The Faces of Kigo: Meet Daniel Liuzzi

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 Daniel Liuzzi, Kigo Web Developer. Native to Argentina, Daniel is now based in Kigo's Barcelona office. Daniel loves to create things, and his development expertise supports the continual growth of Kigo products. Innovation and simplicity are at the heart of his role, and Daniel takes pride in helping Kigo clients save time and run their businesses more successfully.

Learn more about Daniel:

Tell us about yourself!

Hello there! My name is Daniel Liuzzi, I live in Barcelona, and started at Kigo about six months ago. I'm from Argentina, though I've been to enough places I like to call myself a citizen of the world. I love to travel and to see the world from different angles, immersing myself in other cultures and capturing memories both in my camera and in my head. Other than that, I like biking (I frequently ride my Brompton to work), playing tennis and billiards. On a side note, I'm a coffee nerd. I love not only drinking coffee, but also the whole ritual of making it. There's something incredibly satisfying about pulling the perfect shot of espresso… (And then ruining it with my lousy latte art skills.)

What is your role at Kigo?

I'm a web developer and tinkerer. Computers and the Internet have been my passion for as long as I can remember. Although I like writing code as much as the next guy, I find the greatest joy in deleting code.

"Perfection is attained not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to remove." This quote by Antoine de Saint Exupéry is something I live and breathe by.

For the time being, I spend my mornings and afternoons working on Kigo Vacation Rental Software, creating and improving things to keep it running smoothly. I automate monotonous tasks and help the team wherever I can—be it by contributing ideas or sharing an article, a piece of tech, or the occasional meme.

How do you help Kigo’s customers succeed?

Part of what being a good developer and staying up-to-date is using better tools to be more productive. I like applying this philosophy to our product. If we give customers access to better tools, then we help them get better at what they do. When planning a feature or change to the system, I always ask myself "How would I like this if I were the customer?" Often times the answer leads to a more refined solution and a better tool. There's always room for improvement and every bit adds up.

What do you love about your job?

Before Kigo, I worked independently for several years. Working from home can be very convenient at times, but it can also be quite reclusive. In my short time at Kigo, I have already met many cool people from all over the world. I enjoy being here, I feel like I'm part of a much bigger picture, and I think there is a potential to achieve far greater goals. The thing I like the best about this company is its atmosphere and just how approachable everyone is. It doesn't matter whether I'm talking to a colleague or a VP, everybody makes you feel right at home and I really value that.

What is your favorite Kigo feature?

Having all rates and availability automatically synced with major portals isn’t just a nice convenience to have, it's a necessity for larger accounts who need to manage several units and don't want to spend tons of time in the process. Kigo Marketplace makes this possible.

How does a hobby or passion of yours translate into your role at Kigo?

Having worked in the travel industry for a number of years and being an avid traveler myself has given me an insight from both sides of the story. I try to use that to understand not just our customers' needs but also the needs of our customers' customers. It isn't until you stand in both of their shoes that you can better cater for them.

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

Once I'm set for a destination, I try to get the most bang for the buck. That is, getting the most value and nicest place possible without going overboard. I also go through reviews for any valuable piece of advice I can find or a heads up.

What do you look for in a vacation rental? What do you avoid?

To me, it all comes down to location. I tend to find places within my budget that are as near as possible to the areas I plan to visit. Better yet, if I can get around on foot, I love walking. For a city, I try to stay near the center. For a beach, I aim for a beachfront property or at least somewhere nearby. I would happily trade square meters for a prime spot. I don't mind taking transport, but I do mind when everything is thirty minutes or more away from my place.

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

Two words: proper photos. From personal experience, I appreciate when a listing includes photos of the actual unit I'm booking and not the nicest unit they have, or worse yet stock photos of the city. Few things are more disappointing than arriving at a property only to discover the nice terrace in the photos is not there, or that the bathtub is actually just a shower!

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!