Solo Travel, Soft Adventure, and the Main Character Trip

In this episode of Travel Buddy by Switchfly, Ian Andersen is joined by Lucy Mui, Switchfly’s Market Manager and self-proclaimed solo travel enthusiast. Together, they explore the rise of solo adventures, the allure of “main character” trips, and how technology is making independent travel easier and more rewarding than ever. Lucy shares her personal journeys to destinations around the world, and offers practical insights into flexibility, personalization, and the power of authentic connections on the road. Tune in for a lively discussion brimming with tips, stories, and ideas to inspire your next memorable solo getaway.

Chapters
(00:00) Introductions and Solo Travel Experiences
(03:00) Defining Solo Travel and Personal Motivation
(08:00) Technology’s Impact on Travel Confidence
(09:00) Embracing Soft Adventure Travel
(11:00) The Main Character Trip and Personal Fulfillment
(19:00) Connection, Social Media, and Serendipity
(28:00) Implications for Travel and Loyalty Program Leaders

Connect with Switchfly
Website: https://www.switchfly.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/switchfly/
X: https://twitter.com/switchfly
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SwitchflyOfficial

Creators and Guests

Host

Ian Andersen

Demand Gen & Marketing Operations Manager

What is Travel Buddy with Switchfly?

See more at Switchfly.com

Welcome to Travel Buddy,
presented by Switchfly.

In this podcast, we talk about all
things travel, rewards, and loyalty.

Let's get to it.

Brandon Giella: Hello, and
welcome to another episode

of Travel Buddy by Switchfly.

Today, we are talking about solo
travel, soft adventure, and what some

might call the main character trip.

And we have a special guest to
talk to us about this named Lucie

Muhi, who oversees a lot of the
supplier partnerships at Switchfly.

So Lucie, please introduce yourself.

Tell us about yourself today

Lucy Mui: Sure.

Hi everybody.

My name's Lucy Mui.

I the market manager here at
Switchfly overseeing all of

our, supplier partnerships.

So anything from hotels to cars to
activities, I have my hand in those

partnerships, making sure that, our
customers get what, you know, what

we're trying to sell, making sure
that the, the relationship is healthy

and, Switchfly continues to be able
to offer, you know, the best products

Brandon Giella: And you were telling us
before we started recording that you're

a bit of a solo traveler yourself.

So give us a little bit
of your travel history.

Where have you been?

What's your favorite trip?

Lucy Mui: Oh, wow.

That's, that's kind of a hard
question because I've been on so many.

so I've been to probably
about 50 countries.

most of them were solo.

and, favorite trip, that's hard because
there's So many, but a recent one I took

was, I spent two weeks in, in Taiwan.

And, you know, everyone thinks
of Taiwan as just Taipei,

but it's got amazing nature.

I went there f- to do some hiking,
to of course eat, 'cause Taiwan's

got some am- amazing cuisine, and,
to actually practice my Mandarin

because it's a little rusty right now

Brandon Giella: So I would love to
travel to that region of the world.

I've never been more east than
Istanbul, so I've got, I've got some

further ways to go depending on how
you define east and west because,

you know, the globe is a circle.

It's a big circle.

Anyways,

Ian Andersen: don't know

Brandon Giella: okay.

So tell us a little bit about, your
definition or your understanding or

description of solo travel and how that
might, I don't know, distinguish from

more of a, a traditional travel adventure.

'Cause we know that, you know, a lot
of people are kind of taking these

trips to think more about, like, their
interests, their journeys, and just

kind of embarking on their own thing.

And so when you think, like, w-
when people are defining their own

itinerary around something that they
would like to do by themselves, why

is that an important trend for you,
and, and how do you think about that?

Lucy Mui: Well, there's all kinds of, t-
trips and, and travel styles out there.

my definition of solo travel and why
I love to do it, specifically, it's,

you know, there's a lot of places
that I wanna go to that may not be on

everyone's, bucket list or, or travel
destination, ideal travel destination.

