Airbnb and Vrbo Often Have Wildly Different Prices for the Same Listing. This Entrepreneur Built a Platform to Find You the Best Deal.

In this ongoing series, we are sharing advice, tips and insights from real entrepreneurs who are retired location doing business conflict connected a regular basis. (Answers person been edited and condensed for clarity.)

Justin Gordon is nan laminitis of ShakaCode, a institution specializing successful web and mobile app improvement pinch a attraction connected React and Ruby connected Rails. His latest venture, HiChee, is transforming nan measurement group book picnic rentals by allowing users to comparison listing prices crossed awesome platforms for illustration Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com.

How did you commencement your business?
I've been a machine enthusiast since childhood. As a freelance programmer, I was fortunate to person a customer who saw my imaginable and encouraged maine to grow my team. That's really ShakaCode was born. Little did I cognize that I was embarking connected an entrepreneurial journey! By 2013, we were early adopters of React and Webpack, which later became manufacture standards, acknowledgment to our celebrated React connected Rails gem.

Even while building projects for clients, I couldn't shingle nan dream of creating my ain product. The entrepreneurial tone is contagious successful Silicon Valley, wherever everyone seems to person a business plan. I conjecture I caught nan bug!

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What sparked nan thought for HiChee?
Living successful Hawaii, I was people drawn to nan vacation rental space. After an first thought didn't rather cookware out, I stumbled upon a communal vexation among travelers: nan aforesaid spot could person wildly different prices crossed different platforms. In different words, if a rental is connected some Airbnb and Vrbo, who wouldn't want to cognize nan prices connected some platforms? I knew location had to beryllium a amended way. That's erstwhile nan lightbulb went off: HiChee, a level that aggregates picnic rental listings and empowers users to comparison prices and sometimes book straight for moreover bigger savings.

How did you get your business funded?
Right now, HiChee is wholly funded by ShakaCode. It's a labour of love, and we're focused connected building a loyal personification guidelines and establishing a beardown estimation earlier exploring monetization options. Delivering worth to consumers is our apical priority.

What's been your biggest challenge?
Scraping and matching world picnic rental information is nary locomotion connected nan formation — it's technically complex. But pinch nan U.S. Ninth Circuit of Appeals ruling connected web scraping's legality, we've been capable to toggle shape this situation into an opportunity. Leveraging our expertise, ShakaCode now offers blase information scraping services showcased connected HiChee. This has attracted a increasing clientele who admit nan worth of data-driven insights successful nan AI era.

One cardinal measurement HiChee has evolved to meet personification needs is by addressing nan inconvenience of copying and pasting links from Airbnb, Booking, and Vrbo to cheque prices. HiChee addressed this inconvenience successful 2 ways.

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A Chrome Extension allows users to entree nan afloat powerfulness of HiChee straight connected Airbnb, Booking, and Vrbo websites, though this characteristic is presently constricted to desktop Chrome users. However, that requires utilizing desktop Chrome.

To reside nan limitations of nan Chrome hold for mobile users, HiChee besides introduced nan Trip List feature, which provides synchronization of WishLists connected Airbnb to HiChee truthful that users tin bosom a listing connected Airbnb and spot nan comparison accusation connected HiChee. Even better, HiChee provides value and readiness alerts truthful erstwhile a listing is saved, a HiChee personification tin beryllium nan first to snag a awesome woody erstwhile a big has dropped a price.

What's been your astir rewarding infinitesimal arsenic a business owner?
Witnessing nan awesome integrated maturation of HiChee — complete 200,000 unsocial users per period for respective years — has been incredibly rewarding. It's a testament to nan worth we're providing to travelers. And nan affirmative media attraction from outlets for illustration Fox News, The Washington Post, AARP, and renowned recreation columnist Chris Elliott has been nan icing connected nan cake.

What's your champion business advice?
Embrace challenges arsenic opportunities for innovation. Listen to your customers and accommodate to their needs. And ne'er underestimate nan powerfulness of perseverance and a awesome team.

Where do you spot your business successful 5 years?
I envision HiChee becoming nan go-to level for picnic rental comparison and booking, empowering travelers to make informed decisions and prevention money. With ShakaCode's expertise successful web scraping and information analytics, we'll proceed to grow our services and thief businesses harness nan powerfulness of data.