We began Getaway Earth because we saw a gap in a crowded market for a site that stands out both visually and functionally. In our view the current market is full of sites that tend to look, feel and operate much like each other, leaving renters and owners like us with a forgettable experience.
Our inspiration came from books like Wikinomics [www.wikinomics.com/book], from search experiences like Google and their Google Maps API, and from products like the iPhone. We wanted a site that embraced many of the functional features of Web 2.0 but was as visually pleasing as the iphone. Not too tough then!
As luck would have it we had good friends; a web designer [www.sitavickery.com] and a web developer [www.numena.com] who could realise this dream and help us make it reality. The result is (we hope) a website that jumps off the page visually but, critically, retains strong function.
Our unique map based search removes the hierarchy of listings seen on competitor sites and instead allows a more visual search as well as trying to give each property an equal exposure. We still list thumbnails underneath the map but they are integrated with that map, allowing a renter to see both the property and the location in one search. To give each property owner an equal opportunity and each holiday home renter a wider choice, we generate the list in a random order, so the same property does not remain at the top of the list.
We also believe that the holiday home owner is the best source of local knowledge about restaurants, bars, golf courses, shops and more. We found that competitors had not tapped that knowledge. So we built in the ability for places of interest (POI’s) to be added, allowing an owner to advertise not only their property but all the great things to do in the surrounding area. In that way owners create an online information pack that renters can benefit from during the search.
Alongside the map based search and POI’s we wanted to try and incorporate some of the other useful internet gadgets. So for owners, they can embed You Tube videos of their property, links to their own websites and add unlimited photos (subject to fair use). For renters, unlimited properties can be added to a shortlist, pages can be bookmarked to facebook and twitter, there is a weather API, links to the iPhone travel apps, ability to add reviews, and much more.
It is of course in its early stages, and our search rankings are woeful! But we hope that, in Getaway Earth, we have a holiday rental website that has made the first few positive steps on the road to achieving the above goals. We want it to continue evolving and to incorporate all that is positive about web search and interaction. And critically we want to listen to you, our users, who are the ones that make or break us. Please do get in touch to provide us feedback and together we will try to build the future of holiday rentals: original, memorable and functional.