Executive Summary
When a beloved airport lounge app was acquired and shut down by a Fortune 500 company, a void emerged in the travel tech ecosystem. That closure didn’t just remove a digital utility—it disrupted the way frequent flyers around the world prepared, relaxed, and worked while in transit. As a seasoned entrepreneur and frequent traveler, I saw this not as an inconvenience, but as an opportunity.
TravelMint is the result—a global, digital-first platform that transforms how travelers discover, evaluate, and access airport lounges. With over 3,600 lounges across 1,800 airports indexed, TravelMint is designed for today’s traveler: fast, mobile, informed, and experience-driven.
The Problem: Invisibility in Plain Sight
Airports are high-stress, high-opportunity environments. While lounges offer an oasis—quiet, Wi-Fi, food, and rest—accessing them is confusing. Most travelers ask four basic questions:
- Is there a lounge in this airport?
- Is it open now?
- Am I eligible to enter?
- How do I get there?
Legacy solutions addressed these, but lacked real-time accuracy, personalization, and breadth. When one of the leading platforms disappeared, it left a fragmented experience and a frustrated customer base—especially business travelers who value time, clarity, and control.
The Solution: A Smarter Way to Lounge
TravelMint is a platform purpose-built to answer those four questions and more. It features a proprietary Lounge Review System that enables travelers to make informed decisions based on five experience pillars:
- Comfort & Atmosphere – Ambience, noise levels, seating quality
- Food & Beverage – Menu diversity, freshness, dietary options
- Amenities & Facilities – Wi-Fi, power access, showers, nap pods
- Service & Staff – Hospitality, speed, multilingual assistance
- Value for Money – Cost vs. experience delivered
What sets TravelMint apart is its crowdsourced intelligence, real-time availability, and an intuitive, mobile-first design optimized for use on the go. It bridges utility with delight—designed not just for travelers, but by one.
Market Timing: A Category Ripe for Reinvention
The global airport lounge market was valued at $5.7 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach $55 billion by 2030. Several factors contribute to this inflection point:
- Business travel is rebounding, with 12% year-over-year growth
- Digital-native travelers expect real-time, peer-reviewed data
- Lounge operators are investing heavily in differentiated experiences—from luxury dining to on-site wellness and sleep pods
Yet, the digital tools to navigate this ecosystem remain siloed, outdated, or incomplete. TravelMint consolidates access, information, and user insight in one place—unlocking a new category of “pre-flight experience optimization.”
Founder-Market Fit: Built by a Frequent Flyer
As the founder of a prior venture that generated $200M+ in sales and attracted $27M+ in funding, I’ve spent the last two decades navigating both boardrooms and boarding gates. Whether perfecting pitch decks in a United Club or refueling over ramen in Narita’s ANA Lounge, I know the difference that the right space can make.
When the last lounge app shut down, I built TravelMint from the ground up—spending evenings and weekends building the dataset, wireframing user flows, and coding the MVP alongside a designer and front-end developer. It was a labor of obsession, not just opportunity.
Traction and Vision
- 3,600+ lounges across 1,800+ airports now live
- Free global access, with plans for tiered subscriptions, loyalty integrations, and B2B partnerships with airlines and corporate travel planners
- Product roadmap includes:
- In-app booking for day passes
- Smart filtering for kids’ areas, spa access, and business centers
- Integration with travel wallets and loyalty programs
The Investment Thesis: Why TravelMint Now?
TravelMint is addressing an unmet need in a fast-growing market. It sits at the intersection of three secular tailwinds:
- Digitization of Travel – Travelers want seamless, app-driven experiences
- Experience Economy – Time is currency; comfort is premium
- Crowd Intelligence – Trust is earned through peer validation, not brand promises
In a world where travelers spend an average of 3–5 hours per airport visit, optimizing that time is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity.
Closing Thought
Lounges are no longer just perks for the privileged—they’re essential infrastructure for the global traveler. TravelMint doesn’t just help you find a lounge. It helps you find your moment before takeoff.Discover better before you board.