And for me, I think travel really broadens
your understanding of yourself, the world.

So, specifically, I don't
wanna wait for someone to say,

"I, I'll go here with you."

So I, I've taken a lot of solo trips
because I feel like if I don't it

now, I might not be able to do it,
and having to wait for someone,

it doesn't always happen, right?

Like, it could be from, you know, waiting
for someone to say, "I wanna see this

show with you," and then tickets sell out.

so if I wanna do something, I do it.

I- if I wanna go to China in December, I'm
just gonna book that, that flight, right?

And, and the world's a lot more
connected than it used to be,

so everything's a lot easier

Ian Andersen: So that's, that's amazing.

I'm very jealous and would love to do
a China trip in December, especially

when it's freezing cold here.

but, do you…

When you're booking your trips,
is it, of location first?

Is it, is there someone s-
somewhere specific you want to go?

Or, do you see what's available
and kinda sort by price?

Do you think of an adventure
you'd like to do and then kind

of hone in on it that way?

How, how do you go about
booking your, your travel?

Lucy Mui: It really depends.

for this specific trip that's coming up,
it's been a decade since I've, I've been

back to China and, I felt like it's time.

I also have…

My, my, my sister and my, my, my
brother-in-law recently went back to

Macau, which is right next to Hong
Kong in, in China, and they did a

little, kind of like homecoming trip.

So I felt like it's, I should do the same.

And, and having recently been to Taiwan,
which is so close to China, I felt like

it's, it's another opportunity for me
to, practice my, my, my, my Chinese.

I, I speak Mandarin and, and Cantonese
and, a local dialect called Taishan.

also, it's a trip that's just been
on my bucket list for a long time

Ian Andersen: Awesome.

Brandon Giella: You're, and
you're going by yourself?

Lucy Mui: I am going by myself.

Brandon Giella: Amazing

Lucy Mui: China has changed a lot.

I, I, I, even from, like, a decade
ago, it's, you know, it's, it's, it's

a country that's, rapidly changed.

They, it's, it's so well-connected now.

Everything's done through an app.

So the fear of doing it
alone is, it's not an issue.

specif- especially if
I speak the language.

you know, reading and writing may
be a different story, but I could

at least communicate with locals

Brandon Giella: Well

Lucy Mui: for everything.

Ian Andersen: it's funny the
more you learn about China, the

more, I mean, fascinating it is.

But like, know, as a kid you think like,
"Oh, people in China speak Chinese."

And then you realize, oh, well,
no, there's Mandarin and Cantonese.

Oh, no, wait, there's like a thousand
dialects of each of them, right?

Like, the language thing alone must
be, must be difficult to navigate

Lucy Mui: It, it is even, so one of
the things that I do here, it's I, I

oversee, this, you know, little strip
on our homepage, featuring a couple of

hotels and, and I- I do the marketing
text for that and select certain,

hotels that kind of fit with the
theme that we're doing for that month.

I have to, do the translations into the
different languages that we support.

one of the languages is Chinese and,
and in the tool that we use, there's

Chinese and simplified Chinese.

At the very beginning, I had to
clarify with the team, like, what's

the Chinese version that we, you know,
the, the, that, of script that we use?

anyway, it's, it's, it's
simplified Chinese that we

Brandon Giella: And can Claude help you
with this or is this-- is AI just…

Okay, that's great.

Good to know.

Okay.

You never know.

n-

Lucy Mui: There's a tool for everything

Brandon Giella: and Noel, every time
we're on the episode together he, he talks

about how complex travel is because of
all these very, very specific, you know,

either it's a currency or, you know,
the exchange rates and the regulations

and compliance issues regarding,
you know, the different localities.

It's just always such
a, such a difficulty.

So yeah, I love that you have
some expertise in that area.

so I know that, you know, we talked
about how i- i-- there's-- this is a,

a growing trend of people traveling
more, by themselves, and I think

e-exactly what you said is there's
an app for everything, whether you're

trying to translate something or
you're trying to pay or hail a-an Uber.

