The Cologne start-up itravel promised customers dream trips and investors dream sales. But behind the shiny facade of founder Alex Schmiegelow, there is probably little as it seems.
On a Sunday in August, Étienne Reich stands with his wife in the arrivals hall of Mauritius Airport and looks perplexed at the rows of drivers with signs in their hands. It’s the beginning of their honeymoon, where everything should be perfect: two weeks in luxury hotels, with white sandy beaches and cocktails by the pool. A dream trip that most people only experience once, if at all. So they booked it with the Cologne tour operator itravel. But when they look at the signs in front of the drivers’ stomachs, they realize: none of them have their name on them. Your dream trip, which you paid for long ago, will not take place. At least not as planned.
Source: Stern
