Skift Take

Being the Facebook or Pinterest of travel was always going to be tough when there was a Facebook and Pinterest around.

Social travel-planning site Trippy notified its users that it is “temporarily” shuttering its website, as well as its iPhone and iPad apps, because “we’re now ready to take Trippy even further.”

Founded in 2011 by J.R. Johnson, who previously founded VirtualTourist and sold it to TripAdvisor in 2008, Trippy is the latest social travel site or trip-planning site to find the going very tough.

When it launched, Johnson roped in high-profile Silicon Valley personalities and semi-celebs such as Randi Zuckerberg, Kevin Rose, Jason Mraz, Tim Ferriss, and Rachel Zoe, to share their trip plans.

Social travel is a tough market to compete in. Gtrot pivoted out of travel completely, Twigmore shut down, TravelMuse sold to NileGuide for an undisclosed amount, and Wanderfly was acquired by TripAdvisor, also for an undisclosed amount.

Trippy’s email notification to users (see below) indicated it will be in the throes of “a significant evolution” over the next few months.

Whether it indeed returns, and in what form, remains to be seen.

A year and a half ago, Trippy underwent a redesign and emerged with a Pinterest influence, enabling users to create travel boards, pin Web content to them, and share them with friends.

Many of the social travel and travel planning sites have had trouble creating a real business.

Trippy received $1.75 million in funding in late 2011 in a round that included participation from Sequoia Capital, SV Angel, Rob Solomon and True Ventures.

Johnson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Here’s Trippy’s email to users:

We launched Trippy with a simple mission — to make travel planning better. And thanks to you, our members, Trippy has become a great place to plan amazing trips!

Now we’re ready to take Trippy even further. And so, over the next couple months Trippy will undergo a significant evolution. That means starting today, the current Trippy website will be taken down, and the iPhone and iPad apps will no longer be available for download.

So what’s next? As an existing member, you’ll automatically be brought in as we roll out the new Trippy. However, if you want to get in even sooner, just click the link below and we’ll get things going:

Move me to the front of the line!

Also, if you want a copy of your trips, comments and tips please email us, within the next 30 days, at [email protected] and we’ll be sure to send them to you.

We’ll be sharing more details as things move along. Thanks for the support!

—-
Keep Traveling!
J.R. and Team Trippy
smartphone

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Tags: social media, trippy

Photo credit: Trippy has taken down its website and apps, replacing them with this place-holder page. Trippy

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