Last Updated on March 18, 2013 by New-Startups Team
Dueling with AirBnB and Couchsurfing isn’t an easy battle, but is exactly what newly launched (out of beta) Roomsurfer is hoping to tackle head-on. The German startup connects travellers with hosts using their Facebook likes and interests to match people for their right experience. Despite being a latecomer in the scene, Roomsurfer believes it has the right mixture of innovation and affordable answers for would-be backpackers to take a piece of the market share dominated by a few but saturated with many.
With a social element and a six-digit investment in funding, Roomsurfer is set to provide low-cost places to stay and a platform to meet like-minded people all over the world. Their unique matching algorithm, which was developed in collaboration with the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence, helps young travellers “dive into vibrant city life with like-minded people, to be carried along in the moment and be inspired, collecting their own unique experiences – including cheap overnight accommodation. That’s exactly what we enable people to do with roomsurfer.com”, explains Michael Walser, Roomsurfer’s founder and CEO. “The platform helps bringing together private hosts and travellers with mutual interests, determining just what they need for a tailor-made city break.”
Users can still filter rooms by price and quality, but the real hope for the site is that those offering accommodations aren’t tour guides; rather they provide the insights to point guests in the right direction to get to know the true under-belly of their city. It’s true the market is filled with opportunities such as Triptrotting, AirBnB, 9 flats, HomestayWeb, Couchsurfing and many others, but Roomsurfer hopes its social search mechanics and its unique marketing position to meet like-minded people will help differentiate itself well enough that it will be the platform of choice when searching for affordable accommodations across the world, and especially in Europe.