The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.
Name: Tripping
Quick Pitch: Tripping is a global network for travelers to find locals renting out their homes.
Genius Idea: The social travel site rounds up housing options for travelers onto one platform. There are more than 750,000 vacation and short-term rental spaces to choose from at a given time.
Tripping is an online aggregator of home rentals around the world. Tripping works with a number of rental sites popular in various parts of the world to collect the best listings available. Users can find vacation stays in apartments, cabins, bungalows and boats — or something a little more luxurious.
"On Tripping, you can get a huge range of places to stay anywhere you go in the world," founder and CEO Jen O'Neal tells Mashable. "Anything from a discreet couch at a home-stay or a luxury villa in the south of France, you can find everything on Tripping."
Tripping launched in 2009 as a purely global community site for travelers who wanted to connect with locals. It evolved into an aggregation channel in January and activity on the platform has since exploded. Sales numbers have doubled each month since February, O'Neal says.
"We wanted to create one place where any traveler could go and find the best inventory anywhere in the world," she says. "Our goal is to solve a major problem in the industry — that the vacation rental industry is growing twice as fast as the travel industry. AirBNB dominates the U.S. market, but other sites dominate other markets."
Compared to couch-surfing sites and other travel rental platforms, Tripping offers housing options that are more wide-ranging. The platform has a professional feel, yet it feels welcoming and community-based because of its social layer.
O'Neal is a serial traveler who has lived in Costa Rica and London. The idea for a travel-based startup was sparked by the fact that wherever she went in Europe, people told her "the best maps are made by McDonald's."
"When you go to Venice and you get to the train station, everyone tells you the best maps are by McDonald's because they want you to be able to find their restaurants," she says. "So all of these tours are following McDonald's paths through Venice and they totally miss the best parts of Venice."
Tripping attempts to offer travelers something better — seeing real cities with the help of locals. From NYC to Lisbon, Portugal, discover local favorites that tourists typically don't see. There are dive bars, coffee shops and local cuisine awaiting.
"The other side of Tripping is the cultural understanding that leads to better understanding of local culture that goes both ways," O'Neal says.
On the network, user profiles can be public or private. Information about locals offering housing includes details about their education, occupation, hometown and language. Other important aspects include what they are interested in during the traveler's stay. Locals can list whether they're simply interested in hosting someone or want to engage in cultural exchange, coffee, friendship, networking and more.
On each renter's page, there are anonymous references (if available) and Tripping stats that list how many times they have hosted or tripped (found housing via Tripping) to make decision-making easier.
The community platform heavily relies on its members. Tripping is still a huge global social platform. Members can chat and exchange messages. The travel website also offers users a chance to meet locals on the network to find free home stays. Plus, renters can offer their own homes to fellow travels for free rentals in exchange.
By the end of the year, O'Neal expects huge growth, predicting 1.5 million rental listings. There is also an app currently in works.
"It's going to be more immediate," she says. "We're taking into account that the people who are using the mobile version are probably on the go. We'll be making sure listings that show on the app are from people who will respond within 24 hours."
Series Supported by Microsoft BizSpark
border="0" alt="Microsoft BizSpark" align="none" />
The Spark of Genius
Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made
possible by href="http://www.microsoftstartupzone.com/BizSpark/Pages/At_a_Glance.aspx?WT.mc_id=MSZ_Mashable_posts"
target="_blank">Microsoft BizSpark, a startup program that gives
you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as
well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and
incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is
privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than
U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can href="http://mashable.com/bizspark">sign up today.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario