Frequently asked questions

General

What is Ravlling?
Ravlling isn't just another travel search platform – it's created especially for an exponentially growing number of conscious travellers. Together with almost 100 local partners we are convinced that travel can be a force for good. That is why we developed our innovative technology, that helps you to effortlessly uncover those hidden gems you wouldn't have thought of yourself. Also, Ravlling provides you with informative content and tips & tricks on how to embrace conscious travel. Join us on a journey through Northern Europe, that positively impacts local lives, communities, culture, and Earth's extraordinary beauty.

What can I do on your platform?
You'll embark on a journey that challenges you to explore a unique side of Europe: our intuitive technology helps you discover Northern Europe's loveliest eco-friendly destinations, and booking your next stay and experience is only one click away. Further more our platform actively encourages conscious travel, empowering you to leave a positive impact on nature, heritage, and local communities. Plus, with each booking, we donate to local charitable causes, ensuring your travels make a meaningful difference.


Who is Ravlling for?
Ravlling is created for the rapidly expanding community of conscious travelers. And if you're new to conscious travel, don't worry! Instead of imposing strict do's and don'ts, we're here to offer guidance in discovering what resonates best with your travel style and help you explore.


Why is there a need for Ravlling?
We all want to discover those rare, hidden gems in Europe. However, only 1% of Earth’s travel spots get 99% of tourists, leading to 'over-tourism' issues like damaged nature, lost culture, and economic inequality. The good news is that research shows that 90% of travellers do seek sustainable options. Yet, 7 in 10 feel overwhelmed when trying to be a more conscious traveller. That's where our search platform helps out!


How does conscious travel offer a solution for over-tourism?
It's a mindblowing number: 1% of the world's travel destinations attract 99% of all tourists. Which causes over-tourism that harms nature, erodes culture, and widens economic gaps. And Europe consistently tops the charts with the highest number of tourists every year.
But travel can be a positive force if done responsibly. That's where 'conscious' makes a difference.


For whom is Ravlling meant?
Ravlling is designed for the rapidly growing community of conscious travellers. If you're looking to become more acquainted with conscious travel, rather than providing strict do's and don'ts, we're here to encourage you in discovering what suits you best.


Is Ravlling part of GetYourGuide, TourRadar, Booking.com or any other organisation you cooperate with?
No, Ravlling is a 100% stand-alone company committed to change travel.

Business model

What makes Ravlling's solution stand out?
The magic behind Ravlling lies in its smart software platform. It helps us sift through tons of data from different sources using an advanced technology that's easy to scale. This tech not only filters information but also turns it into "clean content" for travellers to use effortlessly. We went for the revolutionary Graph Database technology, not widely known but incredibly effective.

Ravlling stands out by using cutting-edge technology, keeping costs low compared to other outdated travel platforms dealing with legacy systems. Plus, blending the latest scientific know-how with adaptable business models gives us a clear advantage.


Where do Ravlling donations go?
With each booking, we contribute to a local charitable cause of your destination, ensuring your travels create a meaningful difference. At no extra cost to you. 100% of the donations go directly to the designated good cause. Ravlling operates under Dutch law, ensuring transparency and accountability in our business practices. We adhere to the best practices of the Global Sustainable Tourism Committee.


How does Ravlling ensure Conscious Travel experiences?
We assess all components in our graph database with a relevance grade for conscious travel. A destination, stay or experience is rewarded with our special Conscious Travel label when it hits a four out of five mark within our conscious categories: a. environment, b. local economy, c. local culture and community, d. spreading of tourism, e. inclusive tourism. Of course, we're continuously enhancing our intelligence to boost the relevance score even further.


Do I have to pay to use Ravlling?
No, Ravlling is completely free to use! Ravlling inspiration comes to you free of charge. For every booking you make through our platform we receive a commission from that partner, with which we can further improve our services for conscious travel. But before we invest in those improvements a donation to local charitable causes is made for each and every booking. At no extra cost to you.


How does Ravlling differ from other travel platforms?
It’s a bit of a technical explanation, but here we go. The Ravlling team spent several years on comprehensive travel taxonomy. Understanding the dynamics and complexity of travel components takes both time and essential graph knowledge. And lastly AI application to travel requires craft and experience, which is not easily acquired. So in conclusion: we have superbrains on our team, that constantly incorporate the newest technological developments and always persevere until we’ve created a solution that truly helps travellers out.


How does Ravlling sustain itself?
Ravlling operates as a social enterprise, aiming to address social issues. Our primary goal isn't solely financial gain; we're committed to creating a positive societal impact by transforming travel. When you book through our platform, we receive a commission from our partners, enabling us to improve our services for conscious travel. Moreover, for every booking, we donate to various partner charities across each of our 10 country destinations featured on our website.


What makes Ravlling's solution unique?
We've adopted cutting-edge Graph Database technology as the cornerstone of our platform combined with the latest technology in Artificial Intelligence. This unique structure helps Ravlling link your personal preferences with matching (conscious travel) destinations, experiences, and stays. This means you can enter search criteria in the broadest way possible, allowing us to constantly surprise and inspire you.


Is collaboration key to enhancing the travel experience?
Even though the travel industry has bounced back from the pandemic, there's still room for improvement in the travel experience. The industry recognises challenges like complexity, fragmentation, and occasional frustration for travellers. To tackle these issues, the industry is putting in efforts, leveraging technology and AI, to create a smoother, more convenient, and enjoyable trip experience. It's inspiring to see many in the ecosystem keen on enhancing every aspect of travel. We strongly believe that collaboration is the key to a brighter future in travel.

