PROFILING THE INNOVATORS


communication method and then interact with everyone in the same way. Taking it one step further, the start-up


allows for items to be added and checked out separately once a collective decision has been made. This takes away the need for one person in a group to have to pay for all members to ensure the booking stays together. “Merchants face the problem that


users have a social process but their websites are optimised for the solo experience, which can really impact their bottom line,” says Levinson. ǘ¸óǛśóǝŨËĨĥĒİĉǝËæĺŭŨǝËǝĈĺŭśǝŨĺǝƛƂóǝ


times rise in recent conversion; on top of that, a 40% increase in the average booking value; as well as the number of bookings per person increasing.” Joyned says websites that implement


ĒŨšǝšĺĈŨƃËśóǝçËİǝóƈŘóçŨǝŨĺǝĉóİóśËŨóǝƛƂóǝ to six times more in revenue for each user who clicks on that functionality.


PRODUCT APPROACH


Levinson and his co-founder Jonathan Abraham leverage their background to set their product apart. Levinson, who studied physics with


cognitive sciences at university, and researched the emergence of neural networks, says their approach to product emerged from his background in physics and psychology. Abraham studied physics with


computer science, which gives the company the grounding it needs to understand data. Levinson says: “We’re very data-


orientated, and realise that even though we’re talking about human behaviour, there is an analytic, data-driven approach to understanding that.” Levinson thinks this drives their


product’s success, but it’s also down to trip planning “traditionally and consistently being attempted on a B2C model, direct to the consumer”, which the pair feel is the wrong approach. “Users choose the vendors they prefer,


“The next phase is to look at actual split payments,” says Levinson. This will allow an individual to check


out all the rooms needed for a group, but have costs split between them. The company also plans to form


stronger connections with social media platforms, a move that will soon see ŨďóǝĨËŭİçďǝĺĈǝĒŨšǝƛśšŨǝĒİŨóĉśËŨĒĺİǝƃĒŨďǝ social messaging app WhatsApp. Joyned also wants to continue


the joint experience into a user’s social media experience. Integration won’t be limited to


users – Levinson says an integration with vendors is also on the cards. The company’s tagline of “booking better together” extends to merchants. “It’s as simple as that. It’s true for


Users choose the


vendors they prefer for good reason. We’re proud to work with


merchants and to help them help their users


and for good reason. It might be for excellent service. We’re very proud to work with merchants and to help them help their users.” Many believe social booking is


something that happens at the top of the funnel, or with ads on Instagram, but, says Levinson, “social is a part of every step of the buying journey”. “It’s from inspiration to exploration, to


actual purchase, and we are the leading player in providing social tools for decision-making within the purchase itself,” he says.


LOOKING AHEAD


Joyned is expanding in “all directions” but one direction it plans to grow in is down the funnel to the purchase itself.


both the end users and the merchants, and for the way we view ourselves as partners of the merchants. Let’s do this together and we will do it better,” he says. “We want to integrate more with


our merchants, enabling them, and turning Joyned into a space for them to collaborate for upselling and cross-selling opportunities and recommendations.” As a data-driven business, plans


were always going to involve data somehow. Joyned plans to roll out features that enable “greater and stronger” decisions for users through decision-making tools such as polls. Finally, AI will play a role in Joyned’s


future. The company hopes to leverage the “great” metadata that it collects ĒİǞĺśíóśǝŨĺǝŘśĺƂĒíóǝËǝǘšŭŘóśĒĺśǝ recommendation experience”. “Innovation remains at the core of


everything we do at Joyned and we’re extremely proud of what we’ve achieved on our journey so far,” says Levinson. ǘTďĒšǝĒšǝśóƜóçŨóíǝĒİǝĺŭśǝóƂóśǑĉśĺƃĒİĉǝ


client base and expanding team. As we look to 2024, we’re focusing on further developing an exceptional collaborative ĉśĺŭŘǑæĺĺĥĒİĉǝóƈŘóśĒóİçóǝŨďËŨǝæóİóƛŨšǝ travellers and OTAs alike.”


PICTURES: DORON LETZTER; SHUTTERSTOCK/NATEE MEEPIAN, ALLAKUZ


TRAVOLUTION.COM — OCTOBER 2023 — 17


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