When the Tour Us App is released, we want members to understand that the full benefits of a community like ours can only be realized if everyone plays their part as an early member. As early adopters, we assume you share our vision of what travelers look for in a vacation experience — something that can’t be bought: a unique human connection. To show our appreciation, followers of our social media accounts will receive exclusive early access to promotions and incentives for helping grow the community. As we’ve mentioned, a platform this large only works with the collaborative effort of its members.

Our initial marketing strategy will focus on cruise lovers, specifically supporting brands like Carnival, Virgin Voyages, and Royal Caribbean. We’ve chosen these brands because our research shows they align closely with our target audience. As we grow, we plan to add more brands to accommodate everyone. If you have a cruise booked with a different line, email us, and we’ll expedite the process of adding your cruise information. Please note, we will prioritize upcoming cruises first, and then work on adding later dates.

On the resort side of the platform, we recognize it will take a larger audience to create the same level of engagement as we have with cruises. This is because resort stayers input their own dates, which adds more variety, whereas cruise itineraries are pre-scheduled. The resort section is functional, but as we continue working on each resort profile, you may see similar data until we have the chance to fully curate each resort with photos and detailed information. Just like with cruises, if you can’t find your resort on our platform, please email us, and we’ll work to add it for you!

One of the early challenges we faced in creating a travel-focused social network was whether to make the platform free or charge a membership fee. We want our brand to reflect transparency and honesty, so we want to explain the difficult decisions we made. Given the sensitive nature of vacation information and the need to ensure safety, we decided to implement a membership fee. This helps prevent misuse of the platform, as it discourages fake accounts posing as travelers. People with bad intentions are less likely to pay for a membership, and if they do, it makes it easier to track them if legal action is required.

Another reason for the membership fee is that running a network like ours requires significant resources, including data storage, which becomes more expensive as the platform grows. As a global service, these costs will increase, and being a small business with limited resources, we needed to choose between a membership fee or a platform inundated with ads. No one wants that constant marketing at every click, so we opted for the membership model to maintain a cleaner, more enjoyable experience.

To reward our early supporters, we’ve created a tiered pricing model. The earlier a member joins, the greater the return on their investment. Early adopters will have access to all the exclusive gifts and benefits as we grow — a thank you for your support! Please know that all decisions are subject to change, and we are open to learning from our experiences. We encourage members to share feedback or suggestions, and we will take them into consideration as we continue to evolve.