Hey, How Did You Find That Place?
By Jennifer Conlin
EVERY March my most organized friends start reserving waterfront rooms, urban oases or country cabins for their perfect summer getaway, while I procrastinate, overwhelmed by the options. Recently, I logged onto VRBO.com (Vacation Rental by Owner), only to find my head spinning at the length of its roster — 180,000 properties worldwide. Scrolling through Hotels.com (145,000 hotels in more than 60 countries) and Airbnb.com (over 100,000 short-term rental places in 192 countries), I almost gave up.
Then I stumbled upon DesignTripper.com, a site that features 200 or so beautifully photographed small hotels, inns and houses — a slim roster of properties, which appeared to be so breathtakingly designed that the destination seemed secondary.
DesignTripper is one of several curated Web sites that have recently sprung up, offering an alternative to those endless lists on mainstream sites.
“On the big booking Web sites you find all the corporate hotels, but if you want to find the cabin, cottage, B&B or family-owned hotel, it is really hard,” said Meghan McEwen, the founder of Designtripper.com.
“Not everyone enjoys the big hunt for that little gem,” said Krista Garcia, an analyst at the research firm eMarketer, who notes that people are starting to prefer sites “where the experts are trusted tastemakers who save the consumer time.” (How true is this!)
Source: NYTimes. Continue reading the complete article "Hey, How Did You Find That Place?" on the NYT website
By Jennifer Conlin
EVERY March my most organized friends start reserving waterfront rooms, urban oases or country cabins for their perfect summer getaway, while I procrastinate, overwhelmed by the options. Recently, I logged onto VRBO.com (Vacation Rental by Owner), only to find my head spinning at the length of its roster — 180,000 properties worldwide. Scrolling through Hotels.com (145,000 hotels in more than 60 countries) and Airbnb.com (over 100,000 short-term rental places in 192 countries), I almost gave up.
Then I stumbled upon DesignTripper.com, a site that features 200 or so beautifully photographed small hotels, inns and houses — a slim roster of properties, which appeared to be so breathtakingly designed that the destination seemed secondary.
DesignTripper is one of several curated Web sites that have recently sprung up, offering an alternative to those endless lists on mainstream sites.
“On the big booking Web sites you find all the corporate hotels, but if you want to find the cabin, cottage, B&B or family-owned hotel, it is really hard,” said Meghan McEwen, the founder of Designtripper.com.
“Not everyone enjoys the big hunt for that little gem,” said Krista Garcia, an analyst at the research firm eMarketer, who notes that people are starting to prefer sites “where the experts are trusted tastemakers who save the consumer time.” (How true is this!)
Source: NYTimes. Continue reading the complete article "Hey, How Did You Find That Place?" on the NYT website
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