Inspiring Conversations with Dustin Lopez of TourMy

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dustin Lopez.

Hi Dustin, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In 2020, when the pandemic really took full force, my wife was just about to open her wedding venue. Obviously, this was one of the worst times in history to open an event space. They were left with no ability to even show their space to potential future couples.

That is when I decided that we needed to give people a way to see the space with a relatively new technology called Matterport.

“Matterport is the standard for 3D space capture. Our all-in-one platform transforms real-life spaces into immersive digital twin models. So much more than panoramic scans, Matterport empowers people to capture and connect rooms to create truly interactive 3D models of spaces.” (https://matterport.com/how-it-works)

The theory was that if people could take a 3D tour, that the team would be able to digitally tour people through the finished space. Once we received the model back, we had a couple of other venue owner friends call us and ask if they could have the same thing. Then, the Hilton Cleveland Downtown called and we instantly knew there was a business model. I am a firm believer that the best businesses are the ones that are derived out of need.

That is when we founded TourMyVenue.com, a website to find the best venues in Northeast Ohio from the convenience of your own home. When you have all of the information you like, and narrow it down to just a couple of venues, you can book in person tours from there and save all of that time, energy and money driving from place to place.

Since then, we have completed nearly 400 tours from 100 venues. We have also launched a separate website for Hotels, tourmyhotel.com and next week we launch tourmyhostel.com for travelers abroad. Our partner Isaac Stout of MTV’s Real World series and owner of the BucketListClub.earth has transformed the way we think about not only Matterport, but the potential experience people can have when looking to book space.

2022 looks to be our best year yet.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No road in a startup is smooth. We have made mistakes and we are currently in the process of rebranding, retooling and getting everything looking cohesive between sites. We are in the process of launching TourMy.co, a parent website for all of our brands.

We have lost some clients but we have gained exponentially more, recently signing with the largest hostel group in the world and nearing the completion of becoming approved by the largest two hoteliers in the world as well.

Our internal team has gone through struggles as well, as growth brings need, we’ve had to be creative in how we approach different obstacles. There are currently 5 of us working on this project with an expanded network of Matterport technicians based out of Columbus, Reality Capture Experts.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
TourMyVenue.com was founded on the above principle during the beginnings of COVID-19 making waves across the United States.

Many wedding event venues shut down for the foreseeable future due to this pandemic. Many photographers were displaced because of postponements and cancellations. This left the team at One Red Door Photography available + able. Making use of the tried + true Matterport technology has allowed this team to seize an opportunity. Now, newly engaged couples/families can explore different venues from the comfort of their homes. No longer is there a need for “sight unseen” bookings, awkward video calls or travel itineraries to get 360° views of potential dream venues. TourMyVenue.com is here + happy to offer the perfect solution!

We also have two other brands, tourmyhotel and tourmyhostel.

Future plans for tourmydorm and tourmyoffice are in the pipeline.

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
Our Mission is to give newly engaged couples/families an easier, time-saving opportunity to book a venue, hotel room or hostel.

Contact Info:

• Email: hello@tourmyvenue.com
• Website: www.tourmyvenue.com 

Image Credits
One Red Door Photography