Whatever it is you getting around, it's a
lot easier if you have a smartphone, than

it was, you know, ten or twenty years ago.

My wife talks about when she studied
abroad in, in Italy fifteen years ago

that it-- she had to use a map, you
know, and try to get her way around.

Whereas now it's, you know, of
course you don't need any of that.

You just need your phone.

so I know it's, it's, it's kind
of reduced that, that risk.

but another component is, this idea of
soft adventure, and so this idea that

maybe because of that reduced fear or
risk there-- people are more willing

to be a little bit more adventurous.

Now I am not the adventurous sort.

I like to sit in my chair with a coffee
and a blanket even when I'm abroad.

but some people like to have a, a
little bit more adventurous spirit.

So tell us about how you think of
this trend, soft adventure, and how

you think about having an adventurous
trip when you're solo traveling.

Lucy Mui: Sure.

So when I was younger, I, I, I was more of
the, true adventure seeker type traveler.

I've, I've done the Everest base
camp trek many years ago, and

that was 12 days of suffering.

a- amazing suffering, but,
you know, 12 days of that,

Ian Andersen: That's, that's quite a term.

Yeah.

Lucy Mui: But now, I still incorporate
a lot of hiking into my trips,

now for example, you know, I'll
go hike, in the Alps or, or, or,

or the Dolomites, and I'll do…

I'll base myself out of, a, a, a small
town while do a day hike or, or take

the cable car, 'cause that's available.

get to the peak, and then, you know,
feel some sort of accomplishment.

I've seen the, the, the peaks.

I've seen the, the nature that's
there, and then hike back down or

take the cable car back down and
enjoy a, a delicious three-course

meal at a Mi- a Michelin restaurant
or, or, you know, some equivalent.

you know, that, that in my mind it's,
like, where I'm at in my life, that

stage in my life where I like to do
adventurous things, but at the same time,

I love creature comforts as well, right?

gone are the days where I would even
fathom doing a 12-day hike where you're,

you're, you're, sleeping in a tent
or, you know, eating, dehydrated food.

Brandon Giella: That is 12
days of suffering to me.

I would never, I would never.

Ian Andersen: No

Brandon Giella: so I wanna
roll this into the idea of the

main character trip as well.

So when you think of like, you know,
you are, you know, you have this passion

or this interest, or you wanna go to
this kind of off the beaten path spot

that most people don't think of or
want to go, or nobody's raising their

hand to go, why do you think this
idea that we're seeing on social media

with the main character trip is, is
resonating with travelers right now?

What, what's the, what's the, the thing
underneath the thing, if you will?

Lucy Mui: I think, it's, it's important…

Like, social media has made
everything so easy now, right?

You can find, an influencer that
caters to everyone's different tastes.

And we're living in a world that's
so connected and a little crazy at

times, that it's, it's, it's important,
you know, to be able to, really just

kinda step back and think of, of
exactly makes you happy, what are the

experiences that you've always wanted
to do, what are the things you've want-

you've always wanted to see, right?

in the past, you know, vacations
have always been like, let's

just, it's all about sightseeing.

Now it's more about if I go
to Italy, I wanna take that

cooking class with Nonna, right?

I wanna take, I wanna learn
how to tango if I'm…

I'm, I'm, I'm a terrible dancer, but
I wanna, let's just say I wanna learn

how to tango if I'm in Argentina.

you know, doing the, the take, doing
experiences that make you feel more

like you're part of the local culture.

You're, you're, you're, you're
experiencing something that an

Italian or Argentinian may do.

and you're doing it on your own schedule.

You're, you're, you, you have no
one else you have to answer to,

to if, if the class was terrible.

You, you, it's, it's okay, right?

right

accountable for what happens and,
and, and, it, I, I've had trips

that have gone wrong, you know.

I, and, and it's okay

Brandon Giella: W- what I'm hearing is-

Ian Andersen: stories.

