Hipmunk travel: compare flight prices with the internet’s hippest chipmunk

Friends Adam Goldstein and Steve Huffman founded Hipmunk in August of 2010 out of a desire to improve the travel planning process.  Frustrated by the time-consuming and over-complicated details of booking a flight or hotel, they designed a simple layout that lets viewers easily compare flight prices.  After entering their preferred travel dates, users are provided a one page spreadsheet that displays color coded airline deals and prices in ascending order. 

Another defining Hipmunk feature is the “Agony/Ecstasy” sorting component.  When Hipmunk searches for flights, it takes into account the length of flights, number of layovers, and any other factors that might influence the travel experience.  It also offers an “Ecstasy” factor that ranks deals by price, amenities, and reviews.  With these features, Hipmunk travel truly aims to separate the traveler from the frustration of searching and analyzing involved in the travel planning process.  Once a deal is selected, Hipmunk connects the user directly to the airlines, hotels, or Orbitz.

Hipmunk created a modern, user-friendly website, and what better way to reaffirm the hip quality of the website than with the approval of a celebrity?  Among its list of investors is Ashton Kutcher.  The movie star even tweeted about Hipmunk and recommended the travel site.  

Hipmunk, in full appreciation of today’s trends, launched itself through the world of social media establishing a presence on Facebook, Twitter, and its own Hipmunk blog.  Its new interface sets apart Hipmunk and begs the question: will it generate enough traffic to endanger major travel sites such as Expedia and Travelocity?