Startup Monday: Winnie Helps Parents and Kids Explore

Startup Monday is ABCey’s weekly post that features some of the best and brightest companies in the Bay Area. They are often companies that we have our eye on, or have worked with in the past & would like to share with friends and followers of ABCey Events! Today’s Startup Monday highlights Winnie, a great app for parents to use to find places to go for them and their kids!

Nominated for “Hot New Startup” at this years upcoming TechCrunch Crunchies Awards, Winnie is helping parents across the US, as being a parent can be a lot of work. Finding places for you and your kids to go can be an added difficulty. With the help of Winnie, parents can make weekend plans a lot easier!

Features of Winnie

Find Child Oriented Activities

Winnie allows parents to find the nearest changing table or best place for nursing. It also addresses those looking to go out to eat with kids. Users can select filters such as: places with highchairs, kids eat free, and kids menus to make choosing a restaurant easy.

Stories are Reviews for Parents by Parents

No need to scroll through reviews for relevant information. The stories portion of the app gives parents the opportunity to review places they have been while addressing the needs of parents. You can also post pictures of kids having a great time while putting cute stickers over their faces for privacy!

Planning a Weekend Getaway with the Kids Made Easier

Traveling with kids can be a huge source of stress. The app lets users jump to other locations, making finding things to do on your vacation a lot easier. Parents can avoid worrying and focus on enjoying exploring a new place with their kids!

Click here to download the Winnie app.

Will you be using Winnie? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!

#TechTuesday: Georama – Live Virtual Reality Platform

#TechTuesday highlights the best and brightest ideas in the tech world. ABCey would like to recognize these up and coming technologies for their innovative ideas and impact on the event world!

Have you ever wanted to see a famous landmark or a potential event venue overseas, without actually having to spend the time, or money to travel? Founded by Nihal Advani, Georama brings you the world’s first real-time virtual tour platform! This amazing service can help anyone travel anywhere in the world instantly.

With Georama, viewers will be able to virtually travel anywhere in the world in real-time via mobile and interactive live video tours. To make the experience even more personal, viewers can pay a small fee to interact in real-time by asking questions or making suggestions to their respective guides, such as asking them to check out certain landmarks.

Instantly Experience The World With Georama!

How it works:

With Georama, viewers can tune in live across their phones, computers, and tablets to view the tours and interact in real-time. You can request a live demo to learn more about Georama and how it can help your organization.

Georama features:

Live HD Video – High definition video with low latency for great viewing experience
Real-Time Interaction – Viewers can interact via comments and questions
Smooth & Reliable Video – Combining multiple networks helps create stabilized videos and increased reliability
Cross Platform – Viewable across all devices (computers, tablets, smartphones, VR headsets)
Seamless Integration – With a simple copy and paste, viewer can embed into their website
In-Depth Analytics – Viewers will be able to know who’s watching, when and where

Why we love it:

Georama provides one more thing we can all use for site selection for overseas events. Not only can it save us time, but also traveling expenses! With its seamless integration feature, we can easily share these tours to potential clients, friends, or family. We believe that Georama will in no time become the “the destination for virtual travel”!

Where are you going to travel with Georama? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!

Tech Tuesday: ABCey’s Best Event Finder Apps

Tech Tuesday highlights the best and brightest ideas in the tech world. ABCey would like to recognize these up and coming technologies for their innovative ideas and impact on the event world!

With hundreds of events out there each week, it’s not always easy to keep track. Other times, you miss an awesome event, because you simply didn’t know about it. ABCey has the perfect event finder apps for you, which help you to pick out the best events for you!

Gravy

Gravy is the perfect app for you if you belong to the indecisive crowd of people that like to make decisions according to their mood. Whether you like it “classy,” “brainy,” “lively,” or “whatever,” Gravy helps you to find the best events depending on your mood. You can also decide the distance you’re willing to travel to the event. If you don’t feel like a long car drive, why don’t you just chose something in walkable distance?

Like A Local

Do you travel a lot and want to see more than the typical tourist attractions? Like A Local is a real-time stream app, which is curated by locals and designed for you to discover the hidden gems of the city. Learn about the best spots to eat, party, shop, or relax. The app tells you why locals love the spot and why it’s worth a visit. With Like A Local, you can literally explore cities like a local!

SongKick

Are you crazy about music and love going to concerts? Don’t miss any concerts of your favorite bands and artists anymore with SongKick. The app connects with your music library and alerts you of upcoming concerts and shows in your area! It also marks the event down on your calendar and shows you where to buy tickets.

Spotsetter

If you have a lot of traveling friends, this app will be perfect for you! Spotsetter is a travel app that connects with your social media accounts and notices what your friends have said about particular spots on their trips. If you happen to travel to the same place, you can check out what your friends have said and either follow their recommendation or avoid a certain spot right away.

Time To Enjoy

This smart app connects to your smartphone calendar and looks for nearby events in your scheduled free time! For instance, if you have a busy day but a three hour break in between, Time to Enjoy offers you the right event for your off-time window! Use your free time to actually do something you enjoy and make the best of your day!

Which of these apps would you use and why? Tell us about it in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!