Brandon Giella: Yes, that is very true.

That is very true.

The off the beaten path, I didn't mean
to go here, or I got randomly connected

to this stranger who led me to this
place, and it just turned out amazing.

Got tons of those stories

Ian Andersen: I think to, to weigh in,
I think, you know, Lucy, you're, you're

absolutely right, and Brandon, even in
the way you framed the question as far

as the social media ability, social media
aspect of, our day-to-day lives and, and

finding, you know, whether you call them
influencers or, or channels or whatever

that, that, can speak to your work,
can speak to your hobbies, can speak to

your life as well as, you know, your,
your aspirations for travel as well.

You know, it, there's so
much, external influence.

I wa- I was thinking when, when we
were prepping for this episode about,

100 years ago, you know, taking a
European trip for an American, it

was a luxury, you know, only for the
upper, upper class that would take

weeks if not months of time, you know.

that it wasn't just, you know,
college kids couldn't take a long

weekend and go to Rome or whatever.

Like, the just the availability
and connectedness that Lucy keeps

talking about is, like it's almost
unreal as far as the, the travel

opportunities we have compared to
30, 50, 100 years ago, you know.

and it, you know, it, it,
I think it's wonderful.

I think it's helping a lot of people learn
a n- lot of new things, but it definitely

comes with its own unique challenges.

But, I, like Lucy, love to just sorta
throw a dart at the board and take

off somewhere, every now and then by
myself 'cause I think those can be

the most rewarding, rewarding trips

Lucy Mui: I, I, I 100% agree.

And also having a tr- I, I just have a,
a plane ticket booked right now, right?

But, and I'm not going for a
while, but the months leading

up to it, the planning stage of

Ian Andersen: Yeah.

Lucy Mui: that

Ian Andersen: Yeah

Lucy Mui: people hate trip
planning, but I love it

Ian Andersen: I agree

Lucy Mui: my passion, and

Brandon Giella: Hmm.

Lucy Mui: it'll give, it'll fuel me
through the next couple of months,

Brandon Giella: Why do
you love it so much?

Lucy Mui: trip.

I love it so much because, I'm
controlling my itinerary fully, right?

You, you have, you have these package
holidays out there, for example, right?

Where, you'll, you'll hit
all the main highlights.

But for me, maybe those aren't the
destinations that I wanna go to, or

my, my, what I'm seeking is different
than someone taking that specific trip.

and, you know, being able to plan

The best restaurants I could
possibly eat at in a destination.

where I wanna stay in the heart of like
the, the city or, somewhere more quiet.

In Hong Kong there's a, a of
places you can stay at, but you

know, I'm, I'm quite specific.

and the, the planning stage it's
just kind of gives me that fuel.

Like it, it, it paints this amazing trip
that I have coming up in December and,

gives me something to look forward to.

it's as, it's as simple as that.

It, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's
a privilege to be able to travel

and, I, I fully em- embrace that.

And, and working for a travel company,
I get to look at, you know, hotels,

I get to look at, everything, right?

that's related to travel.

So I'm, I'm definitely in the right
field, you know, in terms of profession.

it's, it's also just, is,
is, is an, an amazing, luxury

Ian Andersen: I wholeheartedly agree.

I love, I, I also just
love that planning stage.

I have, spreadsheets from travels past of,
like, mapped out, okay, the third through

the fifth I'm gonna be here, and, like, a
list of things underneath that I've, I've

found that would be fun to do, and yeah.

No, I totally agree

Brandon Giella: What a

Lucy Mui: with AI, it's so
easy to plan your trips.

Ian Andersen: Yeah.

Brandon Giella: That's right.

That's right.

That's right.

Yeah, it, it's super helpful to…

We, we, we've talked about this on
the show before, but, to be able to

create, just kinda brain dump all
these things that you wanna get out

of a trip and help, and, and allow AI
to help y- help you arrange it maybe.

You know, what's the fastest way?

