Searching for a flight or a hotel is nothing new on the internet, however Hipmunk is taking this common practice and making it much better for the user. The site claims that most flight searches do not update their interface often, if at all. Hipmunk, on the other hand, strives to create a pleasant experience for the user with a very simple design that is not intimidating and makes locating the best hotels and rates on air fare an easy, if not enjoyable, experience.

Visit www.hipmunk.com

Hipmunk is funded by Y Combinator and SV Angel, and was founded by Steve Huffman and Adam Goldstein. Huffman was a co-founder for Reddit. Goldstein co-founded BookTour and also wrote AppleScript: The Missing Manual. Hipmunk is one of their newest creations and is still relatively young. The concept was built around the idea that there can be a much more effective flight search. The site still holds true to that notion, welcoming visitors with a lack of clutter and a playful chipmunk mascot. In march 2011, Hipmunk added hotel searches to their services.

At it’s basic level, Hipmunk is not a site that could be deemed a “new” concept. Numerous websites exist that offer users a way to search for flights and hotels. However, Hipmunk stands out in the way it offers this service and its focus. Rather than throwing advertisements at users and neglecting the user interface, Hipmunk focuses on creating an easy to use tool that makes the experience much more enjoyable and less stressful.

As soon as a new visitor finds the Hipmunk homepage, they are greeted with a grinning chipmunk wearing aviator goggles and a scarf. The adorable image is enough to draw anyone in however the rest of the site compliments his cheerful expression. The Hipmunk logo features a simple blue color scheme with a fun font. The search tool is streamlined well so that the user can get right to the point of their visit: searching for their next airfare purchase and a hotel.

Hipmunk is a tool that any traveler can use. The site does not require an account to use its flight search tool. Simply enter departing and arrival locations, dates, number of travelers, desired cabin and preferred airline (if those details exist) and hit the “Search!” button. The search takes a few moments, and the user can review results all without providing any personal information. The same simple mechanism applies to the hotel search. There are Facebook and Twitter options that allow the user to add Hipmunk to their profiles, but that is the extent of the registration (and it is not a requirement).

The price of Hipmunk is as good as it gets for anything found on the internet: free. Of course, charging a fee for the service the site offers would be a bit off putting, especially considering how many other sites there are that perform the same services for free. Given the site’s current functions, it is well worth the free price to do a search on a site that offers no clutter or obnoxious distractions to complicate the process.

Anyone who has a desire or need to travel can enjoy Hipmunk. The search tool itself is very simple and preferable to many of the competing sites available today. The free price tag makes it easy for anyone to use Hipmunk as well, no matter how low the user’s travel budget may be. Travelers of all ages going to almost any location across the globe can turn to Hipmunk to help them plan their journey.

• Enjoy a user-friendly interface to perform searches
• Add Hipmunk on Twitter and Facebook
• Choose desired cabin
• Select a preferred airline prior to searching
• Search for flights and hotels without a lot of distracting clutter
• Integrates with Google Calendar for conflict-free bookings

Visit www.hipmunk.com

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