As netsurfers, my friends and I got used to book all our travel through different search engines. But besides the traditional engine such as Expedia, Priceline, even Kayak, what other choice can make our journey cheaper, more enjoyable, and more convenient? I summarized the popular and promising sites/apps traveler might want to know. Most of them are coming the sharing ecnomony bomb. Fight/Hotel Search Engine Let’s go from the popular search engine that we use frequently. It is not much surprise. They are like the bread we eat everyday, but they are totally inevitable. Travelocity Google Fight & Google ITA Matrix Fight Kayak Rocketfuel Gogobot Pirceline Orbitz Travelpony Expedia Tripadvisor Yelp
Let’s go from the popular search engine that we use frequently. It is not much surprise. They are like the bread we eat everyday, but they are totally inevitable.
- Travelocity
- Google Fight & Google ITA Matrix Fight
- Kayak
- Rocketfuel
- Gogobot
- Pirceline
- Orbitz
- Travelpony
- Expedia
- Tripadvisor
- Yelp
Stay
Airbnb
Tag: House/Apt Sharing, Community
Rate: 5 Star
If you never heard Airbnb, your friends might laugh your time-lag. It is time to catch up. Airbnb and Uber are the origin of sharing economy. It could not be better staying at “home” than the cold wall of hotel.
Couchsurfing
Tag: Host Sharing, Backpacker, Community
Rate: 5 Star
Sharing economy is definitely a big shot now. Besides Uber, Airbnb, couchsufing is an other great representative. A simple click can help you find a free stay with local people. It is an amazing tool to meet friends and immerse different culture. It also features travel buddy searching and event hang-outing. I have benefited from Couchsurfing for several times when I stayed at NYC. For instance, check this out: Free Comedy Show@NYC Feb 12, 2015. https://www.couchsurfing.com/events/596601 In a summary, couchsuring has been rolling into a travel community.
Tripping
Tag: Family Travel, Accommodation Search Engine
Tripping has claimed itself as the world-largest search engine for vacation rentals. It integrates more than 20 accommodation booking agents including Booking.com. It focuses on condo, and house renting for family & friends vocation. The best feature of Tripping is that we can simply compare proprieties price provided by different booking agents. As similar to Airbnb inter-activeness, you also can rent your home on tripping too. Although the dramatic-spreading Airbnb has the trend to dominate the vacation accommodation market, it is still worth to check the price on tripping.
Car
Uber/Lyft
Tag: Taxi, Cheap, Convenient
Rate: 5 Star
Uber has been the most aggressive startup in the past several years. It is on the way to dramatically change people’s life style. Uber and Lyft both have bunch of promotion offers for first time registration and friends referral program. I have taken Uber for at least ten times for free at several major cities, such as NYC, DC, and LA. As Uber’s major competitor, Lyft is catching up now. Lyft’s promotion is huge too. Use code BAILI279580 to get 20 $ free ride from Lyft. Use code waoal to get your first ride from Uber.
RelayRides
Tag: Car Rental, Low Price, Variety
Rate: 4 Star
If we think Uber has been a fantastic supplement of taxi, RelayRides might be the same of Hertz or Avis. Unlike traditional car rental company, RelayRides provides you all kinds of car from antique 50’s or Tesla. Another feature is the price. I just randomly check the rental car at this coming weekend, the lower price is just 20 dollar, and lots of choice are around 40 dollars.
Food
EatWith
Tag: Local Food, Authentic Food, Community, Culture
Rate: 4 Start
Competitors: MealSharing, Reastly
I think no one can deny that authentic food make our journey more enjoyable. Several startup are trying to connect traveler with local chefs. For me, besides the food, meeting new friends might be even better. Talk, laugh, and eat, that is the essence of the travel.
