This interview is our initiative to get to know our users a little bit better. We want to hear about your experiences with WP Travel Engine. We want to share your stories with all our users.
To that end, we bring you an interview with Damoy Skeene, a happy user of WP Travel Engine, who will be sharing his journey and his thoughts on our product.
Join us as we explore Damoy’s tale of transformation, all on his website!
Can you tell us about yourself and your travel business?
Having grown up in Jamaica, I am someone who has always been fascinated and passionate about the Caribbean and sharing our unique cultures. Islandcraze was founded in 2023, as a full-fledged travel company, focusing only on the Caribbean, and sharing its cultures through travel.
Our services encompass everything from Airbnb management to corporate services, ensuring that we achieve not only our overall goal of promoting cultures but also drive economic growth for these islands.
When and how did you start your travel business?
I started the business in 2023, after contemplating for a while, what exactly I wanted to do for the rest of my adult life. I was already a travel fanatic and was passionate about starting a business because my family was already business-oriented. I saw it as the best fit for me.
Our initial setup was in a small corner, of my mother’s office space. We had operations there until August when we moved to another small mixed-use office space.
What has been the biggest challenge you have overcome in your business?
It’s an ongoing challenge, but getting the required funding to market effectively has been a MAJOR issue.
In Jamaica, there aren’t many opportunities for small businesses to get funding, and that has been holding us back significantly. Especially if you take into consideration how competitive the ad space is for travel companies, it is discouraging at times, but we have to persevere until things get better.
What advice would you like to give fellow travel business owners about running a successful travel agency?
One thing that we have prided ourselves on is being different. Be different, take a risk, and do something you don’t see others doing. Also, I would say that we should be a customer-first company, understand their pain points, and build a product that caters to them.
What must-have features in a travel website would you suggest to fellow travel business owners?
An Itinerary list, price breakdown, and a feature that allows your clients to build their package is something I would recommend.
How did you hear about us?
Through Google.
Why did you choose WP Travel Engine?
The range of features and documentation available was very attractive.
What are the three things you love the most about WP Travel Engine?
1. Customer Support
2. Video Tutorials Available
3. Features available with the plugins.
Which add-ons have you used, and how have they benefited you?
WooCommerece – Very streamlined and makes accepting payments easy.
How satisfied are you with our products/services?
I am very satisfied. It’s a good product, and it serves its purpose well.
What suggestions do you have for improving our product and services and offering a better user experience?
Ability to use external APIs such as Booking.com / Ratehawk, so you can make your own little booking.com.
On a scale of 1 to 10, please rate WP Travel Engine based on:
Support: 10
Tutorials and Documentation: 10
Features: 3
Design: 10
Usability: 9
Would you recommend our plugin to your friends or colleagues? (and why)
Yes, because it is very useful for us and serves its purpose well.
Please share a brief testimonial about your experience with us and our products.
WP Travel Engine is a game-changer in the travel agency space. It allows any small business to look big with the range of functioning features it offers.
Thank you, Damoy, for sharing your story with us. We hope this inspires our readers.
If you have been using any of our free or premium themes and the WP Travel Engine plugin for more than three months and want to share your story, please feel free to submit it here.