Travel News – Founder of LugLess.com Brian Altomare might have gotten ripped to shreds by the Sharks on ABC’s popular program “Shark Tank,” but no tears from him; he says life after the show is better than ever.
The startup ships your luggage from your home to be there when you arrive at your hotel.
Less than a year after Altomare pitched his idea on the show, sales have doubled to $400,000 and users have tripled.
Altomare is not sour on the Sharks’ decision to laugh him off stage. Instead he says they just don’t get it. ”Not getting a deal is good if the viewers want to prove the Sharks wrong. These sharks are billionaires; they have no idea what it’s like to lug bags.”
Altomare says his startup LugLess.com is the solution to stop your baggage from being mistreated when you travel. He explains his company model is built on care and convenience. “Airlines # 1 goal is getting people from point A to point B. For us at LugLess, the bags are the travelers; we make sure the bags go from point A to point B.”
The benefits for travelers using the service include saving time by avoiding long check-in lines, skipping baggage claim and no hassle lugging around heavy equipment like skis and golf clubs.
This week LugLess.com launched a fee calculator on their site that allows travelers to compare what they’ll pay by shipping their bags ahead of time with LugLess or paying airline fees. For example, a standard bag or golf bag 50 pounds or less costs $89 each way from New York to Los Angeles with LugLess, from your door to the hotel’s door.
Altomare says his biggest challenge is getting people to part with their bags, and while most hotels hold the luggage for free, some hotels, particularly in Las Vegas, charge holding fees for bags.
By Nicole Sawyer, ABC News
