Greether: award-winning women-led travel platform with founder Vanessa Karel

Dolores Semeraro interviews Vanessa Karel, founder of the award-winning women-led travel guides Greether. 

Vanessa Karel, a second-time founder, shared her journey from being stranded in Morocco during the pandemic to creating Greether, a platform connecting female travelers with local greeters for safe and authentic travel experiences. 

She highlights the $125 billion female travel market and the 90% of female travelers seeking safer travel options. Greether, now in over 100 countries, employs women and offers personalized services. 

Turning an Idea into a Reality: Greether was born. 

• Identifying a problem with a large market opportunity
• The challenges of building a travel startup
• The importance of building a network to succeed in the entrepreneurial journey

The Evolution of Greether - from startup prodigy to?

• The growth of Greether, which started as an idea and has now become a global platform connecting female travelers to local greeters
• The potential of the female travel industry, which is valued at $125 billion, and the increasing spending power of women

Addressing Solo-women Travel Concerns and Risks

• Risks and concerns for travelers, particularly solo female travelers
• Consideration on factors like arrival times, communication with loved ones, and the physical demands of travel.
• Slow travel and getting to know local cultures over rushing through multiple destinations.

The Impact of Greether on Local Communities

• Greether creates jobs for women, providing them with additional income and opportunities for empowerment.
• Potential for Greether to support women-owned businesses and enhance the overall travel experience for female travelers.

Dolores Semeraro is a sought-after international tourism keynote speaker and sustainable tourism marketing professional.

Dolores actively works in the tourism and travel conference space as a keynote speaker and moderator, gracing the stages of international tourism summits and trade shows.

As a professional keynote speaker, Dolores’ speaking topics encompass sustainable digital marketing for the tourism industry, how to establish digital mastery, and learn how to identify today’s traveler’s needs.

During the pandemic, Dolores launched her podcast show named ‘Truth Behind Travel Podcast’ where she regularly interviews tourism and travel industry leaders and representatives on how to rebuild the future of travel.

In the recent years, Dolores has continued to work and live on beautiful islands such as Mauritius, where she started her tourism and hospitality marketing consultancy working closely with the Mauritian luxury hospitality sector as corporate trainer.

According to her international clients, Dolores is a gifted trainer and intuitive workshop facilitator.

She is now based in Europe where she actively works as keynote speaker and corporate trainer in the tourism industry.

www.doloressemeraro.com

dolores@doloressemeraro.com

Instagram @dolores_semeraro

LinkedIn @dolores.sem

Chapters

• 3:00 Turning an idea into reality
• 6:00 The evolution of Greether
• 8:17 Addressing travel concerns and risks
• 13:10 Differences between Greether and traditional greeters
• 17:26 Expanding Reach
• 27:00 The impact of Greether on local communities
• 34:00 Future plans and partnerships

Transcript

Dolores Semeraro: 0:01

Welcome back to the show, and welcome Vanessa. I am excited to have you on the show. I've heard so much about you. We met briefly, and now finally, we can have a good chat. Welcome on the podcast.

Vanessa Karel: 0:13

Thank you, Dolores. Really great to be here, and I'm so happy we we were destined to bump into each other, and from the first moment we met, you gave me advice,

Dolores Semeraro: 0:24

yes, we met briefly. It was literally moments before you get on stage. And you did get on that stage, and you won travel startup of the year at WTM 2024 congratulations.

Vanessa Karel: 0:37

Thank you. Thanks a lot.

Dolores Semeraro: 0:39

Shall we start with literally, an overview of your journey and what really brought you to the person you are today, up to the point of creating Greether.