If I wanted to do this and this,
is there a, a route that actually

makes sense that's not gonna be
overly delayed, that kinda thing,

it can be really, really helpful.

But then

Ian Andersen: too

Brandon Giella: having your expertise,
you know, that you've been there, it

helps a little bit to say like, "No,
no, no, I want this very, very specific

thing that you don't know about."

You know, that could be
re- really great as well

Ian Andersen: I think the soft adventure
t- part of it too, along with kind

of, you know, the solo travel is you
don't necessarily always know how

you're gonna feel day to day, right?

And if

Brandon Giella: Mm.

Ian Andersen: doing a big or, you know,
group travel thing and you have certain

things happening on this agenda, you know,
maybe I don't wanna go to a museum today.

Maybe I wanna just kinda lounge
around at the beach instead or,

you know, whatever, vice versa.

it, it gives you that flexibility
to, to sort of throw all those plans

out the window and do something
else if you want also, you know?

Brandon Giella: Or if you do go to a
museum, let's say the Musée d'Orsay

in Paris, and you actually want to sit
and read the placards at all of the

art pieces while your wife doesn't and
just keeps going, just hypothetically

speaking, not that I would know from
experience, but you can actually sit and

read the placards if you want if you're
by yourself, which would be really great.

Um

Lucy Mui: you're, you're
on your own schedule,

Brandon Giella: Yeah, I love that.

I think that the theme that I, that
I'm hearing in this conversation is

s- is around connection, and that is
travel allows you to connect with,

you know, br- other cultures and,
and the world at large, of course.

But social media, you know, despite
so much of the discussion, a lot of

it warranted about how it creates so
much division, it actually creates a

lot of connection as well, of course.

That is, that is, you
know, it's, its promise.

There's so many trips that I've been on
where we're doing specific things simply

because we saw them on social media.

Going to the London Market, for example,
and seeing, you know, a particular stall

that we saw on social media or going
to a, a, a particular vendor in, in

Italy because we saw it on social media.

And so, and you're allowed to connect
obviously to other people as well

when you're traveling, which it- it's
like people feel less like strangers.

But then at the same time, you're
allowed to connect with yourself.

I think that's such an, a great thing
about this main character trip idea is

that you're the main character, and you're
just kinda reconnecting with yourself,

like Lucy, reconnecting with your past,
your ancestors, your family in different

ways, even by going by yourself, and I
think that's, it's such a cool theme to

think about a solo travel trip actually
making you feel like you're less alone

Lucy Mui: Exactly.

And I think also with, for me a- at
least, when I am traveling by myself,

you know, at a certain point I'm like,
"I just need to meet human beings.

I need to talk to other people.

I need to socialize."

I'm a lot more receptive to the idea
of, you know, talking to a stranger

or, or, or, you know, getting out
of my, my, my usual comfort zone.

I live in New York, for example, right?

I, I…

If I'm on the subway, you
don't talk to anybody.

You're just kinda looking at your phone.

If someone talks to you, you're
like, "What do they want from me?"

You know?

that, that, "He's a weirdo,"
or whatever the case may be.

But what, if I'm sitting on the
subway in Japan and someone tries

to talk to me, I'm all for that.

I, I wanna, I wanna talk to a local.

I I wanna hear what you're, you know,
what, what you w- you have to say.

so I, I tend to let my
guard down a little bit.

and, and, and just take in my,
my surroundings a lot more.

I'm a lot more, focused.

I, I, I…

There's not a million
things going on in my head.

and, you know- talking to a stranger,
it's, you can find out so much.

could learn about what are some great
restaurants you can eat at, you know,

w- i- in the destination that you're at.

or just make a new friend.

I, I, I have this one experience, this
is a couple years ago, before COVID,

actually just right before COVID.

I had taken a trip to, Southern
Africa, and I was in, Victoria Falls.

I was with a group, because Africa's
one of those places that it's

really hard to do solo traveling.

But I had a couple of hours to myself,
and there was like a specific place

that I wanted to see which was, this
bridge that connected Victoria Falls

on the Zimbabwe side to Zambia.

