The illusion of the $5,000 vacation
You book a week in Mexico: $1,200 for flights, $1,800 for the hotel, $600 for the rental car. Total: about $4,200. But this calculation hides a much more disturbing truth.
The 3 invisible taxes
1. Retail premium: You pay 2.1-4.3x the B2B rate. 2. Exchange rate markup: 2.8-3.5% on every transaction. 3. Loyalty scam: 65% of miles are never redeemed.
The real total: $11,800
Retail premium ($2,800) + exchange fees ($175) + inefficient points ($2,100) + opportunity cost ($720). You didn't spend $5,000. You spent $11,800 — 57% to intermediaries.
Who profits?
Airlines, GDSs ($4-11/booking), OTAs (15-30% commission), aggregators ($0.40-2.80/click), banks (1.5-2.5% on each transaction). You're not a customer. You're a product.
How Tripool inverts the math
10,000 members × $2,464/year = $24.6M pool. This unlocks Hotelbeds APItude net rates and Duffel B2B contracts. Same Mexico trip: $1,980 B2B vs. $11,800 retail. 72% savings.