A missed train in Hampi, and a very long night
In 2018, three of us missed the last train out of Hampi and ended up stranded with nothing but a guidebook that hadn't been updated since a bridge had collapsed. A local chai-stall owner, not a booking app, was the one who sorted out a ride, a place to sleep, and a warning about which temple ruins to skip at sunrise because of the crowds.
That night became the whole business plan. We didn't want to build another search engine for flights and hotels — there were already a dozen of those. We wanted to build the version of that chai-stall owner that scales: real people, on the ground, who'd actually tell you the truth about a place.
GlobeQuestHub launched a year later with eleven destinations and a spreadsheet of contributors we'd met on the road ourselves. We're a lot bigger now, but the rule from that first spreadsheet hasn't changed: nobody writes a guide for a place they haven't actually stood in.
120+
Countries curated
50k+
Travelers matched
890
On-the-ground contributors
4.9/5
Average trip rating
Every stamp is a decision we made on purpose
No funding-round milestones here — just the calls that actually changed how the platform works.
Eleven destinations, one spreadsheet
GlobeQuestHub goes live with guides written entirely by people we'd met while traveling ourselves — no stock content, no stringers.
The vetting rule
We formalize the "chai-stall standard": every contributor is interviewed and reference-checked before a single guide of theirs goes live.
The Global Rescue Line
After one too many 2am airport calls handled by whoever happened to be awake, we build a proper 24/7 support desk that actually knows your itinerary.
50,000 travelers matched
We cross 120 countries in the catalog, but we also start turning contributors down again — growth was outpacing our ability to vet properly, so we slowed it back down.
Today
890 contributors across 120+ countries, a rebuilt India desk, and the same rule from the first spreadsheet: nobody writes a guide for a place they haven't stood in.
Four rules that shape every itinerary
Written by feet, not APIs
Every guide is signed by the contributor who wrote it and the season they last checked it.
Prices shown, not hidden
If a fee applies for a date change or peak season, it's disclosed before you confirm — never after.
Slower than the algorithm
We'd rather list 120 well-checked countries than 190 we can't stand behind.
Someone always picks up
The Global Rescue Line is staffed 24/7, in every timezone we sell a trip in.
A small crew, mostly still traveling
Everyone on this team still takes at least one unplanned trip a year — it's practically a job requirement.
Anaya Desai
Co-Founder & CEO
Was the one who missed the Hampi train. Still keeps the paper map.
Rohan Mehta
Head of Field Research
Runs the contributor vetting process. Has personally rejected more guides than he's approved.
Somya Roy
Guide Network Lead
Manages all 890 contributors. Knows most of them well enough to text, not just email.
Manish Thakur
Rescue Line Ops Lead
Built the 24/7 desk. Has personally rebooked a flight from a ferry with no signal.
We're not trying to be the biggest travel platform. We're trying to be the one where the person who wrote your Bali guide has actually eaten at the place they recommended.
Anaya Desai, Co-Founder
Two ways to get involved
Plan a trip with us
Browse the destinations our contributors have vetted, in India and beyond.
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