And so I was finding, trying to find my
way from my hotel to see the Zambian side

even though I'm not going over the bridge.

I just wanted to say, "Oh, I saw Zambia."

so got a little lost and, and I
asked a, a police officer, "Can,

can you, can you, show me the way?"

And so then we struck up a conversation.

He's like, "Where are you from?"

Which is the, the first
question most people ask, right?

"Where are you from?

You, you look Chinese,
but you sound American."

anyway, we, we, we started chatting.

He's like, "I'll just take you
where, where you need to go."

It wasn't very far.

But, he's a police officer, and he was
just gonna walk me to, to my destination.

And long story short,
we, we got to the place.

I was like, "Let's take
a selfie together."

So I have a selfie with this man.

We exchanged numbers to be able
to communicate on WhatsApp even

though at that point I was just
like, "Oh, it's never gonna happen.

I'll, I'll give you my number, but…"

he s- when COVID happened, he was
constantly texting me because he read

in the news or, or saw on the news that
there was all this stuff happening in

New York, and he was just checking in

Ian Andersen: Check it in

Lucy Mui: stranger he met, you
know, i- i- in his hometown.

Ian Andersen: That's awesome

Brandon Giella: I love that story.

I love that story.

That, that is exactly the point of
travel, is connecting with people you

would never have reached out to otherwise

Ian Andersen: And Brandon, I mean, we've
talked about that a lot on this show

of like one of the best parts of travel
is just sort of realizing wherever

you go, people are just people, right?

Like there, there's so many, similarities
and, and, connections you can make.

And like Lucy going to Southern
China, you know, I'm sure I would

stand out quite a bit more, than you

Brandon Giella: No, definitely not.

Ian Andersen: initially.

But like, you know, I guarantee I
could go there and find people with

the same interests and the same
senses of humor and, and, you know,

value systems and all that stuff.

And even though some of the like more
superficial language and, and things like

that might be, difficult to, connect with
initially, once you sort of get beyond

that, just dealing with regular people
that you would literally meet next door,

you know, the, the exact same people in
a different, in a different circumstance.

So that's…

I've always loved that about travel

Brandon Giella: Mm-hmm.

Lucy Mui: Yeah.

you just have to find that
one connection, right?

Like, besides travel, which I'm very
passionate about, my other passion

when I'm in New York, it's, pickleball.

Brandon Giella: Oh.

Lucy Mui: the last couple of
trips that I've taken, I've

played pickleball, in Vietnam.

I've played pickleball in Taiwan.

I've played pickleball
in, when I was in Osaka.

Right?

You…

I, I, i- in, in Vietnam, my, the,
I specifically, you know, found

a place and, and, connected with
some people, via Facebook and, they

invited me to join their group.

Most of them didn't speak
English, but pickleball you

just need to know how to score,

Ian Andersen: Yeah

Lucy Mui: right?

Ian Andersen: Yeah.

Lucy Mui: And three hours together, we,
we were like friends afterwards, right?

You know, they offered me their snacks
and, and gave me recommendations of

where I, I, I should go eat in Hanoi.

And, we connected on Instagram and,
and, you know, someday they might

come visit me, and I said, "We'll go
play pickleball here in New York."

Brandon Giella: I can see it now.

The beginning of your social media
influencer career is playing pickleball

on all seven continents, and it's a
great Instagram challenge, you know?

Ian Andersen: Or, or even just like the,
the, the Asian, you know, hemisphere

kind of, expert on pickleball.

Where to go in Asia for

Brandon Giella: Yeah, that's right.

Ian Andersen: be Lucy.

Yeah.

Brandon Giella: great.

That's great.

I love it.

I love it.

I love it.

No, yeah, it's, it, it proves the point
that, the world is smaller than we think.

We're a lot more alike than we think,
and traveling helps you see that,

especially when you travel, solo, because
I, I think to your point, Lucy, I love

what you said that people have, lower
barriers when they're traveling abroad.

