5 New Travel Startups That Know the Future of Travel Is Mobile

As established companies invest in bringing their current services to mobile platforms, startups are building their services on mobile, from the ground up, and appealing to travelers looking for new tools and marketplaces.

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>> Funlidays is a trip planning app that helps travelers build itineraries and map routes with the ease of drag and drop functionality. Users can search attractions, plan activities by the hour, map directions, and access the itinerary when offline.

SkiftTake: Not a single leisure trip planning app has emerged and won a large customer base; however, Funlidays’ drag-and-drop function makes it a fun tool to play around with in the planning process.

>> TastemakersAfrica is the first phase of Rare Customs’ multi-platform solution for millennial travelers looking to explore African countries without traditional packaged tours. It is currently a primarily media platform looks at food, drinks, and relaxation options across the continent. It also offers four tour packages, created to match the brand’s millennial mindset.

SkiftTake: There is an opportunity for TastemakersAfrica to establish itself as a millennial mouthpiece for travel to African countries where tourism and travel is on the rise.

>> Okanda,is a booking platform for meeting rooms, which launched in the UK with plans to expand worldwide. That startup has raised $1.6 million in funding and aims to double the occupancy of hotels’ meeting rooms from 30 percent to 60 percent.

SkiftTake: Startups targeting business travel often have more success than leisure travel startups with more consistent demand and defined objectives.

>> LookBooker is a site where people can find, compare and booking hair and beauty appointments. The site was founded with the idea of giving business travelers the tools easily find and book appointments to maintain their appearance even when on the road. It is currently in Singapore and New York.

SkiftTake: Yelp has largely solved this problem; however, LookBooker puts reviews and booking on one easy mobile platform. This will gain it new users for ease of use and common community.

>> Maps.Me is an offline map app that allows travelers to zoom in and out, discover points of interest, search, bookmark locations and follow directions all without connecting to Internet or using data.

SkiftTake: Google already has solved the mapping problem; however, travelers can turn to Maps.Me when navigating open uncharted spaces such as mountain treks or trails.