Everyone travels, and the sad part is, everyone is bothered by the hassles of traveling, especially in tedious tasks such as booking hotels or documenting trips.
In this month’s newsletter, I’ll introduce you to two new web services that just might make your traveling life a little easier.
BedMap
“Gosh! Why can’t you just give me a map?!” That’s my reaction when I tried booking hotels online in the past. Obviously my search criteria included hotel prices, but more importantly, I needed to know where the hotel was in relation to my destinations, and more often than not, hotel bookings services only gave out addresses.
Although it’s been done before, BedMap assists travelers in booking hotels. However, what differentiates them from typical hotel search engines is that they actually show you where hotels are on a map.
Moreover, they include the hotel prices right on the map so consumers can compare hotels in respect to their locations right away.
In addition to these features, BedMap also allows you to sort results according to specific preferences, such as free wi-fi, free parking, and free breakfast.
As of June 2, 2011, BedMap has been online for a month. It was founded in February of this year in Toronto, Canada. Their revenue source at this moment is based purely on commission, and is entirely self-funded as of now. It currently lists more than 90,000 hotels in more than 35,000 destinations.
It prides itself as a streamlined service that’s without clutter like other hotel booking services. I, for one, would love to use this for my next trip. Anything that would decrease the amount of hassles when booking hotels has intrinsic value to me.
Check out how I can finish searching in 2 simple steps:
Voila! And now I have an overview of all the hotels in Taipei City!
From the look, function, and feel of BedMap, it’s a service that satisfies both the research and booking stages of a trip planning. However, they could include more functions such as planning directly on the service, or validating to check for others’ opinions. It may help if they implement simple user-generated reviews right on the map, or provide a function that allows users to drag-and-drop hotels to see if the choices fit with their entire trip. Also, they’ve yet to offer mobile applications of the same nature, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens when they do.
However, since it’s a relatively new service, those functions might emerge in the very near future. I recommend travelers to give it a try. I mean, why not? Support the small guys right?
Globified
When I first came to Taiwan, I told my Canadian friends that I’d be blogging my entire trip for them to see and follow. I remember saying proudly “I’ll keep up with updates” when a female friend said I wouldn’t follow through. I ended up keeping the blog updated with both video and written blogs… for 3 months. I failed at it because I found that traditional blogs were hard to use in describing where I’ve been and where I’m going. Written words can only express so much, and videos were really time consuming to produce. Thus, I started slacking off until it came to an eventual end.
Similarly, Globified’s founders Patrik and Viktor Engborg found that they needed an interactive map so their friends could follow their backpacking trip in Central America. They didn’t want just a generic blogging platform; they wanted a travel log web service.
Basically, Globified helps travelers document their trips, with pictures or with texts, which are all organized by traveling routes. In another word, Globified is attempting to create a user-generated guidebook, that when members on a trip checks into a city, a spot is created for that city. This spot can then be used for photos, text, or tips, which other members may use/contribute to as well. If it sounds complicated, think of it as a travel Wikipedia on a map.
In the above picture, viewers can see where other users are, and what they’ve contributed to this “place”. In this scenario, a “shout” (equivalent of a status update) was contributed.
As for this picture (above), one can see what users have contributed to this “place” in the past. Since Globified is still in Beta, you can only see “Robert’s” past activities.
In detail, Globified allows travelers to share their travel experiences in the forms of blog posts, sharing photos, etc. It also plots the route travelers take on a map by keeping track on where you are.
It’s in beta stage right now, but when it’s over, Globified is aiming for a freemium model as their business model. Under this model, members that choose a free account will still be able to document their journeys. However, those with a premium account will have more options.
If I ever travel again, I’ll give Globified a try. It’s definitely a new way of categorizing and organizing travel information.
-By Dan Lee
留言列表
