Localeur Takes Local Discovery to Next Level

AUSTIN, Texas, May 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- With Millennial travelers looking for more authentic, local experiences wherever they go, Localeur today announced a major update to its product. The 2.3 version of Localeur available on the App Store further bolsters the startup's position as the world's fastest-growing community helping travelers experience local.

"In our first two years, Localeur built an unmatched foundation of authentic, credible recommendations from Millennial locals," said Chase White, Localeur's co-founder and head of product. "With this new iOS version on the App Store, we are pairing this existing foundation with our ability to scale using powerful social and location-based data to facilitate real local influence for our users. Never before has a local discovery platform been built with this level of both curation and data, and travel will never be the same."

Along with access to more than 6,000 (and growing by hundreds each month) recommendations on places to eat, drink and play written exclusively by locals in 14 major cities around the country, Localeur will now enable all locals living in its cities to contribute and share their own recommendations, further promoting growth of the network. The startup has reached nearly half a million total users and said it has already grown 500 percent since the end of 2014.

With the new version of Localeur, users can now access recommendations from major U.S. cities including: Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York City, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. Along with viewing recommendations already contributed to Localeur, users can verify their local status via Facebook and gain real influence by sharing their favorite local places to eat, drink and play. The more locals within that city like your places, the more influence the local will gain.

"As we've grown our community, we've seen first-hand how powerful it is to help Millennial travelers access a platform for local recommendations while maintaining both authenticity and curation," said co-founder and CEO Joah Spearman. "This iPhone app update gives our users the quality they've come to expect from us with a level of reach that will allow them to truly experience local wherever they go."

Localeur, which initially launched in Austin at SXSW 2013, was named the year's best new startup by Austin Monthly later that year, and more recently has been named one of the top travel apps in 2015 by MSN, MTV, Men's Journal, and others. In recent months, Localeur for iPhone has also received praise as a top travel app by Forbes, The Today Show, TIME, and numerous national publications.

To date, Localeur has raised roughly $1.25 million from angel investors including Heather Brunner, CEO of WP Engine, Mike Murphy, former chief revenue officer for Facebook, and Steve Pamon, head of sports and entertainment marketing for JPMorganChase.

"The folks who signed up for Facebook in college many years ago are now Millennial travelers who've turned companies like Airbnb and Uber into very valuable brands," said Tom Arrix, who served as Facebook's North American ad chief before and after its I.P.O. "Localeur's emphasis on local, impressive growth and potential for network effects lead me to believe they are heading up that path as well."

SOURCE Localeur

Related Links

http://www.localeur.com