Vanessa Karel: 0:51

Well, I am a second time founder. I think that I've always been an entrepreneur, just by nature, and because, you know, a lot of times I really needed to create opportunities for myself, and that has led me constantly to create companies or businesses. However, we heard something really interesting and magical happened. I've been traveling solo for a long time, since I was very young, and however, it wasn't until 2020, when the pandemic hit, that I found myself in a in a situation where I kind of got a little stranded in Morocco, and I was really needing a service like what great her provides, and I couldn't Find it. So that kicked off a series of events in which I went through a, you know, a rabbit hole, and started doing a lot of research and writing a lot about this idea of how impactful women traveling the world can be, and the lack of female tour guides globally, and, you know, the lack of platforms that help women travel more confidently and safely, and then realized that I wasn't alone. We're looking for a solution, like the one I built, that for me was a moment of like, this is this is something I really want to pursue. I started interviewing over 500 female travelers, and 90% of them were saying, This is my biggest safety concerns, and I really would like a service that did this and that and now. So I was like, This is it. I'm gonna do a bit. So I started, I guess, building greet her as a personal, you know, journey, I guess, because I really wanted a service like this, but then I discovered that more women wanted it as well. And you know, fast forward to today, we have a platform that connects female travelers to local greeters globally, who you can book to navigate destinations in a really safe and authentic way. So all of our services have been designed with women in mind, and female travelers in particular, in need. So it's been an interesting journey, and super exciting to see it now in action after, you know, being it just an idea at the beginning.

Dolores Semeraro: 3:18

your trip to Morocco triggered a need, and that need became an idea, the idea became a project, and the project then became a reality. Tell me, how did you turn an idea into a reality? Because this is an entrepreneurial journey, and many, many of our podcast listeners are working in the tourism and travel industry, and they recognize the challenge of actually making that night, turning an idea into reality, and sometimes that can be also overwhelming. So I'd like to give them the opportunity to learn from you and to actually be inspired by, what by? How did you turn an idea into a project that then became so successful?

Vanessa Karel: 4:10

I love that question, because I think many people, and maybe almost everyone, has an idea, you know, for a business or a project or and it all starts with discovering a problem and then coming up with a solution. I think, for the first you know, when you're in idea stage, you need to think about how many people would care for this problem to be solved, and, most importantly, will they pay to get it solved? You know, I think that's also a good question to ask yourself. And also, how big is the market opportunity? You know, because there's a lot of businesses that start trying to solve problems that are for very few people, but what you need to, I think, where there is the bingo moment is like where there's big markets in which a lot of people would benefit from this. I started with sending my idea everywhere. And anywhere Dolores, you have no clue how many pitches I did, you know, and I started writing a business proposal, and I just went on Google and I searched opportunities for idea stage entrepreneurs, and I sent my idea to two incubators in which I got selected in both. One was at Europe, and one was in Silicon Valley. I reside in San Francisco, so it made sense for me to do the one here is kind of like a school, like a program, you know, for entrepreneurs, and they help you get from idea, from A to B, kind of, you know. And I, as I mentioned, I've had businesses before, and I co founded a company before as well. But this is my first travel startup. You know, this is my first startup in which you have to pitch investors and create a pitch deck. And that was that incubator helped me understand this world more and network. Because I had no network whatsoever. I did not know any single person. I had to build everything from scratch and, you know, and I think that's what put me kind of like in the right path.

Dolores Semeraro: 6:07

when does exactly a startup becomes a business? So how long are you allowed to be called yourself a startup?

Vanessa Karel: 6:15

Then, I think when you are already a very profitable business, and you're being around for many years, you know, that's a great question. Dolores. And I think, you know, if you think about companies like meta or Google, you wouldn't think of them as startups anymore, but they were once a startup, basically, that's kind of like the foundation of the business. And a lot of times, you know, businesses take a long time, especially if you want to scale it at a level like a meta or of Expedia, you know. And you have to look back to their history. It takes at least 10 years to build a really good, solid business where you you again, get rid of the startup title for sure.

Dolores Semeraro: 7:00

And when do you want to get rid of yours?

Vanessa Karel: 7:02

Oh, my God, that's a great question too. Hopefully soon. Just kidding. No, I think we still have a growth road ahead of us. We're still very early stage. I think that greet her is poised to be one of the most disruptive travel companies that's been made. And we're we heard it stay for a long time.

