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HotSpot is a travel discovery platform for Ethiopia and Africa that helps travellers find destinations, book verified local guides, and plan trips. The mobile apps (iOS + Android) are in soft launch; hotspot.et is the canonical source for destination guides, blog content, and partner onboarding.

Yes. HotSpot is built primarily for Ethiopia and serves the wider African travel market, with editorial guides for Addis Ababa, Lalibela, Gondar, Bahir Dar, Harar, and Dire Dawa. Content is currently in English; Amharic support is rolling out.

HotSpot is in soft launch on the iOS App Store and Google Play Store. You can sign up for early access at hotspot.et to receive a download link as availability rolls out by region.

Yes, HotSpot is free to download and use. Core features destination discovery, guide search, trip planning, and reading reviews are free; premium add-ons may apply to specific bookings or business listings.

HotSpot is built by Horan Technologies PLC, a software company based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The platform is operated locally with on-the-ground knowledge of Ethiopian destinations, languages, and the African travel market.

You can create a HotSpot account with your email address, phone number, or by signing in with Google or Apple. Email accounts require a one-time code sent to your inbox to verify ownership.

On the sign-in screen, tap "Forgot password" and enter your email address. We will send a reset link valid for 60 minutes. If you signed up with Google or Apple, sign in through the original provider instead there is no separate HotSpot password.

Yes. Go to Settings → Account → Email in the app, enter your new email, and confirm it via the verification code we send. Until you confirm, the old email remains active.

You can request account deletion at hotspot.et/delete-account or from Settings → Account → Delete Account in the mobile app. Personal data is removed within 30 days, except where retention is required by Ethiopian law (for example, transaction records). Public reviews you posted may remain in anonymised form.

Change your password immediately and sign out of all sessions from Settings → Security → Active Sessions. Then submit a Help Center ticket with topic "Account & sign-in" so our team can review the activity.

The best time to visit Ethiopia is October to March, the dry season, with cool comfortable weather across the highlands and clear hiking conditions in the Simien Mountains. The "long rains" run roughly June to September; the Danakil Depression is most accessible November to February when daytime temperatures drop below 40 °C.

Most travellers need a visa to enter Ethiopia. Ethiopia offers an electronic visa (e-Visa) for many nationalities via the official Ethiopian Immigration Service portal, and visa-on-arrival is available at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport for eligible passports. Always confirm the current policy with the Ethiopian embassy in your country before booking.

Ethiopia's most-visited destinations are the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela (UNESCO World Heritage), the Simien Mountains, Lake Tana and the Blue Nile Falls near Bahir Dar, the castles of Gondar, the walled city of Harar, the Danakil Depression, and the Omo Valley. Addis Ababa is the usual entry point and worth two to three days for museums, food, and Mount Entoto.

Most popular tourist regions Addis Ababa, Lalibela, Gondar, Bahir Dar, Harar, the Simien Mountains are considered safe for tourists who follow standard precautions. Specific border regions and Tigray have had travel advisories; check your government's current advisory before departure and use a verified local guide for remote areas like Danakil and Omo Valley.

The currency of Ethiopia is the Ethiopian birr (ETB). Credit cards are accepted at international hotels and some restaurants in Addis Ababa, but cash is required almost everywhere outside the capital. ATMs are reliable in major cities; bring USD or EUR cash as a backup for rural travel.

The federal working language of Ethiopia is Amharic. English is widely spoken in tourism, hotels, and major cities. Regional working languages include Oromo, Tigrinya, Somali, and Afar.

Go to the Tour guides directory at hotspot.et/guides or open the Guides tab in the app. Each profile shows expertise tags (trekking, history, food), languages spoken, ratings, and reviews from past travellers. Every guide is vetted before listing.

Open the guide or place page, tap "Request booking", choose your dates, and send a message. Guides respond within 24 hours during business days. Payment terms and cancellation policies are set on each listing.

Payment methods depend on the guide and the booking type many accept bank transfer or mobile money (Telebirr, M-Pesa) for in-country bookings, and major credit cards for international travellers. The accepted methods are listed on each guide's profile.

Cancellation and refund terms are set by each guide or operator and shown before you confirm a booking. If the guide cancels or fails to deliver the booked service, contact us through the Help Center we will mediate and, where applicable, help recover the payment.

Submit a Help Center ticket with topic "Other" or "Bug" and include the guide name, booking date, and a description. Our trust-and-safety team reviews every report and may suspend or remove guides who breach our community standards.

Apply at hotspot.et/partner. Submit your business name, contact details, location, and a short description. The partnerships team reviews each application within 2–3 business days and follows up by email.

Use the same partner application at hotspot.et/partner and select 'Tour guide' as your business type. We require a valid government-issued ID and, where applicable, a tour-guide licence. Approved guides get a public profile with reviews and direct messaging.

Basic listings are free during soft launch. Premium placement, featured slots, and booking-platform fees apply to specific listing tiers; details are shared during onboarding. We do not charge applicants to apply or to be reviewed.

Use the Help Center with topic "Press / media", or email [email protected] directly. Please include the outlet, the angle, and your deadline so we can route the request.

HotSpot encrypts data in transit using HTTPS/TLS and at rest for sensitive fields, runs least-privilege access controls, and contracts with vetted sub-processors. Full details are in the Privacy Policy at hotspot.et/privacy-policy.

No. HotSpot does not sell personal data, and we do not use the content of private messages for advertising or to train third-party AI models. We share data only with sub-processors who help us run the Service, under written agreements.

You have the right to access, correct, delete, and port your personal data, and to object to or restrict processing. Submit a request through the Help Center with topic 'Data / privacy request' or email [email protected]. We respond within 30 days as required by Ethiopia's Personal Data Protection Proclamation No. 1321/2024 and the EU GDPR where it applies.

We collect what you provide (name, email, phone, profile, content you post), basic device and usage data needed to run the Service, and with your permission approximate or precise location to show nearby places. The full inventory is documented in the Privacy Policy.

First, force-quit the app and reopen it. If the issue persists, ensure you are on the latest version (Settings → About → Version), check your internet connection, and as a last resort sign out and back in. If none of that helps, file a Help Center ticket with topic "Report a bug" and include your device model, OS version, and a screenshot.

Check your spam folder and add [email protected] to your contacts. If the email still does not arrive within 10 minutes, your email provider may be blocking it; submit a Help Center ticket with topic "Account & sign-in" and we will help you complete the action manually.

Open the place page, tap "Report a problem", and pick the appropriate reason (wrong information, closed, inappropriate, duplicate). Our content team reviews flagged places within 1–2 business days.

Pull-to-refresh on the Bookings tab. If the booking still does not appear and you have a confirmation email or screenshot, file a Help Center ticket with topic "Billing" and attach the confirmation; we can recover the booking from the email reference.

The fastest way is the Help Center at hotspot.et/help-center. You will receive a confirmation email with a ticket reference, and our team replies within 1–2 business days. For partnerships and press, email [email protected].

Submit a Help Center ticket with topic "Feature request" and describe what you would like to do and why. We read every feature request and use them to prioritise the roadmap.

HotSpot is on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Telegram, and Facebook links are at the bottom of every page. We post product updates, destination features, and travel tips weekly.