84 products left, but today Hopper

Hi friend 👋,

It's been over ten years since the small bunny entered our life. I'm always astonished at how cumbersome and outdated verticals are in desperate need of truly modern and groundbreaking products. That was the case with today's product. Sites devoted to travel back then all felt the same; they lacked a decent user interface and were cluttered with unnecessary details. Rather than making you feel clever for wanting to save money, they treat you like an opportunist who doesn't deserve any nice things if you ask for the best deal they can offer. Finding the lowest price for a ticket or hotel doesn't mean you have to settle for the worst design.

My guess is that there will be new developments in many areas, but especially transportation. Let me provide an example to help you better understand the current situation. From CityY, you wish to travel to CityX. The airline advertises the fare at $600, as an example. Comparable packages from other tour operators cost around $460 + $22, $384 + $9, etc. The first issue is related to the different types of tickets. A, B, Y, etc. A flight on the same day, at the same time, with the same plane, and for a different price. But there's even more strangeness to be found. Getting from CityY to CityZ may include a layover in CityX, but it's possible to do it for less than $600. You'll travel on the same plane as the first group, with the option to extend your trip at a discount. The system is broken. In those days, air travel was prohibitively expensive, and flights were sometimes canceled due to a lack of passengers. I realize that this is still the case at some travel hubs, but come on, in the major cities of Europe this cannot stand.

Anyway… Today's solution does not address these specific issues, but it does transform the vertical. They introduced Canadian courtesy to the travel vertical, and their magic was anticipating future pricing and allowing you to arrange your vacation at the optimal time.

Today, Hopper is our product.

Yes, I am aware that they are currently huge, and that their most recent funding was received only a few days ago. However, it still intrigues me as much as it did ten years ago. I've been keeping an eye on their recent acquisitions to get a sense of their strategy. Obviously, it has expanded far beyond airline tickets to include hotel reservations, auto rentals, and even home rentals à la Airbnb. They also have an overblown loyalty program, which makes them less interesting. When you look at their acquisitions, you will notice Airbnb-like experiences (PlacePass) and 1-1 vacation planning services (Journy). That makes me wonder about the future of Hopper, and it's encouraging to see that Airbnb will face genuine competition that won't allow them to charge exorbitant cleaning and service fees.

Hopper continues to focus solely on mobile and does not allow you to take any action on desktop, which is bold. They are formidable in the US and CA markets, as expected, but their focus on mobile is remarkable. With all of these micro-interactions and excellent copy, the app itself is a joy to use. Despite the fact that it distinguishes and makes our products memorable, the "delight" aspect is the one we forget the most as product people. Hopper makes good use of it.

In the future, I believe there will be another billion-dollar startup that will answer all airline price problems. But, until then, Hopper gives me hope.

We’ll talk again tomorrow.