Curation of information

Why is technology so important for your platform?
Ensuring the success of our new travel search platform relies on carefully mapping all important travel details throughout Northern Europe and presenting them clearly and efficiently to the traveller. The information must answer key travel questions, such as destination choices, available activities, and accommodation options, all integrated with the essential concept of 'conscious travel.' Our innovative traveller experience is powered by advanced graph technology, bringing technological magic to our platform


How does this work?
To create a user-friendly platform, we searched for technology that could handle vast amounts of data from diverse sources. We needed a tool that could filter information and convert it into "clean content" for easy use by travellers. Our choice was the revolutionary but lesser-known Graph Database technology. This innovative structure allows Ravlling to link your personal preferences with matching (conscious travel) destinations, experiences, and accommodations. This means travellers can input search criteria broadly, allowing us to constantly surprise and inspire them.

Search functionality

How does our search function inspire your travel plans?
Our search functionality at Ravlling is designed to spark inspiration for your travel plans. Within our platform, content in the Ravlling graph is enriched with metadata gathered from a variety of trusted sources. This extensive database is "hyper-connected," allowing for complex relationships between content items. This means that when you search for destinations or experiences, our system can provide you with a wealth of options tailored to your preferences.

One of the unique features of our search is its ability to identify similarities between holiday destinations based on unexpected or lesser-known features. For example, if you've shown interest in certain destinations in the past, our system might suggest similar places that you haven't considered yet. This personalized approach helps you discover new and exciting destinations that align with your interests.

At the heart of our search functionality is AI-powered vector search technology. Unlike traditional keyword searches, our system understands the intent behind your queries, allowing for more accurate and relevant results. By leveraging this technology along with our extensive database, Ravlling can provide you with fresh and surprising ideas for your next holiday destination.

In essence, our search functionality isn't just about finding information—it's about igniting your sense of adventure and helping you uncover hidden gems you may have never thought to explore. Get ready to embark on unforgettable journeys with Ravlling!


How do we curate our information?
We carefully curate the touristic information loaded into the Ravlling graph. First, we ensure that it's complete and accurate. Then, we enhance it by adding additional meta-data, making it rich in features. This allows our graph technology to connect different pieces of information whenever it's relevant to you.
But we don't stop there. We continuously monitor the user engagement with this information. If certain content receives less attention from users, we take note and adjust our presentation accordingly. This helps us maintain a high "relevance score" for each piece of content, ensuring that you receive the best travel advice possible.


How does booking a stay or experience work?
When you click the "book now" button, you'll go to our partner's website to complete your booking. Confirmation details will come from them too. If you face any issues with your booking, please contact the specific partner involved, like TourRadar, Booking.com and GetYourGuide.

With every booking you make through our platform, we receive a commission from our partners, enabling us to improve our services for conscious travel. Moreover, for every booking, we donate to various partner charities across each of our 10 country destinations featured on our website.


Can partners influence their search ranking on Ravlling?
No, partners cannot directly influence their ranking by paying us. However, they can positively impact their ranking by ensuring that their information aligns with our positive impact score.

Privacy

Why does Ravlling use cookies?
At Ravlling, we use cookies to enhance your experience. Cookies help us understand how you use our platform, allowing us to improve and tailor it to your needs. These tiny bits of data enable smoother navigation, remember your preferences, and ensure our site works well for you. It's important for us to track cookies, as it helps us make Ravlling even better and more personalized for every conscious traveller like you.


How does booking through your platform affect my privacy?
Our affiliation model ensures your privacy is maintained. When you use our platform and click on affiliate links to book, your personal data isn't shared with the affiliate. Tracking cookies enable our partners to attribute your booking to Ravlling, allowing us to receive a commission. This commission acknowledges our assistance in helping you discover and choose their offerings. It's a fair and transparent process that sustains our platform, ensuring we can continue aiding travelers like you.

Additionally, for every booking, we donate to various partner organizations across each of our 10 country destinations featured on our website.
We prioritize your privacy by securely handling your information and adhering to stringent data protection standards.

Ethics

Isn't Ravlling encouraging travel despite its negative Impact?
As travellers, we understand the potential for both positive and negative impacts of travel. However, we believe in the power of informed choices to make a positive difference. Rather than discouraging travel altogether, we aim to transform the way people travel for the better.
We firmly believe that experiences, stays, and destinations that contribute positively to local lives, communities, cultures, and the environment will always stand out compared to those that do not. By promoting conscious travel choices, we empower travellers to make a positive impact while exploring the world.


Is Ravlling a genuine solution or just greenwashing
From the moment we enter this world, exploration is in our DNA. It's how we grow, learn, and connect with others. Travel is an extension of this innate curiosity, allowing us to broaden our horizons and deepen our understanding of the world. Through travel, we forge connections with diverse cultures and environments, fostering empathy and awareness.

Ravlling sincerely aims to harness the transformative power of travel for good, encouraging mindful exploration and responsible stewardship of our planet. We believe in the potential of travel to inspire positive change and shape a better future for all.


Does Ravlling do good?
With Ravlling's unique travel platform, you not only get inspired, but also play a role in helping nature recover and supporting local communities.
Our ultimate goal is to transform how we travel, making a positive impact on society. We envision a world where travel stimulates mutual understanding, tourism benefits local communities more evenly, and our impact on nature is minimal. Even small changes in your travel habits can make a big difference. Any traveller motivated to do good can contribute to our vision.

The Ravlling team

The Ravlling team consists of founders Roy Scheerder, Karmen Kekic, and Heini Withagen, alongside co-members of the founding team Claire Dussenbroek and Fresk Digital Agency.