Dubai: A taxi for your baggage? Firm helps tourists explore city bag-free

Dubai, over the years, has become a magnet for millions of leisure and business visitors. Many travellers land during the wee hours — with lots of time to kill before checking into hotels. As they start exploring the city without wasting time, they end up lugging their bags around. So, Dubai resident Tristan Sommer-Enriquez devised a solution for them - an on-demand baggage-hailing platform powered by artificial intelligence (AI).

Talking about ‘Baggage Taxi’, the American-German said: "As a business traveller, whenever I was in big metropolitan cities, I was stuck with my luggage everywhere I went. If I had meetings and left the hotel early, while my flight was in the evening, I had to return to the hotel or lug my baggage around. That was my life for the last 15-20 years as a frequent traveller."

Tristan continued, "Some customers asked us where they could keep their luggage. That gave us an idea. We then researched and realised it would be great if our baggage could be collected with one click of a button, stored and then delivered back."

Referring to the platform as ‘Uber for baggage’, Tristan said it will also help travellers save money. “For example, if you're staying at a Dubai hotel with your family and have a flight at 1am; what are your options? You pay more to get a room extension and if it's high season, you might not get it.

"Suppose a family plans to go shopping at a mall and then wants to head straight to the airport; they’re stuck with their luggage. ‘Baggage Taxi’ can deliver their bags at the airport, at their desired time, before the flight while they shop or explore the city. They don’t have to go back to their hotel and then take a cab to the airport, which could cost them more. So, with Baggage Taxi, they buy back time,” explained Tristan, who moved to Dubai in 2014.

How much it costs

The service costs Dh99 for the first bag and then additional Dh35 for each extra piece of baggage. Baggage Taxi rate covers collection, storage and delivery.

According to Tristan, tourists from Canada, US, Germany, Britain, Portugal, Italy, India, Pakistan, Korea, China, and Australia primarily use the service.

"Our customers are typically those who arrive in the morning and check in at (hotels) at 3pm. So, we pick up their bags at the airport, while they head to their meetings. The service is often chosen by departing customers with evening flights and no business meetings, so they don't want to toggle it around while exploring or shopping. We pick up their baggage in the morning and deliver it to any airport or hotel in UAE,” he added.

The company is currently delivering services through its website and will release its app by the end of this month.

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• Dubai