Edwin Chan, CEO and founder of Spottly recently sat down with TravelMole.tv to talk about the location-based social travel app and how it differs from similar services in the market.
Spottly is essentially a platform for users to visually find and discover places, Chan says.
"We curate places through people. The platform can recommend people based on an area of specialization, such as food, shopping and it is an open network allowing people to connect and meet with like-minded people who share the same interests," said Chan.
Spottly has a website but most of the attractions are displayed through the app.
User generated picks are posted by both locals and visiting tourists with every place featuring a searchable geocode and address.
Chan says it differs fundamentally from platforms such as TripAdvisor or Yelp as it provides personal visual recommendations and not a review.
"You are finding places through people that you trust. If you know where you want to go, TripAdvisor is great but Spottly is for people who don’t yet know and want to discover a new place."
In addition to saving a recommendation, users can also check out crowd sourced reviews posted for each place in FourSquare.
A relatively new startup, Spottly is based in Hong Kong and Beijing, and although the service has a global reach, Spottly’s main markets are Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and Thailand.
Chan says the service has gained traction in these markets thanks to its association with Apple as a well publicised featured app.
To view the video interview click here.
