A Glance at 2011, and Look to 2012

2011 was Hipmunk’s first full year in existence. And we couldn’t have asked for better—not only did millions of new users try us for the first time, but we were able to remove even more agony from their travel searching. On our one year anniversary in August, we calculated that we had saved you over 150,000 hours of agony within our first year, and we’re pretty close to doubling that already!

In taking a quick look back, here are some of our highlights:
  • Hotel Search. Building on our insanely popular flight search, we rolled out an innovative new way of searching for hotels this year. With features like our unique heatmaps, you can easily find the best hotels in the best parts of town.
  • Mobile Apps. We listened to all of you who asked for an iPhone version of our flight search, and built a free app just for you. Then we listened again when all our Android fans demanded a version of their own—now we have one of those, too.  Thank you to the hundreds of thousands of people who’ve downloaded each of our apps!
  • Calendar Integration. As we’ve started traveling more for business, we realized how frustrating it was to find flights that fit in our schedule, and hotels near where we had meetings. We solved both problems by letting you integrate your calendar into your Hipmunk searches.
There have been dozens of other cool partnerships and features that we’ve rolled out over the past year, and we humbly look back on everything we’ve accomplished. Thank you so much to all of you—our loyal users—who have made suggestions, sent feedback, and tweeted your love and support!
We’re excited to bring you even more great tools in 2012. Before you know it, your travel searching will be totally agony-free!
— Adam

The Gift of Amazing Fans

As 2011 comes to a close, it’s easy to get caught up in the agony of last minute deadlines, numerous mall trips, and endless airport security lines; however, this year, getting into the Holiday spirit was easy. Here at Hipmunk, we launched two fantastic contests calling for your festive responses. We received hundreds of comments and each was heartfelt, hilarious and inspiring. When I contacted the winners of each giveaway, I couldn’t help but want to jump for joy with them. And when they sent us pics of the gifts we sent them and of their families reunited, I got a little bit teary eyed.  
 
And while this Hipmunk elf was smack dab in the middle of Day 6 of Giving the Gift of Hipmunk, our office was surprised with a gift of it’s own. Thanksgiving flight winner endearingly called “Skinny Vinny” by his mom, Colleen, and sister, Kristen, dropped by our office to thank us for the trip back east and show his gratitude by bringing delicious pizzas for the full team!

It was an awesome gesture from one of our amazing fans, and it was delightful to meet a winner and hear how we changed his holiday. It gave me an amazing feeling of fulfillment knowing we brought him and his family so much joy. It also reiterated a motto we at Hipmunk live by in all we do: deliver the best quality experience making people’s lives easier, and it will lead to happy, loyal users.


So Hipmunkers, whether you are giving the gift of travel, or just the gift of a friendly gesture, don’t underestimate the power of your product. And know that when you do awesome things and pay it forward, you will most certainly get it back!

Happy Holidays!

—Andrea

Hipmunk Helps You Unlock Bonus Level 2 of Angry Birds Seasons

The holiday season means time for gift-giving, relaxation, and more free time to play Angry Birds. If you’re like us, you can never get enough of flinging feathered projectiles at pigs. That’s why Hipmunk is teaming up with our friends at the Google Chrome Web Store to give you a different kind of flight search—Bonus Level 2 of Angry Birds Seasons!
 
The password for this level is divided between Hipmunk and a few of our friends in the Chrome Web Store. Once you have installed and found the password segments in each of the apps, you’ll be able to piece them together to unlock the special level for Angry Birds Seasons.
 
Below are each of the apps, and note: you’ll need to use the Chrome browser to install each of these apps to play your Angry Birds level. If you don’t have it, you can install Chrome here.

Hipmunk 
Yours truly :) Find the best flight or hotel for your travels using our agony-free search.

Elfster 
Gift Giving Simplified. Easy Secret Santa Organizer, Shared Wishlists, and Trending Gifts. Find Your Inner Elf!

Astrid 
Astrid is a to-do list / task manager that helps individuals and groups stay organized, get more done, and have fun in the process.

Earbits 
Earbits Online Radio has great music with no commercials or ads. Discover new bands and share with your friends.

Here’s a hint to help you find Hipmunk’s password segment.
  1. Download the Hipmunk app.
  2. When you get to the Hipmunk homepage, click on the Hipmunk mascot on the left-hand side. We think you’ll find him very helpful!

Happy slingshot-ing holidays!
 
— Julie

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