5 New Travel Startups for Search and Discovery

This week’s travel startup watch is all about connection. These apps connect travelers with locals, hotels with their guests, and events and their attendees through digital tools that aim to make connections that are useful and interesting to each party.

>> Eo is a platform where travelers can connect with locals before they arrive in a destination. Users are matched based on location, interest, and upcoming travel plans. Users can swipe through potential matches and message directly via the app.

SkiftTake: Similar to most connection platforms, there is much stronger incentive for travelers to use them than locals creating an equal balance of supply and demand that’s difficult to overcome.

>> HotelZapp is one of a growing number of hotel apps that provides concierge services on a mobile platform. The startup claims to have information and services for 1,800 hotels already available via the app.

SkiftTake: Startups are beating hotels at their own game; however, it’s not long before the savvier brands invest in their own concierge apps to ensure a seamless, branded experience.

>> Lyke App is a social discovery app that maps popular places throughout a city by providing real-time feedback from the local community on where to go and what to do. The maps highlight where a large volume of people are located, points of interests, and distance.

SkiftTake: In theory, Lyke is equally useful to locals and tourists, however, it will be difficult to attract enough users needed to provide real-time data on urban activity.

>> Cronomio is an event discovery platform that integrates into users’ calendars so they easily find and schedule events that align with their interests.

SkiftTake: Events are a driving factor in many travelers’ decision-making process. The earlier that a user becomes aware of an event, the better chance that they’ll invest in traveling to get to it.

>> TravelTropper is a destination discovery tool that filters potential locations by continent, flight time and traveler type. Users can then rate and review their most recent trips as well as build and share travel maps detailing their itineraries.

SkiftTake: Most people’s bucket lists is much longer than their potential vacation time so figuring out where to go isn’t an issue as much as when to go.

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