Hipmunk
Expanding our app to include hotels ranked by ‘Ecstasy,’ reflects our dedication to providing users with all the best options that they are more likely to chose in a way that is simple, visual and now on-the-go.
San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) January 09, 2012
Hipmunk, the travel search site, today announced the availability of a major update to its iPhone, iPad, and Android OS applications. Following Hipmunk’s successful 2011 launches of the iOS and Android apps, the company is now bringing its innovative hotel search to mobile devices. Leisure and business travelers will now have on-the-go access to Hipmunk’s inventory of over 300,000 global hotels. In just a few simple taps, users can search for and book hotels faster and more reliably than ever.
Features of the Hipmunk Hotel Search Application include:
- Automatic search from current location, enabled by GPS, with ability to enter a new destination;
- Hotel results displayed on a map so users can visualize the destination and hotel options within that destination;
- Top ten hotels ranked by “Ecstasy,” a combination of rate, amenities, and reviews, are highlighted on map;
- Ecstasy is recalculated and new hotels highlighted when the map is recentered and zoomed in and out;
- Ability to turn on information overlays, or heatmaps, including food, nightlife, shopping, tourism, “vice,” and Walkscore™ allowing users to see where a hotel is in relation to unique interests;
- Multiple booking options, including directly with many hotels;
- Booking through the mobile browser, a finish code to book later from a computer, or ability to email hotel choice to a friend, family member, or colleague;
- Saved searches that allow users to easily flip between up to five recent searches to find their best travel options.
“Researching and booking hotels on mobile devices can be an overwhelming task, where too many options are presented without context,” said Adam Goldstein, Hipmunk CEO. “Expanding our app to include hotels ranked by ‘Ecstasy,’ reflects our dedication to providing users with all the best options that they are more likely to chose in a way that is simple, visual and now on-the-go.”
With more and more users couch surfing for hotels on their tablets, or opting to tote tablets while traveling, the new Hipmunk Flight and Hotel search app is also optimized for tablets. With more screen real estate on tablets, the map remains the focus of the app allowing users to visualize their destination. Perfect for research or road trips, the Hipmunk hotel app is designed to cater to last-minute travelers or planners.
“We’ve noticed that most of our users who were searching for hotels from mobile browsers were searching for a hotel for that night,” said Danilo Campos, Mobile Designer at Hipmunk. “We’ve designed the new Hipmunk hotel app especially for last-minute shoppers so they can find the best available hotels within walking distance, feel confident in their decision, and not just settle for the cheapest available hotel.”
The Hipmunk Flight and Hotel Search App is available for free from the App Store here and Android Market here.
About Hipmunk
Hipmunk is a remarkable new travel search site that takes the pain out of travel planning. With its innovative “Agony” and “Ecstasy” sorts, Hipmunk presents flight results in a visual ”timeline” and hotel results on a map, allowing people to select the best flight for them at a glance and view where in a destination they will be staying. Hipmunk is one of Budget Travel’s “Top 10 Most Useful Websites,” Inc.’s “Best Booking Website,” TIME Magazine’s “50 Coolest Websites,” and Travel + Leisure’s “Best Websites of 2011.” Co-founders Adam Goldstein and Steve Huffman were named to Bloomberg BusinessWeek’s “Top Tech Entrepreneurs,” Forbes “30 Under 30” and Inc.’s “30 Under 30” lists. The company launched in 2010, is based in San Francisco, and has funding from Ignition Partners, Y Combinator, SV Angel, Webb Investment Network, Quest Hospitality Ventures, and several angel investors. For more information and to book your next flight or hotel, please visit Hipmunk.com.
Media Contacts:
Jacqueline Tanzella, Hipmunk
415-794-1118
Jacqueline(at)hipmunk(dot)com
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