Did You Pack Too Much? Your Suitcase Knows<br />We want to notify your hotel if your flight is delayed.”<br />Business travelers keep their suitcases an average of three years before buying a new one, Mr. Pierucci said,<br />but Bluesmart’s software and firmware upgrades can deliver new features and new partnerships to customers as they are developed.<br />He wants to create an ecosystem to help people “avoid the pain in travel,” he said,<br />by using the accompanying phone app as an online travel information hub.<br />Crowdfunding sites are a great source of investment dollars<br />because the audience “instantly recognizes the value of making travel easier,” said Slava Rubin, a co-founder and the chief business officer at Indiegogo.<br />“Once we establish trust with a customer, and they like what we’re doing, we can start creating other<br />travel products for them,” like travel accessories or organizers that would go inside luggage.<br />When customers are ready to travel, they use the app to notify DUFL of the date<br />and destination of their trip and then “pack” by tapping on the items they want from the photographs on the screen.<br />There is also a set of features focused on making traveling easier, like electronic baggage tags<br />that allow customers to skip luggage check-in lines at the airport, and built-in scales to help travelers avoid fees for checked bags that exceed the weight limit.
