Coo combines expert advice -like where to tango with the locals in Buenos Aires or find the best gin tonic in Barcelona- with travel tips from your globetrotting friends.
NEW YORK – Connect. Share. Travel. Coo Boutique lets you share places you love while saving on the best hotels. CooBoutique.com, luxury travel’s first social trip-planning platform, is creating new ways to make the online hotel booking experience more convenient and personalized. Coo combines expert advice -like where to tango with the locals in Buenos Aires or find the best gin tonic in Barcelona- with travel tips from your globetrotting friends. It’s Travel + Leisure magazine meets Facebook, with an easy-to-use interface, customizable guides, and an innovative rewards program.
“As the founder of Coo Boutique, I am passionate about travel. But I found planning a trip to be boring, time consuming and overwhelming due to the glut of reviews from people I didn’t know,” says Tushar Roy. “Some of the best advice I’ve ever received has come from friends-which got me thinking about a site that would let you gather recommendations from friends and people with tastes similar to your own. What makes Coo even more special is its rewards program which offers tremendous value.”
Why is Coo Boutique the next big innovation in luxury travel?
1. Coo is choosy. Coo is a selective compilation of the best boutique hotels, restaurants, shops, nightlife and activities around the world. The recommendations include picks from friends, travel editors, local insiders and hotel concierges—but everything has been moderated to make sure it’s up to snuff.
2. Coo is scrappy. Coo was built without outside funding. It’s a lean, mean start-up that is dedicated to providing a curated hotel experience, editor- and user-generated content, and one of the best rewards program in the business.
3. Coo rewards loyalty. The more you participate, the more you earn with Coo’s three-tiered loyalty program, which lets members earn cash back and exclusive perks like room upgrades and resort credits. Share a recommendation you’ll get 50 points. Book a hotel on the site and you’ll earn 10 points per dollar spent. Post a review on that hotel stay? You’ll bank 500 points. These points help you move up in membership levels to earn generous cash back ranging from 4% to 7% when booking hotels. The best part? Membership is completely free.
4. Coo keeps you connected. When you join Coo using Facebook Connect, you can invite friends to become members and track their travel activity through the My Friends feed. You can also check out their Passport pages to see where they’ve been and what they recommend-and use their tips to build your own trip.
5. Coo is customizable. Coo lets you build personalized guides without the stress of filtering through millions of recommendations. See a restaurant you love? Simply click the “Add to Guide” button and the hot spot will be saved-and plotted on your personal map. When you’re ready to travel, you can print the guide or view it on your iPad or iPhone. Even better? In the future, you’ll be able to download the guide onto your phone so you can avoid pricey roaming fees.
