No guest drags a suitcase past a closed street

Daniela rents out four furnished flats in El Poblado, in Medellin, to visitors from all over the world. She runs it all from her phone. Guests arrive by taxi, often at night, and the hills of El Poblado are full of roadworks. When a street is closed, the driver stops two blocks away and a guest drags a suitcase uphill in the dark. Each late check-in is a bad review waiting to happen. With xMap Flows, Daniela built Lantern. Whenever a road is closed near one of her flats, Lantern checks who is arriving there today, writes a short note on the best way in, asks Daniela to approve it, and sends it to each guest on WhatsApp. Last Friday, roadworks closed the street to one of her flats near Calle Diez at nine at night. Within the hour, the three guests arriving that evening had a note with the way in from the other side, and every one checked in on time. Daniela can’t stop the roadworks. She just makes sure no guest meets them alone.

The story in words