Planeless pilots are in luck with Monday’s launch of OpenAirplane—a Zipcar-style service for renting small airplanes. Pilots can reserve on their phone, and will arrive to find keys waiting for them in the plane. Similar to other collaborative consumption services, rental companies will rate pilots based on the condition of the plane, and pilots are… Read more
For those who open up their property as accommodation for travelers while they’re away, or are simply too busy to meet up with their guests, Urban Bellhop has a team of professional rental hosts who can act as a middleman between the two parties. Hosts can register their property with Urban Bellhop and allow them… Read more
Started by three MIT grads, Sold handles the dirty work of online selling and helps to find a buyer for your item. Users submit a handbag, for example, and Sold prices it, sells it, and also handles the shipping. The service is intended for things of value, and Sold wants to find the perfect price that makes selling worth… Read more
“Inspired by Zip Car and similar projects in Europe, Carrot is the first car-share enterprise in Mexico. From just three cars, the program has grown to 40 vehicles – with the Nissan March and Leaf models and the Xtrail SUVs, being the most energy efficient vehicles sold in Mexico – and has signed up 8,500… Read more
“Ride-sharing startup Lyft and its pink-mustachioed cars are making their East Coast debut. Today Lyft announced that it is entering Boston. The company closed a $60 million round of funding last week led by Andreessen Horowitz. Cofounder John Zimmer said the money was to fuel expansion and he intends to spread across the country and go global by the… Read more
‘Today Airbnb introduced “Verified Identification,” a tool designed to ensure that a user’s online identity matches his or her offline identity. In an age of clinically insane YouTube commenters and fake Twitter handles and privacy snafus, when anonymity on the web is commonplace, it’s a tough nut to crack. But Airbnb believes it will help… Read more
“The founders of MyRideBuddy see opportunity in a city where 1 million rides take place in more than 500,000 vehicles every day. The service facilitates more than formalizes the informal exchange of ‘getting a ride’, adding greater security, user agreements and payment transaction benefits to the experience while reducing traffic congestion, pollution and personal driving expenses.”… Read more
“Many airlines restrict the amount of luggage that can be taken on-board by each passenger and charge those needing to load extra items. Jib.li uses social network-like connections to match those with unused allowances with others on the same flight looking to avoid such charges. Users with extra space can post details of their journey… Read more
Today in San Francisco, Airbnb announced the launch of Airbnb Neighborhoods. The new product allows users to find the experiences they want based on their interests and the particular parts of a city that that they want to stay in. Today, it’s coming online with more than 300 neighborhoods in seven cities. According to co-founder… Read more