I, I-- when I went to London last,
people kept asking me about politics.

What was our political
situation like in America?

Whereas if I'm in Dallas and somebody's
asking me that, it's like, "I don't

know where this conversation's going."

But overseas, it's kind
of fun to just kind of…

They just wanna get to know you,
and they're curious, and it's

just like a fun conversation, so.

Ian Andersen: One, point to quibble
with, there's never been any such

event as a weirdo talking, talking to
you on the subway in New York City.

That has never happened once, ever.

Brandon Giella: Never.

Yeah, that's not been my experience at all

Well, as we close, I want to shift gears a
little bit and talk, about thinking of, of

our audience, which are, are mostly travel
leaders and, and loyalty program leaders.

what is your view or advice for
them when you're thinking about solo

travel, this main character trip idea?

What do you think about, how that trend
relates to their work when they're

thinking about building programs or
thinking about inventory and, and

their travel, you know, programs or the
itineraries that they might be building?

What does that mean to you?

How do you think through that, and
what advice would you have for them?

Lucy Mui: I, I think a lot of the,
the partners that we work with, travel

redemptions is just a small component
of the offerings that they may have,

that, their employees can redeem.

I, I, I personally feel like there should
be more emphasis on promoting, that you

do have this program that's out there.

you know, your employees work hard.

You've g- you've awarded
them these points.

travel is, like, one of the best,
ways to incentivize them, right?

Like, they'll go on their vacation,
and they'll come back just with, you

know, refreshed and, and possibly with,
you know, a, a different attitude or

perspective and, and, and learnings.

so, I don't think there's enough
emphasis right now on just promoting

some of the travel, benefits that
are available to their employees.

You know?

Gift cards are nice, but the
satisfaction that you will get from

redeeming points for, you know, a
cooking class in Hong Kong or, or, in

Sicily, that's gonna stick with you
a lot longer than that $50, Amazon

gift card that I then use to redeem,
you know, toothpaste or whatever it

may be.

Ian Andersen: She buys really nice
toothpaste if you, if you don't, Yeah.

Brandon Giella: $50 toothpicks.

Lucy Mui: of it.

Ian Andersen: That's, that's

Lucy Mui: bulk

Ian Andersen: some…

Brandon Giella: That's a great point.

w- do you think that, that technology or,
or kind of the way that, that, you know,

a lot of the industry is kind of evolving
now, do you see that as helping create

personalized recommendations or unique
experiences like what you're saying?

it's kind of a leading question, but just
the idea of, like, there, there are new

ways to create these kind of experiences,
especially for solo travelers trying

to build their own custom itinerary
w- for things that matter to them.

Do you think that there's some kind
of, like, interplay there that you're

seeing with your, your data, your,
your partners, the platform, anything

like that, that might help them think
about new ways to create travel?

Lucy Mui: I, so I, I think, not
specifically, Switchfly, but in general,

a lot of the websites that are out
there, they cater more to, like, two

people traveling or couples, right?

Like, y- you know, there's always
some sort of fee if you're,

if you're, you're going alone.

You know, you're paying for a double room.

And, it's Solo travel, a solo traveler's
gonna look for something different

than, you know, a couple, you know,
a couple traveling together, right?

so that's one.

You know, like, there's just everything
that's out there for the most part, it,

it's designed for, more than one traveler.

an- another one is, the way I travel
specifically, when you're You know, y-

you know you're gonna save if you bundle
a h- a hotel and, and flight together,

but I don't know of any websites that
allow you, let's say, to book your flight

to, my three-week flight to Hong Kong,
but I wanna book a stay as well, but

it's gonna ask you to book three weeks
in Hong Kong, and that's not what I wanna

Brandon Giella: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Hmm.

Lucy Mui: wanna be able to have that
flexibility to, okay, I wanna still save

on my hotels, 'cause that's the point of
booking a bundle, but allow me to break

up my itinerary so that I can go days
in Hong Kong, three days in Macao, the

rest of the trip, you know, in different
places in, in, in, in, in, in China.

