20 Useful Online Travel Resources

by Elizabeth Seward on

We all do it. We hear about a new website that is supposed to be this or that and we sign up for it. At first we’re skeptical or excited, or both. We begin to fill out our profiles and then we get distracted. We never return to said site. Other times, the exact opposite is true and we find our lives turned inside out because of a website. Had it not been for Craigslist, my life would be very different today. I jotted down the URL in early 2003 when I began a search for a new apartment in New York City. Since then, Craigslist has helped to shape every aspect of my life. I’ve found jobs, furniture, pets, housing, gigs, bandmates and roommates on Craigslist. By extension of a roommate found on the site, I found my husband. It’s no stretch to say a website can change your entire life. And by the same token, a website can completely gut and renovate the way you travel.When I came across Golden Book Traveler’s list of 20 Best Travel Websites On The Internet (because the Internet is where websites live), I continued reading past the headline. Some sites listed are ones I stand behind fully. Others are sites I’m now eager to use, including Airbnb, Couch Surfing, Hostel World, Road Sharing and Sleeping In Airports. This list seems promising to me.

Read it in its entirety here.

Online travel agency donates 100% of profits to charity

by Jessica Festa on

For those who love to travel, there is now a way to see the world while also doing a good deed. A brand new online travel agency, Teleotravel, operates under a generous philosophy and donates 100% of its net profits to charity.

Explains Adam Beardwood, the Founder and President of Teleotravel, “My idea for Teleotravel came out of a need to create a sustainable way to financially help charities in a consumer forum. That is, people and businesses can participate in ending extreme global poverty as simply as doing something they are already doing, like buying travel…My hope is to capture a small percentage of [the online travel booking market] which could potentially raise millions, if not hundreds of millions of dollars for charities.”

Travelers making a booking on the site can choose from a list of charities that they would like the net profits from their booking to go to. So, why do you have to choose a charity from a predetermined list? Because the team at Teleotravel want to make sure that these bookings are making a significant impact. Instead of myriad charities getting one single donation, a set group of specific charities can receive significant contributions each day. As of now, the official charity partners of Teleotravel that can benefit from bookings made on the site include:

Says Beardwood of the mission of the site, “My partners and I did not start this business in order to build up our own wealth but to help others succeed in rising out of poverty, may that be nationally or globally.”

To learn more or to make a charitable travel booking with Teleotravel, click here.