StartUp Monday: Getaways, Travel and Hotel Offers

Startup Monday is ABCey’s weekly post that features some of the best and brightest companies in the Bay Area. They are often companies that we have our eye on or have worked with in the past & would like to share with friends and followers of ABCey Events!

This week’s StartUp Monday app is Getaways, Groupon’s new app that provides travel and hotel offers for your next event!

Getaways allows you to search travel and hotel offers for any destination, any day! Travel is Groupon’s fastest growing business category. With more than 25,000 offers right now and 1,000s of hotels offering a 5% Groupon Bucks credit, you’ll be able to find the best prices for all your travels!

Why We Love Getaways: Getaways makes travel to events easy and cheap! Not only can we search last-minute deals, but also ones that cater to our events’ guests, such as “Beach,” “Family Fun,” and “International Tours!” It’s a great way to keep destination events under-budget and our clients happy. Users will also have access to discounts on events when they book travel-related deals on the platform! To top it off, those who download the free app and book a trip through it can get a 20% discount until November 14 using the promotion code APP20 !

Where would you travel with Getaways? Let us know with a comment below or on Facebook and Twitter!

Tech Tuesday: WanderList, A Digital Travel Guide

Tech Tuesday highlights the best and brightest ideas in the tech world. ABCey would like to recognize these up and coming technologies for their innovative ideas and impact on the event world! This week we want to introduce you to WanderList, a digital travel guide that provides you with a hand-curated list of things to do in your current city!

WanderList is a digital travel guide which provides recommended restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and hotels around San Francisco with future plans to launch in other cities. This San Francisco startup was inspired by the more than 40 countries its team has explored.

WanderList’s main selling point is that travelers don’t have to lug heavy travel books around when they’re exploring different cities. Instead, they just check in on their phone to see where the best places around them are located. Since the content is frequently updated, globetrotters will always be given the most up-to-date information and be more informed about their traveling decisions.

Why We Love WanderList: Aside from being FREE, WanderList shows us where to go – places only locals know about – and tells us why that particular location is so cool. As event planners, we’re always looking to discover new venues and vendors, which is made so much easier by WanderList who finds us the best of the best. Since we use our phones everyday to call Ubers and post selfies to Instagram, why not discover favorite spots on your phone as well. Exploring cities was never easier!

What city would you want to explore with WanderList? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!

5 Great Apps for Tech Conference Travel!

As the fall is quickly approaching, the girls at ABCey Events are looking forward to the many tech conferences coming to San Francisco! In preparation of the influx of travelers, we curated a list for the best new apps to make business travel easier. This list has you covered, from clothing lists to activity locators, so you can spend time on work and fun instead of a travel mishap!

1. Packing Pro App | $2.99 iTunes Store | This app is the best packing app on the market right now! The user is able to list out all your upcoming trips and customize needed items in lists within each trip. If you are stuck on what to bring on your business trip, Packing Pro has plenty of sample lists and has a huge catalog of items to place on your packing to-do list!

2. Gate Guru | Free on iTunes & Google Play | Gate Guru will save you plenty of time and worry when at the airport next! The home screen keeps track of all of your current and future flights inputed and will give you food options and airport lounges nearest to you. The JourneyCard screen also keeps you updated with any delays, security wait times, gate changes, and more. We highly encourage you to check this out this app to keep your airport trip as stress-free as possible!

3. Gogobot | Free on iTunes & Google Play | After a long day at a tech conference, Gogobot will lead you and friends to the greatest finds San Francisco and other cities have to offer! The app starts by having the user enter in the types of activities they typically participate in on vacation. Then it uses “tribes” which are groups of people with similar interests on the app to find places you may be interested in checking out. It also has a great locator on the app to find delicious restaurants in your same vicinity!

4. AwayFind | Free on all email platforms | The last thing you want to worry about while away at a tech conference is unnecessary and unwanted emails bombarding you the entire day! AwayFind is here to the rescue! The program allows the user to set up in advance which emails are important and should be set to an extra alert. This way, while sitting in a meeting you are only bothered if a specific message is important and alerts you via call, text, or notification. We can’t wait to give this a try in the future with our email platform!

5. Expensify | All Platforms | While traveling for work, it can sometimes become frustrating to save every receipt. Expensify simplifies this process when it allows you to take a photo of your receipt and it automatically enters the information into your online expense report. While on your mobile phone, it further allows the user to create and submit expense reports. The app also has great tools including flight updates, offline mode for airplanes, automatic mileage counting, and can log & bill hours. Simply put, this app has it all for everything you may need on a tech conference trip!

Which apps will you be using at your next tech conference this fall?! Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!

Startup Monday: Mosey

When traveling to a new city, it can be difficult to decide what activities to do and where to explore. Do you ever feel like there is not enough time in a trip to experience everything? While some research unfamiliar destinations beforehand, others wait until they reach their destination to finalize. Mosey is a great new app that may be able with your trip itinerary.

The free app is a quick way to put together a schedule for your trip! Fellow travelers post photos, recommendations, and tips for you to see.

Mosey was developed by a small team that is driven to deliver opportunities and adventure to travelers alike. Popular categories that can be searched through the app include Scenic, Foodie, Shopping, Nightlife, and more!