Dolores Semeraro: 7:22

Hopefully you've started Greether basically out of the incubator in Silicon Valley, and now you have a global platform growing every day with a network of people that comes in into the platform and doesn't just act as a tour guide, but they effectively are people that welcome women, women, solo travelers, into destinations, and it's women for women. Correct,

Vanessa Karel: 7:51

correct, yeah, I discovered, you know, and I think a lot of people, and like industry leaders, are realizing the huge potential that there is in the female travel industry. It is $125 billion opportunity. Women are making most of the travel decisions. And there is we are deciding where the money is being spent, even if you're traveling solo or your partner. Our concerns, our biggest concerns, are still not addressed fully in the market. And this is where we come in. It's not just a matter of, oh, it's just for it's just for what girls, you know, no, it's for the majority of travelers. So that's, you know, every time someone thinks that of greet her as a niche business, I make sure to correct them. We're not a niche business. The majority of travelers out there today in the world are women, and it's really exciting. We We all know that, thankfully now, nowadays is the first time ever where women have the most spending power, and women are not longer following the traditional paths of, you know, being mothers and staying home and cooking for their husbands. I think women are choosing different lifestyles, and that's showing, that's showcasing through, through the travel movement, and a lot of the digital nomads and things post pandemic even expedited this movement even more.

Dolores Semeraro: 9:15

What are the things that they underestimate the most? You think when it comes to travel planning, or even just no planning, just in the act of traveling, like when they are they are, when they are at the destination, when they're moving, when they are exploring. What are the elements that you have recognized are often underestimated and could lead to a potential risk.

Vanessa Karel: 9:42

I think it really depends on on your age stage to think Dolores. You know, you and I both travel when we were really young, and we did the hostile life and things like that. And so I think the factors that you underestimate at that age are completely different. The ones you underestimate in later life, but some of them are just thinking about, I think, as a female travelers, you have a responsibility to make sure that you are protecting yourself. Unfortunately, that is, that is the reality. You can not, not think that, for example, you can do things as finding flights that will arrive during the daylight at the destination that you're traveling to, really simple things like that. Really can adjust, you know, how you experience a destination. And also, I think a lot of the times, is we're seeking this wonder lost and this like, let me get lost, whatever. Please don't get lost from your your loved ones, you know, make sure that someone knows where you are and where you're going to be, where you're supposed to arrive. I think it is really important for solo female travelers specifically, and also for we're seeing a rise in senior female travelers as well. And I think one of the things that I see them underestimate too, is how exhausting sometimes moving from place to place to place is even if you're young, right? And I think that it's good to, you know, dive into slow travel. I think slow travel is so magical. And currently, with social media and whatnot, we are glamorizing like visiting 10 countries during the summer, and that really doesn't show you the the full picture of a place sometimes, you know, and I understand, you know, if you're from North America, you only have like, seven, or, you know, 13, like PTO days a year, and some of them, you want them for a holiday, So you have really short windows. But then I really encourage people to think about how much you want to get out of a place, and selecting a place to stay there for like, a week, you know, and really getting to the culture, meet some local people, try their local food, not just the tourist traps.

Dolores Semeraro: 11:57

You know, it's true, and in many cases it's the fast pace of travel doesn't just disconnect us from places, but also it exposes us to risks. Because you move more you are transferring from place A to place B, often at the mercy of whatever transport system is available at the destination that you are traveling to or that you are exploring. I personally traveled across China, solo traveler. I was 25 and I traveled from the north, from Beijing to the very south, the Yunnan Province. And the train ride alone took three days. These are things that happened 20 years ago, and I was a bit naive, and I was thinking nothing can happen. And I think that naiveness, somehow it's still there, even if we are, you know, in 2025 as we are recording this podcast, and we have the internet, we have social media, we have all the informations. We manage to put ourselves at risk, not to do the homework properly, I guess. But, and I've seen networks of greeters around the world, particularly in Europe, the greeters are people most of the time, voluntarily, that are very proud of their hometown, and they become this kind of little army to of welcoming tourists and visitors. How is Greether different from them?

