
Last week, Michael Sullivan presented his product at the Tech Arena event in Strawberry Arena. It brought in many new beta testers, but also several meetings with potential investors.
– We have already received offers for acquisitions, but our goal is to build a billion-dollar company.
But how will Vicity make money?
-One answer is through hotel reservations. If you want to book a room, you are currently sent to Expedia, which gives you a commission of a few percent on your reservation. Vicity will also have ads on the site, but hotels and restaurants will not be able to buy reach and bookings. There are also plans for a SaaS model and its own loyalty program.
-But it will always be free for users to visit Vicity.
Vicity plans to go live this summer and the goal is clear: the world's best travel app.
Source: https://www.travelnews.se/travel-tech/han-vill-skapa-varldens-basta-reseapp
