So it’s already July, and you haven’t booked your vacation yet. None of it. I mean, your flight, your transporation and your lodging. Maybe you’re anxiously waiting for that next paycheck to come in. Maybe you want to play it by ear. Maybe you just don’t know where to begin. Planning and executing the perfect vacation is no easy task. With that in mind, here is a list of 16 travel booking startup and app Twitter handles — eight of which are based in our fair city of Boston — for you to follow to help you achieve the perfect national or international travel itinerary.
Kayak — @kayak — “If you want to spend hours searching every airline, hotel and other travel site yourself, that’s one option. If you’d prefer an easier way to find a good deal, Kayak can help. Its website and mobile apps enable you to easily compare hundreds of travel sites at once, in one comprehensive, fast and intuitive display.”
TripAdvisor — @TripAdvisor — “TripAdvisor features reviews and advice on hotels, resorts, flights, vacation rentals, vacation packages, travel guides, and lots more.”
Hopper — @hoppertravel — “Launching later in 2012, your next trip will be discovered here.”
StudentUniverse — @StudentUniverse — “It’s all about students on the go. It’s about getting the most out of your time in school. Millions of students use our site every year and we negotiate with all of our partners to give our customers the best possible deals.”
Flipkey — @FlipKey — “Flipkey is TripAdvisor’s exclusive vacation rental marketplace dedicated to connecting travelers, homeowners and property managers in an environment of trust.”
FlightView — @FlightView — “FlightView is the recognized leader in providing the most accurate, real-time flight information solutions for the aviation and travel industry, incorporating advanced visualization techniques and innovative new technologies to meet our customers’ varied needs.”
Goby — @therealgoby — “Goby (pronounced GO-be) is a new search engine that’s all about finding fun ways to spend your free time, from a weekend to a week off. With Goby you do one search, specifying what you want to do, where and when to find what you need about a desired trip or leisure activity.”
WaySavvy — @WaySavvy — “The savvy way to book your perfect trip. WaySavvy takes the hard work out of travel booking. It analyzes thousands of hotels and flights for each trip.”
TripIt — @TripIt — “The best way to organize and share your travel plans. Just forward your travel confirmation emails to: plans@tripit.com and TripIt ‘automagically’ creates one simple, smart itinerary to access on a smartphone, calendar, or anywhere online.”
WeHostels — @wehostels — “WeHostels is the first social booking site for hostels, beds and couches. We take the beauty of the social web and bring it to the travel booking market by allowing people to connect with fellow travelers before their trip even starts.”
tripwolf — @tripwolf — “tripwolf is a travel guide and a travel community. On tripwolf you will find the contents of professional travel reports from renowned travel guides combined with up-to-date travel tips from thousands of travelers from all over the world. Discover travel information about 50,000 places and get information on more than 500,000 sites, hotels, and restaurants worldwide.”
Hotel Tonight — @HotelTonight — “We make amazing apps for same-day hotel deals. For consumers, we offer incredible convenience and amazing value at quality hotels. For hotels, we are a marketplace to fill last-minute rooms that would otherwise remain empty.”
Mobiata — @Mobiata — “We create beautiful mobile travel apps. We’re a part of the Expedia family and we make the Expedia Hotels app, FlightTrack, FlightTrack Pro, FlightBoard and more. We’re a group of people dedicated to making the best mobile applications in the world.”
Airbnb — @Airbnb — “Airbnb is a trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book unique accommodations around the world — online or from a mobile phone. Whether an apartment for a night, a castle for a week, or a villa for a month, Airbnb connects people to unique travel experiences, at any price point, in more than 19,000 cities and 192 countries.”
Hipmunk — @thehipmunk — “Hipmunk is a remarkable new travel search site that aims to take the agony out of travel planning. We designed our site to help people who are overwhelmed with pages of irrelevant search results. Taking the agony out of your travels with a bad case of wanderlust. Become a savvier traveler.”
Vayable — @Vayable — “Vayable is a marketplace to find things to do on vacation, such as tours and activities offered by trusted, local experts. We make it fun and easy for adventurous travelers to find unique travel experiences with great people, and we build tools for tour operators and guides to help them make a living by doing what they love.”
From flight trackers, to social media sharing, to same-day deals, this list has a lot to offer but feel free to comment and contribute any startup or app that might have evaded our eyes.