Vanessa Karel: 13:34

We did not invent the term greeter, and it's been a known thing. However, I like to say that our greeters are like a modern concierge slash friend slash tour guide, and how we're different. Well, first of all, you know, the greeter platforms are, really, are great and and, you know, they're volunteer based. They're usually, tend to be nonprofits. And one of the things is that and how us, we are going into the future and trying to be more innovative in travel, through technology, travelers are looking for flexibility. They're looking for personalization. They want to feel that that the only person that they're exploring Paris. They don't want to think of other people being around them, and I think greet her. What we do is that we provide you that comfort and peace of mind, that you will have someone there when you go to the greeter platforms. Maybe you'll get a response from a greeter that's available. Maybe you want you know, because it's volunteer based, they could cancel on you. They're not someone who's going to be as reliable as someone who actually have hired to help you. So actually, also on top of this, we connect to you before you even travel to the destination. That's something that greater platforms don't do you meet them. Right there, and then you're, you know who's going to greet you, etc. However, through greet her, once you're matched, you have access to this person in this city or this destination who's already there waiting for you, and she's trying to get to know you, because she wants to give you the best experience. So everything is personalized as much as you can. And you you get all of these expertise pre pre traveling, you know, which is so helpful, you know, when you're traveling to a place you've never been to, or you're not sure about the culture, or like, Hey, how's the weather? You know, we see a lot of great things come out from these free pre arrival conversations. And you also select the meetup spot the time length that you want the greeter to be with you. So I think the greeter platforms are great as well for someone on a budget, and they work, everything will be tailored to you, and they have been completely vetted and verified through software and documents. So we also add that layer of safety to a platform every single person has gone through a verification process and a training so they know what they're doing, and they have a protocol they have to follow every time they have an experience, because we're in over 100 countries, so we need to remain a consistency throughout the cities where we end. So we have created our secret sauce recipe for what our greeters are going to be doing once they meet with their travelers.

Dolores Semeraro: 16:23

So you said we that the greeter network is already present in over 100 countries. Yes, and these destinations are destinations where, obviously, whoever has joined the network feels compelled to welcome, protect, guide, assist visitors. We just talked about elements of safety and and travel concerns across destinations, especially as a solo traveler, as a woman solo traveler in your experience as you are developing, read her, which destinations have you observed to be more responding to this type of travel pattern.

Vanessa Karel: 17:03

I don't know the whole world, you know, yet I've but and I'm still meeting a lot of tourism boards. Actually, one of the reasons why I went to WTM was because I wanted to meet with more tourism boards. And we're now beginning to work with tourism boards and trying to give them travel assessments as to how they're doing with women traveling. So in fact, to mention someone here, because you put me on the spot, Dolores, we did a partnership with visit Tulum. That's one of the most upcoming destinations. People traveling all over all around Europe, there and North America and and it's, it's a it's a hub, right? However, Tulum has been dealing with a lot of really bad reputation as well, and they know that they really need their female traveler community to know that this is a safe place. We give them a certification for their efforts of improving the well being of female travelers in the in the destination, and we worked with them for a few months in to do research and assess where women were finding themselves more stressed out or like worried about their well being while they were traveling into loom. And we gave them a set of actions to do to make the destination more friendly for women. On top of it, we incorporate, incorporate our services into loom now they recognize how needed a service like Greether is in their destination. So I've been seeing, you know, destinations like them and some others, like in the Europe, in Europe, I think, very fast forward thinkers, and so a lot of them have already noticed the big need of serving to cater to women, but not just them. Like destinations like Morocco, they're doing a really good job at addressing these concerns, and things have improved a lot destinations that aren't doing that as well. You know, I would say some some countries in Asia, and I don't want to name a lot, because, you know, I think all of the tourism boards where they're seeing a lot of traffic have the opportunity to to notice this trend and address it. It is true that you hear more about some destinations than others when women come back with complaints, and unfortunately, some have built a reputation around that and and that stops other new travelers from going there. And that's one of the things. Like I did begin great here, because I had an uncomfortable situation in Morocco, but I still want everyone to go. I think it's a fantastic destination. I love that. I love the culture. People are so nice, so kind, but I did experience uncomfortable situations. So I think there's no such a thing as a unsafe place. There's Unsafe people, you know, and every place can be safe or unsafe. It really doesn't matter where you are.

