

Vayable (YC S12) adds worldwide payments and concierge service - garry
http://techcrunch.com/2012/07/26/yc-vayable-worldwide-payments-concierge/

======
ernestipark
Vayable combined with Airbnb seems like an awesome, off-the-beaten-track way
to travel. I hear people talk a lot about traveling but not wanting to do
"touristy" things... Vayable seems like a compelling way to get more authentic
experiences while traveling. Can't wait to try this when I'm on my next
vacation.

------
andygcook
There are a few other similar startups working on this problem that are worth
checking out:

Sidetour - <http://www.sidetour.com/> HipHost - <http://www.hiphost.com/>

------
derwiki
I used Concierge to book a helicopter volcano tour in Hawaii. Worked great!
Small outfits like Safari Helicopters rarely provide a seamless
booking/reminder service -- Concierge is definitely a great value add.

------
pilom
I love the idea behind Vayable. I would love to be a guide with them. I am a
whitewater rafting guide in Denver and could take people down rivers that
commercial rafting companies wont go to, but until they offer Liability
coverage to guides, I can not comprehend working with them. (and no, having a
waiver to give customers is not good enough. I would still get sued).

So Dear Vayable,

Learn from AirBnB's example and offer insurance to guides!!!

~~~
DASD
Airbnb does not offer personal liability though as part of their Host
Guarantee. Since the Vayable experience is under the premise that you're vis-
a-vis the guide the entire time that might be a difficult problem to solve?

~~~
pilom
You're correct they don't. But the Host Guarantee does cover up to $1,000,000
in property damage. Given that there is not property involved in Vayable
activities, I think that some type of comparable protection of guides is
required. As a "guide" I am legally responsible for the health and safety of
guests. If I guide someone on a bike tour through Vayable and they get hit by
a car, both Vayable and me the guide are going to get sued.

What if someone offered skydiving lessons through Vayable. They could
certainly undersell other skydiving outfits if they didn't need to carry
insurance. But as soon as there were an accident, everyone loses.

~~~
DASD
See my comment buried at the very bottom. I agree with you and this opens up
all kinds of professional licensing requirements and property liability
requirements. You can quickly go down a rabbit hole of worrying about
verification/accreditation and Vayable could basically become known as the
best place to work if you're an actuary.

Addendum: This might be a more worrisome problem only in the litigation-happy
US and other similar first world countries. The Vayable landing page for me
shows a tour of Angkor Wat. The last time I was there, I wasn't too concerned
about who I was going to sue if I fell off one of the temples or got sick from
eating something not properly cooked.

~~~
marquis
Because you have travel insurance right? That may be a relevant area for
Vayable to get into for the extra income as a reseller (and in itself it's an
area that needs disruption).

~~~
DASD
No. How relative would that be to domestic travelers or to younger(hostel age-
qualified) travelers who are often already pushing a budget?

------
DASD
So at some point I'm guessing they will run into problems with "experiences"
in popular destinations or large municipal areas which require licensing( e.g.
tourguide/sight-seeing/insert miscellaneous professional requirements).
Ah...the challenge of disruption. Probably not terribly different than the
problems faced by Airbnb or Uber.

