OT
Requirements for Review

OOT
App Requirements

A plain-language summary of what the OOT app does, who uses it, and what is in and out of scope, so you can review it, confirm it captures your vision, and answer a short list of open points before development.

Prepared for Silvia & the OOT teamBy TX DynamicsAugust 2026
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What OOT is

Getting trip planning out of the group chat

OOT is a collaborative group-trip planner. One host creates a trip and invites friends, and the group builds the destinations, accommodation, itinerary, and transportation together, votes with polls, splits expenses, and chats, all in one shared workspace. Instead of decisions getting buried in a group chat, the whole trip lives in one structured, visual, and fun place, with a collaborative "Planning" mode and a finalized state.

Who uses it

Roles, per trip

Roles are set per trip. Anyone who signs up can create their own trip (becoming its host) or be invited to someone else's (becoming a collaborator there).

Host

The trip creator

Creates the trip, invites friends, appoints a co-host, controls Planning vs Finalized mode, and can delete the trip. Full edit authority.

Co-host

Appointed helper

Given elevated edit rights on that trip by the host. (Exact permissions are one of the points to confirm below.)

Collaborator

Invited friend

Adds accommodation options, itinerary activities, their own transportation, and expenses, votes in polls, and chats.

Invitee

Pending guest

Sees a blurred, limited preview of the trip until they accept the invite, then becomes a full collaborator.

What it does

The core features, in detail

Everything a group needs to plan a trip together, explained one by one so you can check each against what you had in mind.

Create a trip

The host enters a title, description, cover photo, and the trip's start and end dates. The trip is created in Planning mode, ready for the group to build out together.

Destinations

Add one or more destinations, each with its own city, country, and date range within the trip. Multi-city and multi-country trips are fully supported, and each destination feeds its own itinerary days and accommodation options.

Invite friends

Invite people by phone number, email, or from your friends list. Each invite carries a ready-made message ("you've been invited to [trip name] on OOT") and goes out through the phone's native share sheet or a link. The person can accept or decline.

Accommodation & voting

For each destination, members add accommodation options as links (Airbnb, hotels, and so on, links only, with no in-app booking). The group votes and the majority choice wins, so where you stay is a shared decision rather than one person's call.

Itinerary

Days are generated automatically from each destination's dates. Every day is its own expandable tab where members add activities and links. It stays optional per day, so a free day can simply be left open.

Transportation

Each member adds their own travel to a shared list on the trip home: they pick a mode (car, flight, train, and so on) and can optionally add a flight or ticket number. A red-dot reminder shows for anyone who hasn't filled theirs in. It stays optional.

Polls & voting

Create a poll with a title, options, and an expiration date. Polls appear both at the trip level and as cards inside the chat, each showing per-option tallies and a countdown. Accommodation is decided by majority; activity polls count raw votes.

Group chat

Each trip has its own chat (there are no global direct messages). It also surfaces system updates such as votes and finalizations, so nothing gets lost. A "+" menu adds extras like a playlist link, a photo-album link, a payment split, notes or a dress code, or a poll.

Expense split & settle-up

Log an expense with the amount, a description, a category, who paid, and how it splits (equally, custom, or by percentage), with an optional receipt photo. A running feed shows where you stand, what you owe or are owed. Settle-up rolls it up per person, and you can tap anyone to see the transaction history between the two of you.

Planning vs Finalize

In Planning mode the whole group edits and collaborates freely. When the trip is set, the host finalizes it, which locks the whole trip at once rather than section by section.

Friends

Search for other users, send a friend request, and once it's accepted they become a friend. Only friends' accounts can be added to a trip.

Notifications

In-app notifications plus red dots flag new chats, transport reminders, and votes. Tapping one opens a popup in front of whatever screen you're on, rather than taking you away to a separate screen.

Profile & achievements

Your profile carries light achievements: trips hosted, collaborations (polls answered), and a "globe trotter" badge for international trips.

Cover photos

Choose a cover from a curated GIF library or upload your own image (430 by 330, PNG or JPG).

How it flows

The main journeys

1 · Sign up
Splash, then sign up with your phone number (a 6-digit code, no password; email is an option), accept terms, a short 2-question travel survey, and set up your profile and photo.
2 · Create a trip
Add the basics and cover, then your destinations with their dates. The trip opens in Planning mode with Itinerary, Accommodation, Transportation, Expenses, Chat, and Polls.
3 · Invite & join
Invite friends by phone, email, or link. They see a blurred preview, then accept to get full access.
4 · Collaborate & finalize
Everyone adds options and votes, the chat surfaces updates, and the host finalizes the trip when it is set.
5 · Split & settle up
Log shared expenses, see where everyone stands, and settle up person by person.
Scope

What is in and out for version 1

Version 1 is the mobile app, free to use with no paywall. Here is what it includes and what is intentionally left for later.

In scope (v1)

  • Sign up with phone or email (code-based)
  • Friends: search, request, accept
  • Trip creation + multiple destinations
  • Accommodation options + voting
  • Itinerary, transportation, polls
  • Per-trip group chat
  • Expense split, settle-up, per-person view
  • Invites + blurred preview + finalize mode
  • GIF / custom covers, profile + achievements, notifications

Out of scope (v1)

  • In-app hotel / Airbnb booking (links only)
  • In-app money transfer (settle-up is informational)
  • Subscriptions, paywall, or ads
  • Global or random chat (chat is per trip)
  • In-app photo storage (photos are external links)
  • iMessage widget
Over to you

A few points to confirm before we build

These are the open items where your input locks the design. Answering them lets us start development with no ambiguity.

Companion website. Should the web version mirror the mobile app for users, be a back-office admin panel (manage users, content, stats), or both? This shapes a large part of the build.
Email login. Phone with a code is the main sign-in. Should email login also be code-based, and is it needed at launch or later?
Co-host permissions. Exactly what can a co-host do versus the host (delete the trip, remove members, finalize)?
Polls. Confirm polls are in for v1, and lock who can create them, the default expiry, and the tie-break rule.
Multi-city dates. How should overlapping or same-day multi-location trips be handled in the itinerary?
Invites vs friends. Can you invite someone who is not yet a registered friend (by phone or email, into signup), or only existing friends?
Search. Should search cover users and trips only, or search across everything (chats, places)?
GIF covers. Which GIF source would you like for the curated covers, or user-upload only?
Delete account. How should account deletion be confirmed, and should a user's trips be removed with them?
Next step

How to review this

Please read through and let us know two things: does this capture the app as you envision it, and what are your answers to the points above. Once we have those, we lock the requirements and move into development. Happy to walk through any of it on a call.