Dolores Semeraro: 19:57

So let me rephrase the question, if I may. I. Which destination would you really, really, really love to work with and bring the greater concept that doesn't have it yet and has it hasn't tapped into that potential.

Vanessa Karel: 20:11

Something that came to my mind right now is Egypt, like countries like Egypt, have a really bad reputation currently with how women and actually men, too, feel when they're navigating I've not personally been so I can't say from my own criteria, but from what we read, we haven't had travelers go there yet. So definitely, there's an opportunity. And actually, interestingly, so I think there's a lot of stigma, especially from travelers coming from North America, in regards to going to Middle East countries, and I think there's a huge opportunity for us to do partnership with Saudi Arabia tourism, because it's such a safe destination. But people don't know much about it. They hear all these things in the news, in the media, and they're like, I don't know if it's safe for women. Can I go there? Do I have to cover my head. And there's so much culture that's happening there. And really, they're really like hospitable people. And I think we definitely could, you know, work on a partnership there to bring awareness. Female travelers should not be having to worry about their safety. We should focus about how we enjoy a destination better.

Dolores Semeraro: 21:17

You know, instead, safety is, as you said, it's not about a place not being safe. It's about people and Ill intended. People are everywhere regardless, right? They are in Italy, they can be in France, they can be in Mexico, they can be in the US or even China, or anywhere, anywhere really, even as we were just mentioning earlier about the events that just happened in Vietnam, the poisoned alcohol that some of the backpackers had and that led to tragedy, I think that there's an opportunity for destinations To observe who is actually coming to their destinations, to who is coming into their towns, into their villages, into their natural attractions, into their you know, landmarks observe not just the number of the visitors, but the quality of visitors. What do they do, if I may call it the gender, such a big word nowadays, and understand really the dynamics of people visiting the destinations. When you look at the network of greet her, and you observe those using the network and those instead working, so to speak, as greeter team in the network. What is the age range that you have observed and where in which part of the world? I'm curious, because it may seem to be to have quite a stigma of, oh, this is something for the young people, but is it?

Vanessa Karel: 22:58

Is it really we're definitely not for backpackers, absolutely not. So actually, something happened. I began rehearsed for people like me. I'm a millennial in my early 30s. I imagine that everybody who was going to be using rehab was going to be a profile very similar to me, someone who has a little bit more money to spend on comfort has graduated from the hostel life wants a little bit more of a personalization and unique experiences. And that is somehow true. And actually, we're doing our end of year report as we speak and pulling the data. And every year that we've done it, it's been changing a little bit, but what happened was that we received a lot of press coverage last year who's watching the news is older women, and so we started seeing an uptick in bookings from women who are 40 and above, 50 and above, and even almost 80 years old, traveling with greet her. And a lot of them had never traveled before, and then they discovered greet her, and they felt confident to do it. So definitely we are from all ranges. We have also had parents who have booked greeters for their 18 year old daughters on their first Europe trip. So I think that we do cater to a broad spectrum in regards to who the greeters are, I would say that there is more of a specific demographic of age there. I don't know the data on top of my head, because we have greeters in number 1000 cities, I would say, from what I can see, because I see their their profiles, and there usually are women in their late 20s and early 30s. But depending on the destination, sometimes we have older women, I would say, a lot of in Latin America, we get sometimes to work with expats, and expats sometimes tend to be a little bit on the 40 plus side. And then in countries in Europe, our graders have a little bit more younger profile. But we where we are seeing traffic the most, actually, is not. Really correlating with safety concerns right away. It's more about women are looking at our services as a way to connect with someone local and really explore a place like a true local there. You know, it's not just about, oh, I'm going to be safer. Yes, you will be safer by default, because have someone on the ground you can reach out to for help. They can tell you what, what places to avoid, because they give you safety tips. But on top of that, it's more about having someone who can really tell you what it's like to be there as a woman, I was recently in Bosnia for the first time, and I had a greether, and I went to most star and if, if I had not had my greeter, I would not have been able to go to black eye, which was my first place that I needed to go to when I booked up a trip to Bosnia, because they don't have a bus schedule in anywhere online, you have to find it like on a newspaper somewhere. And she she sent me a screenshot of it, and she told me what time I needed to be and where I need to be. So those are the type of things that people just think that worldwide, you have access to things online. No, it's really different according to the place you're in. And I also got to to learn from her about, you know, Bosnia had a incredibly sad recent past, and I got to learn about her family and how her family struggled through the war, and those are the little things that you wouldn't get from a regular tour guide as much, because you will get the same speech today, Dolores that I will get tomorrow with a tour guide, and they'll tell you the history of this wall. But this is more like having a friend. Is almost like when you arrive and you have a friend living there, and she's ready to show you her local gems and tell you stories, and this is what I call travel luck. I think what we do agree her, is enabling that. Think we enable it to be faster and easier, because when you're on the road, you have to trust that that person is trying to do something nice for you, but with great hair, you know that that person has been hired to do a good job and to treat you well and to show you a great time.

