Chicago’s summer might just be the envy of the world. Killer street festivals, breezy beer gardens and patio seating, day trips to the beach and farmers markets galore — it’s a good time to be a Chicagoan come June and July.
But for as much as we love summer in the city (and, to reiterate, we. love. summer. in. the. city.) it’s also the perfect time to take some time off from the world and travel. Whether that’s a weekend camping trip or a two-week vacation to some unexplored corner of the globe, many of us will spend at least part of the summer out of office.
For those of us who do plan to ditch Chicago’s long summer hours for an adventure of our own, here are 10 local tech companies elevating your overall travel experience. Enjoy the superfluous stock photos of beaches because, well, why not?
The mission at Chicago-based Rocketmiles couldn’t be more clear: they want to help you vacation faster. That’s why they offer an innovative way to earn airline loyalty miles and points. With Rocketmiles, users can book hotels in their destination and earn miles that can be applied directly to their next flight.
Options Away is a flighty flier’s best friend. Using their platform, indecisive travelers can lock-in flights at great prices before actually committing to buying the ticket — giving them a bit of leeway to finalize (or cancel) travel plans.
“Wanderlust” has cemented its place in the popular lexicon, thanks in part to a community of women who find adventure, solace, growth, and inspiration in traveling the world — often alone. Wanderful is an online community dedicated to those female roamers, wanderers, and vagabonds, chock-full of traveling tips, stories, and an overall sense of solidarity.
Sometimes, summer travel doesn’t just mean hopping in the car for a cross-country road trip. It can also mean spelunking the uncharted nooks and crannies of your own city. That’s where city guide apps like Olio City, hot off its launch in March of this year, come in hand. Although technically based in St. Louis, Olio City can help you explore all Chicago has to offer (and has team members working out of the Windy City, too).
Want to take a tour of Rome, but don’t have the cash to burn for a round-trip ticket? Georama, a Chicago company that streams live, interactive video tours rom across the globe, has one end goal: unlock the secret to real-time, virtual travel for people who want to see the world, but can’t (due to money, time, or accessibility issues).
Forget ridesharing with cars. These days, all the cool kids are opting for — airplanes? Not really, but if you’ve got a pilot’s license and a couple hundred bucks to spare, you can use Chicago-based OpenAirplane to find, book and fly airplanes, all through your smartphone. At the moment, their network of aircrafts operates with 100 airports in 30 states.
Transatlantic flights are nettlesome enough, but imagining a 12-hour flight without WiFi — especially in today’s tech-fueled world of instant gratification — is a sobering thought, indeed. Thankfully, there are companies like Chicago-based Gogo that provide in-flight broadband Internet services to keep us distracted the whole flight through.
Based in 1871, Trytn’s platform helps businesses rooted in the tourism industry streamline their offerings. Though it might not help travelers directly, globetrotters may very well benefit from the Trytn’s tech yet, by booking their parasailing and scuba diving excursions with companies who use the platform.
For those of us traveling to music festivals and sporting events throughout the summer, Meetball is a handy app that aims to make it easier to organize meetup points at large events. Although it has technically pivoted to a B2B offering, the app is building a platform that makes event-related community building and communications all the more streamlined.
Last (but obviously not least), there’s Orbitz. Flights, hotels, car rentals, vacation packages — you name it, Orbitz offers it. Headquartered in Chicago, the company just celebrated its fifteenth anniversary — about a year after Expedia bought it for $1.3 billion last summer.
