Skift Take
The travel landscape is indeed changing, but it remains to be seen whether Hipmunk will have the staying power to see it all through.
Adam Goldstein, the 25-year-old co-founder and CEO of travel metasearch company Hipmunk, believes there is a “generational shift” under way in travel.
Founded in 2010, Hipmunk is the only U.S. company to show Amtrak results mixed in with flights options, Goldstein says.
And, Goldstein notes that Hipmunk also mixes in vacation rentals, Airbnb apartments and hostels within Hipmunk’s hotel results.
Amtrak is posting “record ridership,” Goldstein says, and vacation rentals and other Airbnb-style alternative lodging types are approaching 10% of the business industrywide.
He expects bookings of such alternative lodging to grow exponentially.
It’s all part of a generational shift that Hipmunk is hoping to grow alongside.
That’s the new stuff.
The old stuff is that airlines are viewing companies such as “Hipmunk and Kayak” as a means to drive direct traffic to airline sites and away from travel agencies, Goldstein says.
And, Hipmunk is happy to oblige them.
Goldstein made his comments on Bloomberg TV. Here’s the video:
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Photo credit: Hipmunk CEO Adam Goldstein talks about how Airbnb is shaking up lodging choices for travelers. Bloomberg