We had the good fortune of connecting with Justin Hill and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Justin, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Helping people make informed decisions about how and where to travel.

Originally, we compared every mode of transportation between cities – things like buses, trains, flights, and ferries. During the pandemic, we have pivoted quite a bit to include traveling safely during COVID-19. Providing all of this information in one place achieves our double bottom line.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Faretrotter is a search engine built specifically for travel. We search every mode of transportation – flights, trains, buses, and ferries – between or across cities. Recently, we made a small pivot to focus on travel during COVID-19 – specifically, which countries can US citizens travel to, what the restrictions and requirements are, and what steps to take once you cross the border.

It has not been a scenic route by any means. As you can imagine, the COVID-19 pandemic hit us pretty hard. 90% of our customers disappeared overnight on March 13th, 2020. While we’re still in cockroach mode, the biggest lesson has been that you’re only done when you give up. So, while it would have been easy to role over last year and call it quits, there was quite a bit of opportunity in bringing in COVID-19 information and being a leader in this new niche.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m a firm believer that the best way to see the city is on foot or bike – despite Atlanta being (previously) designed for cars. I’d start at the Overlook gym for a nice climbing session, head over to Monday Night Garage for a recovery beer. Then, hop on the southside beltline and explore the unfinished parts of the beltline on the way up to Inman Park for sandwiches at Victory. That’s a nice central location to bounce out to Little Five Points or even continue all the way out to Decatur via PATH. Pre-COVID, I’d probably head to a small venue in EAV for a show. But this is what’s great about Atlanta – all the small neighborhoods and pockets around town.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d like to dedicate this to all the entrepreneurs of Atlanta and everybody who has helped Faretrotter in some way. It’s been a rough year and a half for a lot of us but there is, in fact, a light at the end of the tunnel. Pre, during, or post COVID-19 would each have a very different look without the community here.

Website: https://www.faretrotter.com

Twitter: faretrotter

Other: Check out our COVID-19 Safe Travel Map designed especially for travelling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Find which countries you can travel to, what their restrictions are, and if you have to quarantine once you cross the border. Check it out at https://www.faretrotter.com/en/safe-travel/united-states

Image Credits
Jason Seagle (http://www.jasonseagle.com/)

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