Solving Travel Pain Points the Smart Way

Successful new products must solve genuine pain points for consumers. Bayly’s Melbourne based product design team are experts in the design of smart products.

According to Gabrielle Dewes at Seebo.com, “Anyone who travels frequently is only too familiar with the pains of travel: overweight luggage fees, cramped airplane seating, running around an airport frantically searching for your terminal while pulling a suitcase that weighs half as much as you. Both occasional and frequent travelers are actively looking for ways to make travel simpler and stress-free, presenting the perfect entry point for a fast-growing number of smart luggage products and travel goods.”

Flying is a pain, and fliers already know it

A 2015 SITA passenger survey is the source of published interpretations of 4 types of personas of US travellers that shows that the majority of experienced fliers plan and and then execute their plans to avoid any avoidable risks of travel stress.

Lost or delayed luggage is the single largest stress trigger during travel. According to a Travizon survey, more than 1 in 4 travelers said lost luggage caused them ‘serious anxiety’ during travel; 31% said ‘no lost baggage’ was what made them happiest on a business flight. 79% of the 4,500-plus business travelers in a Booking.com survey pointed to luggage loss as a major pain point.

Smart products can solve major pain points in travel

Travel goods manufacturers have noticed that pain and there are a number of products in or soon to be launched to the market.

The Bluesmart suitcase includes weight sensors and a USB charging port, as well as an automatic locking mechanism and a smart app. Bluesmart currently retails at around $500 (USD). Raden, a suitcase that recently launched, costs only $295 (USD) and provides some of the same functions as Bluesmart, including Bluetooth used when hotspots are unavailable.

Not all the companies are choosing to address all the pain points but are focussed on specific needs.

The Airbolt is an Australian owned smart travel lock that pairs via Bluetooth with your phone to control the opening and closing of the lock. Airbolt uses a crowdsourced GPS network to enable you to see your luggage’s last seen location and costs less than $55 (USD) with no ongoing subscriptions. Bayly have appreciated the opportunity to be involved in the design of the device.

LugLoc is a luggage tracker works by tracking your luggage with your smartphone over GSM. The battery life lasts 15 days and the device fits into your palm. It sends you notifications and even has a map feature. It comes with the option of tracking five items with additional traces available for purchase. Cost for the first 12 months is less than $100 (USD) with an ongoing subscription.

What makes travel goods products a good place for smart products?

A large proportion of travellers are Early Adopters

“One reason the market is primed for that new ‘smart travel’ standard is today’s dependency on technology. The SITA survey points to 18% of travelers who actively look for advancements in travel technology to make their trip easier. This ‘hyper-connected’ group are already actively looking for ways to control their travel experience through technology – online check-ins, tablet use, and “travel process automation”.

There is also a strong correlation between frequency of travel and technology use. A Travizon business survey shows that nearly half of travelers with the greatest travel frequency – one to five times a week – prefer to make business travel arrangements online. These are the consumers who are ready to purchase and appreciate a smart luggage solution with an accompanying app.” says Gabrielle.

Market growth for smart travel products

While it’s clear that consumers want smarter travel solutions, the data shows that companies are already seeing ROI, return on investment, for their smart travel products. The luggage market as a whole hit $14 billion in revenue this year. With revenue from luggage projected to reach $43.4 billion by 2020, the potential business value of smart luggage solutions significant.

Bayly and Seebo make the perfect partners for your next smart product. Bayly is the first and only Australian product design specialists that use Seebo’s IoT, Internet of Things, platform to bridge the gap for companies between the physical and the digital world through a virtualized environment that offers a smart hardware engine, forecasting tools, automation, simplified integration and marketplaces – all on one platform.

Whether you are looking for a complete product design solution or just want to find out more about how you can access the Seebo platform for your projects, contact our Melbourne product design team today at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or give us a call on +61 3 9413 9000. We’d love to chat!

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