The Faces of Kigo: Meet Cip Gheorghe

We created the Faces of Kigo series to showcase our talented employees, tell their stories, and share why they love being a part of the Kigo team.

Meet Cip Gheorghe,a junior product owner based in Barcelona. Cip's loves for travel and people make him a natural fit for the Kigo team, where he develops cutting-edge website technology for our clients. Cip is also a talented photographer, and his eye for detail directly translates to his work.

Learn more about Cip:

Tell us about yourself and your role at Kigo!

I’m Cip. My name is constant problem when I meet new people because it’s strange. People think I’m cheap, a poker chip, a computer chip, and the funniest times are when I get my name written on the Starbucks cup. Either my full name, Ciprian or the short version gets completely mutilated.

I’m a junior product owner working on the new website technology for our property managers. My main responsibilities are to develop a product that is user-friendly, fast, stable and will make Kigo stand out in the vacation market. Adding constant value and staying up-to-date with all the new technologies, ideas, and regulations is extremely important in a market that is constantly evolving. A product owner may think what their clients want, but they can never be sure of it until they pick up the phone and call them. I enjoy my job and learn new things each day, but the most important reason I work at Kigo is that I am surrounded by people that believe in and support me as I grow.

What makes Kigo stand out from the competition?

In a business, the product is not all that matters, nor the team, marketing, communications, sales, etc. You need to have talent in all areas. Kigo has an extremely dedicated, professional team and carefully considers each step of the journey customers take to continually evolve. The Kigo that I knew in 2014 has nothing to do with the Kigo I know now in 2017. It’s a completely new business, and the growth is exciting.

How does your hobby/passion translate into your role at Kigo or how does it help you understand our Kigo customers?

I’m really into photography, which makes me a visual person. I believe this helps me better see how certain features should be implemented and perform, but at the same time value the details of things.

How do you approach finding places to stay when you travel?

Usually, for short periods of stay, I prefer to go to new places that can be reached easily by car or plane and discover a new world. People are so diverse in everything that we do and how we do it, and I love to watch other people going through their lives when I travel. I can spend minutes or hours observing small details like how they drink their coffee, ask for something, etc. The place is important, but more important is what I find there.

What do you look for in a vacation rental?

If it has a comfortable bed, I’m not melting from heat nor freeze from cold, if it’s clean and quiet and close to public transportation, then I’m all set.

How can property owners make their vacation rentals more appealing to travelers like yourself?

Never lie to oversell, because what comes around goes around and the web will punish you more than you think. Be humble, be creative, be smart! Every PMC should know who their clients are and continually test and try new things to improve.

As we continue to explore the Faces of Kigo, you will meet more members of our global team working every day to create the best products in travel. Stay tuned!