Along with the chance to take a look at insights from the social network made up of a variety of travelers, you can take a look at the visions and perceptions from the Mosey team! The user-friendly app makes it simple to create a ‘Mosey’, in which you can share your experiences and knowledge with others.

Learn about the hotspots, events, and local attractions for your next visit to a new place, such as the unique city of San Francisco! Whether you’re looking to plan a Saturday night with friends or a relaxing Sunday afternoon on your own, Mosey is the go-to app. Find out how to enjoy any location from the insights from others, or become inspired to create a path of your own. Your adventure awaits, so give the app a try!

The Mosey team recently ventured on a trip entitled The Great Southern Mosey, where they were in search of America’s Best 4 Hours. Check out their adventure here!

Would you try Mosey to help plan your next trip? Leave us a a comment below or on Facebook & Twitter!

Startup Monday: Lyft

The life of an event planner can be really hectic at times. On top of all the meetings, to-do lists and site visits, we are often on the go. The only difficult thing about traveling, especially in San Francisco, is finding a great, affordable way to get to your destination. Thankfully Lyft is here to help!

Lyft is quickly rising up to be a successful startup founded on a simple idea. Their goal is to set up everyday car owners with people who need rides. Lyft is great because it does not require users to flag down cars or call a taxi company. Instead, it simplifies everything through it’s mobile application where users can create an account and add their personal credit card information. They can then link to their Facebook or LinkedIn accounts.

Once a ride is requested, it show users a picture of the driver, but also of the car that will be picking them up. Cars usually have a hot pink mustache attached to the front, so that they’ll be easy to spot! Once the car arrives, passengers are encouraged to sit in the passenger seat to help build a reputation with the driver. At the end of the ride, donations are suggested but not mandatory.

There are a few other ride-sharing companies out there, such as Uber, however there are some major differences. Lyft is said to be more laid back with a fleet of compact cars, and drivers are even said to give their passengers a fist-bump when they first get in! Uber on the other hand is more reserved (passengers sit in the backseat). Lyft drivers can receive donations whereas Uber automatically adds a 20% tip.

Next time we do a site visit, we will definitely give Lyft a try. It would also be great for our event attendees, since we all know how limited parking is in San Francisco. What do you think about this ride-sharing service? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook or Twitter!

Startup Monday: TripIt

Startup Monday is ABCey’s weekly post that features some of the best and brightest companies in the Bay Area. They are often companies that we have our eye on or have worked with in the past that we would like to share with the friends and followers of ABCey Events.

As event planners, we are well aware of the frustration that turns up after attempting to organize a trip. With so many details to worry about, people often end up losing track of valuable information or forgetting to tie up all the loose ends of what they’ve worked so hard to plan.

Luckily, there’s a mobile app called TripIt that can help you organize all these pesky little details in one spot! Even if you’ve made arrangements on multiple travel sites, TripIt will still be able to organize all trip details into one master online itinerary. This itinerary includes maps, directions, and weather reports for the locations that you’ll be visiting. Besides filing all of your trip information in one convenient spot, you also have the option to book restaurants, theatre tickets, activities, and anything else you could possibly think of straight from the app.

We think TripIt could really lighten the stress load the next time you’re traveling for a conference, convention or meeting! Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or on Facebook & Twitter!

Top 10 Travel Sites

President’s Day Weekend is right around the corner, and wouldn’t it be nice to get away for a quick vacation? There’s nothing better than a well planned and inexpensive trip. ABCey has compiled a list of the best and easiest websites for your travel needs!

1. Kayak scours hundreds of online sources for the cheapest fare available. The more flexible you are on time and destination, the better your chances of finding a great deal.

2. Bing Travel can help you bite the bullet and buy your ticket, or not, with its “price predictor,” which forecasts whether fares will go up or down.

3. Airfare Watchdog works best for travelers ready to take off at the drop of a deal. Their employees are constantly on travel sites waiting for price drops.

4. WhichBudget will help you build an inexpensive, overseas flight plan by using local, budget airlines — a great way to save on international travel.

5. Dishtip organizes the world of eating out in the United States a whole new way. You let it know a specific dish you want to eat, and it will find the best restaurants in the area with that particular item (rated by reviews, etc).

6. Hotels.com lets you search just one site for accommodations at more than 150,000 properties. It’s particularly great for it’s last-minute deals.

7. iExplore offers more adventurous trips (hiking and biking, for example), as well as multi-sport tours. It also boasts expert advice on “experiential travel,” such as a wildlife safari or a culinary tour.

8. Google Flights shows all flight prices on the web on one simple to use page.

9. Yapta tracks fares for you and will shoot you an e-mail or Tweet if the cost of your selected flight drops. After you buy your ticket, if the price falls below what you paid, most airlines and online travel agencies will refund you the difference, usually in the form of travel credits or vouchers.

10. Expats Blog is an extremely useful information tool by expatriates who have lived in a destination long enough to know it intimately, but still maintain an outsider’s perspective.

Do you think you’ll take advantage of these sites? Let us know if you any of these aid in your vacation planning in the commments below or on Facebook & Twitter!