Company Profiles: Spotlight on Travel and Tech

When driving oneself isn’t an option, and taking a bus, train or subway is either impossible or inconvenient, an increasing number of travelers are turning to ridesharing solutions to find transportation to where they want to go. But what if you could avoid the safety concerns of Uber and Lyft without sacrificing their convenience? You can—if you use Curb to hail a taxi instead.

RewardExpert recently spoke with Jason Gross, the company’s head of product and marketing, about how Curb works, new developments expected this year, and his best tips for using the app on your next vacation.

Dream Foundation began fulfilling Dreams for terminally-ill adults in 1994. Since its founding the organization has fulfilled over 25,000 Dreams. You can donate miles or points from United, Alaska Airlines and Southwest to help support their important mission.

Would you like to enjoy all of the conveniences—and privacy—of an entire home for half the cost of a typical hotel room? That’s what HomeAway offers travelers with their vacation home rental service.

RewardExpert spoke with Melanie Fish, HomeAway’s travel expert, to learn more about the company’s rapid growth, why the vacation home rental market is expanding and how you can use the website or app to plan your next vacation.

Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals is a nonprofit that raises funds and awareness for children’s hospitals across North America. Since its inception in 1983, the organization has raised over $5 billion for its 170 member hospitals. Those donations help provide medical care for the 62 children who enter a CMN Hospital every minute. You can support this important work by donating your Delta SkyMiles.

Modern travelers have more lodging options than ever before. Hotels, resorts, B&Bs and private homes around the world are all just a few clicks away. But with all that variety comes a lot of uncertainty.

Resort advertising often features couples frolicking in the surf and gazing into each other eyes and enjoying romantic moments. But families make up an important segment of resort visitors too.

Group vacations to iconic destinations sound like a dream, but the work to make it happen can become a nightmare. Travefy aims to take the pain out of planning with apps that coordinate group travel.

Imagine enjoying a layover in a luxurious hotel room rather than a crowded airport terminal. You can book a “daycation” in many North American hotels right now using a service called HotelsByDay.

Founder and CEO Yannis Moati spoke with RewardExpert about how travelers can find relaxation despite having busy schedules.

Unlike the routine rush to work, vacation travelers often want to explore scenic routes as they travel the world. However, it’s difficult to evaluate online maps to choose the best routes based on comfort and cost.

Whether you travel by plane, train, car, ferry or even bicycle, Rome2rio is an app that maps your trip for you.

Smartphones have become essential to navigate unfamiliar places. Thanks to global positioning systems (GPS), getting to a destination without getting lost is easy.

But you don’t just need to see where you’re going, you need to see how to get there. In cities with multiple modes of travel, travelers complain that it’s hard to find a navigation app that includes all the options.

You scored a great deal on your flight when you redeemed your miles. Your boss agreed to your time off request—even though it’s the busy season—and you found a reputable pet sitter to check in on Snowball while you’re gone. It may seem as though the most challenging prior-to-vacation tasks are behind you, but they aren’t. You still have to pack, and that means dealing with your luggage—something many people dread rather than enjoy.

World travelers are burdened with organizing a lot of details. But logging into numerous websites, keeping track of reservation emails, and juggling a dizzying number of apps doesn’t have to be part of your itinerary.

Traxo is an online travel service that tracks and organizes personal travel information, such as itineraries, loyalty account balances and receipts, and then displays it all on a convenient dashboard, either in the app or on the web. More than 200 travel sites are supported.

The Student Conservation Association (SCA) strives to inspire youth to engage with nature and to become lifelong stewards of the environment through hands-on service opportunities. Student volunteers learn important life skills while doing crucial work to help preserve national parks and other public lands. You can donate Southwest Rapid Reward points to this valuable organization.

In the two years since its inception, DUFL has changed the way savvy professionals travel for business. Voted Best New Travel App of 2015 by USA Today, this unique company eliminates the need to pack for a trip, check or stow luggage, even do laundry and visit the dry cleaner. They do it all for you.

Thousands of executives, salespeople, athletes, celebrities and others who use DUFL’s services enjoy a stress-free journey while the company’s staff carefully packs and ships their clothing, toiletries and personal items to their destination.

Have you wished you had a special someone to explore the world with? You might want to check out MissTravel.com, an online dating site for travelers.

Headquartered in Las Vegas, MissTravel is among the new wave of dating sites that cater to specific lifestyles. Entrepreneur Brandon Wade founded the site in 2012 and serves as chief executive officer.

Did you know you can travel around the world and get lodging for free? That’s what HomeExchange offers with their house swapping service.

RewardExpert spoke with Alexandra Origet, HomeExchange’s global public relations director, to learn more.

How would you like to save money on long-distance flights? That’s what CleverLayover says they can do.

RewardExpert spoke with CEO and Co-founder Phil Hu to find out more. He explains the secrets of the system and offers a few travel tips.

Real Options for City Kids, or R.O.C.K. for short, is a San Francisco-based nonprofit that provides active and enriching programs to youth living in the working class neighborhood of Visitacion Valley. R.O.C.K. gives kids in this underserved community a chance to participate in activities they wouldn’t normally have access to, such as sports, outdoor adventures and a variety academic programs. Thanks to a partnership with United Airlines, you can donate MileagePlus miles to this worthy charity.

In 2010, U.S. Marines William McNulty and Jake Wood put together a small team of military veterans and first responders to head into Haiti after the earthquake. They were in Port-au-Prince three days after the quake, providing much needed medical services and supplies while many relief organizations were still waiting to enter the city.

Team Rubicon was born, and it has since grown its ranks to 40,000 volunteers who have participated in over 120 operations around the world. You can support their disaster relief efforts by donating your Southwest Airlines points.

A mobile phone is a traveler’s most trusted resource. Before settling into your seat and setting your phone to “airplane mode,” there are many logistic hurdles to overcome.

GateGuru has created a mobile app that guides you through major airports. While other apps focus on booking a fight, this app is all about the airport experience.