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Groupon, a daily deals website that caters to a wealth of products and services, has just launched an app travel aficionados may want to download.
Tech Crunch's Ingrid Lunden profiles Getaways, a new app available for iOS and Android that offers travelers a quick, streamlined way to get to travel-specific deals.
Lunden writes that the application, "bypasses Groupon's wider focus on local merchant deals to focus only on travel packages and hotels (25,000 offers listed right now), similar to the Groupon site of the same name."
The website offered this brief video to illustrate various features:
Now I thought I would take the app for a brief spin and was satisfied with the intuitive process. You can find a trip by plugging in a destination's location, the time you plan to spend there and theme, which is a catchall term for something akin to "family getaways" or beachside fun.
There is also a handy "Near Me Tonight" section that leads to various deals, especially for that traveling procrastinator, we presume.
Now I would still like a one-stop shop for all things travel, including suggestions for restaurants, events and watering holes during the trip. While the original app satisfies that, having all this included for a specific trip would have been truly spectacular.
According to the report, travel deals within the main Groupon app aren't going anywhere. Simply, there is now a need for an app dedicated to the world wanderer. Lunden offers, "Groupon says that travel is its fastest growing business category." The reporter continues that the website, "hopes (Getaways) will help it capitalize on that more."
Now if ease of use and need weren't enough, there's more. The report states, "Those who download it and book a trip through it can get a 20% discount until November 14 if they use the APP20 promotion code."
Simon Goodall of Groupon Getaways spoke to Lunden about the new app and offered further incentive, "If they buy one of our thousands of market picks hotels they'll be able to use their 5% back in Groupon Bucks through that app while on their trip."
At the heart of the report is the increasingly obvious notion that apps are very much in. During Q3, Groupon noted that half of its earnings come from mobile applications.
The popularity of apps just means companies such as Groupon are widening their reach into the mobile marketplace.
That means, fortunately, travelers have more diversity when considering what apps they absolutely need before and during their respective trips.
It remains to be seen whether this particular app will stick with consumers. The good news is that it is forced to compete with other travel apps like Kayak, Expedia and the like. The hope is that competition yields savings, which just means more travel for the rest of us.
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