When I first spoke to Vadym, he was residing at a refugee camp in the Netherlands. It is a purpose built boat, built by the Dutch government, to house Ukrainians fleeing the devastation of their homeland. He reached out to Deep Travel Magazine asking to share his story. His story like so many others tells of the personal horrors wrought by Putin on innocent lives.

Vadym Klymov – From War-Torn Kharkiv to Travel Start-up

Before the war life was looking up for Vadym. His hotel business was going from strength to strength. He had inherited a summer house from his grandparents in the small village of Heniches’ka Hirka, on the shore of the Azov sea. With business going well, Vadym, with the help of his parents, built a 48-room hotel beside the original hotel.

The clientele were ironically Russians, who would visit the area for their holidays. He expanded his business further and started building a 300-room hotel complex, an exciting endeavour that he hoped would bring success. In 2022 that all changed. The area was invaded by the Russian state. Vadym sadly told me the following, “Russia now denies my rights to the land, and my hotels have all been destroyed.”

He spent months in an underground bunker in Kharkiv as the Russians attacked. His apartment was destroyed by a Russian rocket as their troops encircled the city. The remaining months he lived in Kharkiv were spent helping to build the city defences with other Ukrainians, preparing for the oncoming Russian army. When the situation became too much, he escaped the City, with his 84 year old grandfather, over the border to Poland. From Poland he travelled to the Netherlands, where he now resides.

In an attempt to rebuild his life, he came up with the idea of an innovative travel comparison website, using the experience accumulated through many years in the hotel trade. His ambitious aim is to rival the big established names like Booking.com and Expedia. He hopes to achieve this through his start-up, Win-Win.travel.

Win-Win.travel – Taking on the Travel Comparison Giants

Vadym with his hotel staff before the war

Vadym, noticed a problem with the big name travel comparison websites. He identified through user research, that the search criteria adopted by the big comparison companies was too narrow for some users. He noticed that there was a discrepancy between what a hotel offered and what an individual room allowed. The searches were hotel centric, not room centric.

Pet owners are one example. Although a hotel may be listed as dog friendly, it may not be suitable for larger dogs or multiple pets, a problem repeatedly reported by pet owners. For wheelchair users the problem is even greater. He especially found problems with Booking.com. Although a hotel may be listed as wheelchair accessible, this was not the case for every room. It leaves customers potentially turning up to a hotel reservation and being unable to access their rooms.

Win-Win.travel – A Much Needed Solution

Vadyms solution to this problem is simple. He has created a website which has the ability to filter up to 15,000 different search criteria’s. Win-Win.travel is a highly specific way to book a hotel/hostel, safe in the knowledge that there will be no mishaps on arrival. A ChatGBT style series of questions narrows down exactly the type of room that meets the users needs. The site only shows relevant options which avoids any confusion and gives the customer the room that most befits their criteria.

It offers a ‘Tinder-like’ user experience, where you can ‘like’ the options you prefer and then compare them side by side in a table. Vadym tells me this method of comparison is 11.3 times faster than on Booking.com. It prevents the need to open multiple tabs to compare rooms between different websites.

The company is not just made up of Vadym alone. He has recruited a group of able volunteers to join him in his dream. Ukrainian’s form the backbone of his team. They are similarly in a difficult situation, like Vadym, and see Win-Win.travel as a beacon of hope. Vadym later told me, “I see Win-Win.travel as a chance to show Ukrainian strength and ability to not give up. We are the builders, while the Russian state are the destroyers.”

Meeting the Win-Win.travel Team

Valeriia, team leader of marketing at the company, is currently residing in Cherkassy, only an hour away from Kiev. “The sound of air raid sirens are constant…it’s strange how quickly you get used to them.” Valeriia was 8 months pregnant when the war started. “I was very depressed in the first year of the war, but joining Vadym in his project has returned me back to life.” It seems that volunteering for Win-Win.travel is more than just work experience. It is as much about a shared community and being able to speak to other Ukrainians about a situation that is incomprehensible.

Anastasiia in Kharkiv

I spoke to Anastasiia, who is HR manager for Win-Win.travel. She spoke of having to flee Ukraine 4 months ago. The Russian army closed in on her town, Marhanets, near to the city of Enerhodar, forcing her to leave. She spoke of Russian drones destroying buildings in her town and her voice trailed when looking back at that time. Her parents decided to stay and she told of her worry about there safety.

She is also very worried about the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear power plant, which is in Enerhodar. The nuclear power plant sits on the frontline and is currently vulnerable to Russian attack. Anastasiia is now residing in Bucharest in Romania. Like Valeriia, she spoke of how Win-Win.travel has had a positive impact on her life, particularly the community aspect.

It was enlightening to hear each of the team members stories and learn that even though they had seen and heard the horrors of war, something positive has resurrected from it. Win-Win.travel launches this month and the team are excited to showcase their website to the rest of the world. You can find more information at www.winwin.travel