A new website is targeting travellers who want to live like a local but don't have much time to research and plan their trip.
Tripbod.com, which launches today, hopes to link time-poor travellers with its growing network of vetted local contacts, currently in more than 30 countries. The local expert, or "tripbod", then provides an online trip-planning service based on the customer's specific request, such as travelling across Italy with a toddler, or finding a spiritual retreat in India.
The full service includes a suggested itinerary, Skype and online chats and an annotated Google map, based on questionnaire filled out by the customer. Costs range from from £35 for a week's break to £150 for a six-month trip, with all but £20 passed on to the local contact. A "Trip planner light" service at £10.99 offers the chance to ask five questions of your tripbod, who will then respond with their answers and an annotated map.
Tripbods are often chosen for a special interest such as volunteering, art, ecology or slow food, and undergo a series of safety checks, including personal and professional references. "Our tripbods are plugged-in, knowledgeable and care about the same things we do," says founder Sally Broom.
The idea grew out of Your Safe Planet, launched by Broom as a recent graduate in 2007, which aimed at first-time backpackers and gap-year travellers. YSP offered the safety net of unlimited email contact and an optional physical meet-up with a local person, but found a greater market in young professionals and retirees.
Now, Broom has partnered with Dot Pinkney, formerly an advertising executive in Moscow who became YSP's contact in the city, to relaunch a more "user-friendly and innovative" service. YSP, which had strong links to volunteering placements and responsible travel, will remain as an affiliated not-for-profit arm.
Many travellers get overwhelmed sifting through information online and in guidebooks, explains Broom. "People often arrive and see what happens. We try to bridge the gap between guidebooks and tour guides."