Right?

Having that flexibility.

maybe there are websites out there
that, that do this, but I've been

in this industry for, for, for many
years and, and I don't know of any

Brandon Giella: That's it

Ian Andersen: tried to do some of that.

I believe, working with some of our
product team on, on the platform there,

there is some kind of ways to do that.

I don't know exactly how front
and center that availability or

that, that, functionality is,
but, but no, you're totally right.

I mean, I think flexibility in
general is just a huge part of

the, the personalization aspect
of, of travel offerings, right?

Like being able to, to, to modify,
you know, certain packaged items, to,

to fit your needs a little better.

and with the rise of, of travel
booking and on, on personalization,

I, I think hopefully we're
gonna see a lot more of that

Lucy Mui: Yeah, websites are
definitely getting smarter.

They know a lot about me and, you know,
when I return, to those websites, the, you

know, for, on Switchfly I know a, a lot
of what is on the homepage is personalized

for, based on, you know, my, my searches.

so if I'm searching for, Hong Kong,
it's gonna, offer me, you know, h-

here are some price drops at hotels
that, are in Hong Kong, or here are

some activities that are available.

and you know, that's, that's evolved
s- so much since when I first started

doing solo trips of the days of
s- carrying a Lonely Planet around

and, and looking at the different
sections for, for, for recommendations

on hotel, hotels, restaurants.

you know, they, it, it's, it's come a long
way, but I think, knowing s- everything

that it knows about me, some of these
websites, which is a lot, I, I, I, I…

The expectations are higher
from the consumer, right?

I, I, when I search for hotels in a city,
offer me the most expensive hotel because

you're gonna make the most money, right?

I want you to actually offer me
something the f- top of the search

that's Lucy's, you know, gonna buy,

Brandon Giella: Mm-hmm.

Lucy Mui: right?

I, I, w- we're getting
there, but it'll take

Ian Andersen: Big time.

Yeah.

Brandon Giella: Yeah.

Ian Andersen: I think

Brandon Giella: Yeah

Ian Andersen: an important point that,
that's a big theme on our show is loyalty

is, more about more than just, you know,
discounts on a, the next buy, right?

It's, it's building that, that holistic
sort of ecosystem for, for travelers

to like, you know, there's a reason
to be loyal to a specific provider,

Brandon Giella: Yeah

Ian Andersen: and offering
that, Lucy's exactly right.

It's, it's not you know, destination
personalization, but it's actually

real personalization in that, you know,
if you're taking a lot of solo trips,

you know, starting to bubble up the
activities and hotels and things that

are more aligned with a solo traveler.

so yeah, it's

Brandon Giella: Yeah.

Yeah, that technology's not far away.

That, that feature's coming, coming
sooner than we think probably.

You know, typing in a couple of
different things about you and where you

wanna go, and it creates a very, very
custom itinerary and a good package.

You know, I think Lucy,
that's a great point.

You can't get the bundles to,
to get, you know, broken up

as personalized as you'd like.

That's, that's a hard thing to do.

But, well, this has been
such a good conversation.

Lucy, thank you so much for your
insight and your wisdom, your expertise

in this area, based on all your
experience doing this over the years.

And I know that one day there is going
to be a really great pickleball bundle

that you're gonna build for people,
and I'm very excited to, to see that.

Ian Andersen: Lucy, Lucy's package, yeah

Brandon Giella: Lucy's package.

This is great.

Well, Lucy, thanks so much.

I love talking about connection,
solo travel, and doing things on

your own, but trying to, relate to
others as well, and other cultures,

and people around the world.

So thank you so much, and I hope
to have you back on the show

Lucy Mui: Thank you.

Ian Andersen: Definitely.

We're definitely bringing Lucy back.

Brandon Giella: That'd be great.

That'd be great.

Ian Andersen: Sure.

Brandon Giella: always a pleasure.

We'll see you guys next time