Skift Take

Right now we're seeing a lot of travel startups that are trying to recreate or tweak the visionary ideas that are actually driving change in the travel industry. We'd like to see more innovation, less imitation.

This week’s roundup of travel startups are all iterations or innovations built on top of today’s major travel trends including peer-to-peer platforms, local discovery, and online booking.

For all of our SkiftSeedlings collection, check out our archives here.

>> Routes is a pocket-sized tour guide. Users choose from a list of tours in the area they want to explore and rate and review each itinerary. The tours are created by guides who incorporate location, descriptions and photos.

SkiftTake: Mobile itineraries that give travelers the freedom to follow the route at their own pace are becoming more and more popular, especially since most tourists today already use a mobile device to access information and maps.

>> Vileee is a trip planning website that helps users find the best neighborhoods to stay in. Users enter basic trip information and preferences, find the best area for their personality and interests, and suggests local hotels.

SkiftTake: Following a boom in local obsessions, it only makes sense that a travel website built more for finding neighborhoods than hotels and events would emerge.

>> Ebooxter is online booking software that allows business owners to add booking technology to any website without the need for coding experience. The software accepts bookings and direct payments, helps managers keep track of appointments and no-shows, and can send personalized updates.

SkiftTake: Think of it like the WordPress of hotel bookings, platforms like ebooxter are invaluable tools for small hotels and tour operators that need to offer online transactions to capture customers today.

>> ProperSwap is a peer-to-peer platform for foreign-currency transfers. Users can search and find friends who are looking to trade the currency that the user owns, contact them through the website and then meet up for the swap.

SkiftTake: Peer-to-peer platforms are coming to every aspect of the travel experience and money transfer is one of the most applicable use cases due to the money saved by both parties. Safety and ease of meet up will be two challenges as the platform grows.

>> Aluguest is a Airbnb-style rental platform aimed at the Latin America market. The website connects hosts and guests, takes 10% of sales, and holds the money until 24 hours after the guest begins a stay.

SkiftTake: Airbnb is growing quickly around the globe making it major competition for new startups, despite possibly knowing less about each market than similar homegrown platforms.

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Tags: skiftseedlings, startups, travel apps

Photo credit: Routes is an app that allows tourists to choose from a list of tours in the area they want to explore. Routes.Tips

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