Dolores Semeraro: 27:09

And the greethers are voluntary?

Vanessa Karel: 27:15

No, they get paid. So this is also how we are different from, you know, the greater platforms that people in Europe are used to, one of the things that we have been recognizing most is because we are targeting some of the most important SDGs, you know, by the UN and is generating jobs for women. So every time you're using our services, you're also employing women and putting money in their hands, which creates great social impact. And it's really refreshing to know that when you're traveling, you can spend your your money wisely, right, and impact the local economies. And that is one of our number one you know, things is like, how do we keep employing women? And every time that we have a new destination is exciting, you know, because we're like, Okay, now we're employing women in Cambodia. Now we can start enrolling women in Uzbekistan, you know. So it's really, it's really exciting to see that and and for our travelers to to tell us, I booked a grid because I wanted to impact women's economy too. And it, there is something about it that is just so magical. A lot of times these women are mothers. They needed extra income a lot of times, there maybe are tour guides already, but they're not getting as many bookings. So this is another platform for them to get more income. A lot of times they're students. And you know, when you're student, you're struggling, usually. So this is a great way to earn, you know, a gig economy supplement income.

Dolores Semeraro: 28:41

It's about empowerment as well. I mean, I'm thinking the western countries and the Western cultures, seems quite normal that that we help someone, and we put ourselves out there to to become a greeter, for example. I'm also thinking at this as a tool of empowerment for those cultures where the stereotype of a woman in the street walking with strangers, even foreigners, it's actually a very contradictory sort of contrasted sort of concept, for example, Middle East or Asia, or even certain areas of Africa, it's not that easy to have a woman that decides to even though they want the extra income, and this is absolutely legit, and there's nothing wrong with it, but traditionally, they have to fight against the mentality of the place. Have you? Have you come across stories like this where potential destinations or potential greeters was like, really, really, would really, really, really would love to do it, but you know, the whole scenario around them would prevent them from doing it.

