

Flights With Friends Launches To Take The Pain Out Of Group Travel Planning - killion
http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/10/facebook-kayak-flights-with-friends-launches-to-take-the-pain-out-of-group-travel-planning/

======
trustfundbaby
Doesn't this ...

 _> However, there is a flip side. Although startups (and some incumbents) are
working hard to bring the whole travel decision funnel online, most group
travel still happens through travel agents — much of it offline._

contradict the very next sentence?

 _> A recent survey conducted by Travel Weekly and TravelAge West found that
nearly 80 percent of travel agents booked 10 or fewer groups in 2010. So, all
in all, groups account for a relatively small portion of bookings._

~~~
killion
I think it is missing mentioning that these are home-based travel agents so
that they have very few bookings in total for the year, but that there are
many home-based travel agents.

------
kirse
I have to say, between FlightFox and AirBNB (both sites I learned about
through HN) I've been an incredibly happy camper planning a recent group trip.
FlightFox agents found us a ridiculously low airfare for our group -- in fact
I don't think I'll ever buy a ticket myself again without checking with FF...
and searching for places on AirBNB has been a blast.

I'm not sure what exactly the "pain" is in group trip planning because half
the fun is convincing people to join, throwing around ideas, & getting excited
for the trip. Really my only pain point has been the cash shuffle, which is
ameliorated by having honest friends.

~~~
rahim
Out of curiosity, how much of a Finder's Fee do you typically offer on
FlightFox? Would you use it for shorter trips, say LA to SF, or does it really
only become worth it on longer, more complicated trips?

~~~
kirse
FlightFox was really an eye opener for me when I learned about that
6-continents trip that some agent had planned for $1730 (originally linked off
HN)... I basically realized these guys have so many tricks up their sleeves
that the more flexibility/variables you introduce the wittier they can get
with their planning...

So yea, with simpler itinerary they probably have less wiggle room to find
some loophole or deal, but my hunch (haven't tried it yet) is that if I said
"I want to go to LA sometime in June" that the time flexibility would be
enough to give them room to find a great deal. I'm sure one of them could
comment more on this.

As far as finder fee I just used the default one since I never used the site
and our trip was fairly simple, but would likely adjust based on how complex I
felt the trip planning would be...

The biggest annoyance of FF is you have to carefully follow directions to book
but the potential savings is worth it.

------
pinko
I'd love to hear a review from anyone on HN who has first-hand experience with
this outfit.

~~~
killion
And so would I, you can also chat with us on the site.

------
rhizome
Non-TC link: <http://www.flightswithfriends.com/>

------
rwhitman
What is your target demo?

~~~
killion
We focus on groups of 2-9 people. Any less, and it's not a group, any more and
a travel agent might be able to get you better prices.

Our initial marketing campaign is targeted at people getting married and their
friends. We figure we can make payroll just with bachelor(ette) parties in
Vegas.

~~~
rwhitman
Interesting! Well best of luck.

(If you ever want to market to a small travel community of 18-35s, let me
know...)

------
rprasad
This is a niche market and Flights with Friends does not address the primary
pain point of group traveling: getting everyone to commit to the trip and
_pay_. Organizing what to do and where to stay is the easy part.

~~~
killion
We've found that once people join the trip on Flights With Friends and one
person books the others book as well. We notify the other members of the trip
as soon as anyone books.