Vanessa Karel: 29:49

Not yet, fortunately, not necessarily. However, in some destinations, has been harder for us to find them. They're not sometimes, in some destinations, we. Women have different access to technology, so if they're harder to find, or unfortunately, they don't speak English in some destination, so we can't have them, because most of our travelers are English speakers, you know? And it's unfortunate, you know, it's frustrating. We're like, Oh my God. We really want you to have, you know, to be in our platform, but that is one of the reasons we created the greater concept in our company, is because there is a lack of female licensed female tour guide. So this is kind of a hybrid. It also provides an opportunity for women who were interested to join the industry, but they weren't allowed to because of society or cultural norms, there is a huge gap in in the industry in which, you know, unfortunately, there's not enough. We are trying. We're actually working currently. We're planning with the "Women in Travel" out of London with Alessandra. We're constantly on calls and trying to see, how can we train more women? How can we bring them into the industry? Yes, there is places where it's harder for them to gain some independence and earn an income, but we've had success. For example, in we had greeters in Tanzania, in villages, and we've had greeters in places like Jordan, we have greeters now registered. We haven't had travelers go there, but in Mongolia, and actually, we received a request from these female guides in Afghanistan. And this really crazy, you know, they're doing a lot of great things on social media, and we're like, yes, we want you. We don't know if we're going to bring you travelers soon, but it's great to have them on a platform for when travelers are ready to go to these places. We also get requests sometimes from places that we don't have greeters in, and if we have enough time, we'll try to find them. But we have failed in destinations like Sri Lanka, we had a traveler going there, couldn't find someone there. So this is a call. If you guys know any Sri Lankan possible greeters. Please let them send them more away. Um, so we're always looking for more, and we are sure that as we grow, we're going to see those trends you mentioned. For the most part, women are really excited to support each other, you know. And as you said, it is about empowerment. We do see a lot of friendships being formed. We are also seeing travelers using us for the aspect of feeling less lonely, and that is such a win. Definitely see that there is a niche there for women, people who feel lonely, they don't want to do things alone. We had traveler book a greeter tickets to go to Disneyland in Paris with her because she just wanted someone to go with her to Disneyland. It's more fun to go with someone there. You know, we've had travelers who took their greeters on a movie premiere. Literally, people have made it what her day they decide to. And it really is fascinating, because it's, it's serving a really need, that big need.

Dolores Semeraro: 33:03

I've been to Sri Lanka many times, and in my days when I was working in Maldives, and I cannot imagine a more hospitable country. So I really, really hope, even with this podcast, I know we have a lot of people listening from Sri Lanka, if you have anyone that that you think could fit the the persona and could actually be the perfect greeter to the destination. Get in touch with Vanessa. And anyway, we will have show notes links to get in touch with you and with the platform. And lastly, if I look back at the path, very young path, very new, very recent path of greet her. I see a lot of awards and a lot of recognitions. You've won everything that is to be won as a startup. And now let's look together at the future of Greether, and where does that future is going to take you and your team, and what do you envision for it?

Vanessa Karel: 34:04

I really want greet her to be the platform where anytime a woman is traveling, they're coming to us. Right now, we're serving service, but we're noticing a lot of demand for other products, and so we're working on it. We really are excited to partner, to begin partnerships with, as I mentioned, destinations, but also with brands. We currently have a pilot out with Expedia, for example, we're looking at, you know, how can we empower women just beyond our services through technology, and enhance your experience while you're there, but also help our travelers support women owned businesses in the destination you're traveling to. So this is a call for anyone who's listening. You have a service in a destination that you know serves female travelers or like potentially, you could use some female travels. Customers reach out to us because they're already working on a product for this. And we really want to be that platform where, you know, women that are looking for the best recommendations for accommodations, and, you know, activities to do in this, in this places we're working on that. So that's how we see our path. And we begin this year with B to B partnerships. And you know, before, we weren't doing that. So we are going to through that path. And you know, as the year begins, we're going to be strategizing of how to do that better. But of course, you know, we're, we're still a startup. It's still our focus, still to serve our our most important need and our mission, and how to make it better with technology and human power.

Dolores Semeraro: 35:44

I think every travel gives an opportunity for people to connect on something that they can, on something that they have in common, so to speak. And I think on this platform, specifically on greet her, you will find people that will help you find what you like and will make it, do it with you like. They will join you along the way. They won't just, you know, usher you there and then leave you alone. And I love the connectivity part of it, the social aspects, the empowerment, new energy, the new ideas. So thank you so much for bringing all this on the podcast. There are many people. Many of the podcast guests have mentioned the success of Greether and the idea that propelled this project to become a reality. So what I will do is to leave an open door on the podcast and have you back when you don't call yourself a startup anymore, and tell me how that looks like, how that feels like, and how has grid heart changed at the meantime, and what it has become, Deal?

Vanessa Karel: 36:58

Deal. Yeah, let's do it.

Dolores Semeraro: 37:00

Love the concept and the energy. All the best for all the work ahead. I know there's a lot, but there's a lot of energy to go with it. And thank you so much for joining us today.

Vanessa Karel: 37:11

Thank you Dolores and Goodbye everyone. Bye.