They say that travel is more about the people you meet than the places you see.  That philosophy is alive and well at Inbed.me, a new website that helps users find and interact with fellow travelers – before they even board a plane.

Inbed.me, which was created in June 2011 during Startup Weekend in New York City, is a new extension of social media to the world of hostel travel.  Unlike CouchSurfer.com, inbed.me is less about finding a cheap place to stay than it is about pairing travelers with other site users who are going to the same destination.  It’s intended to make users’ vacations more social and ensure that, before they even take off, people already have a set of friends they can explore with and get to know.  The site has already received positive press and won second place out of 20 startups during Startup Weekend.

“We believe that online travel planning should take advantage of the beauty of the social web,” Diego Saez-Gil, CEO of InBed.me, told Mashable. “By connecting with other travelers with similar interests going to the same destinations, travelers will be able to get tips and plan activities together.”
Inbed.me is novel and interactive but it’s clearly not for everyone.  The site is primarily for hostel and inn travelers, which suggests it appeals to a niche clientele of visitors who are already looking for a cheap and social travel experience.  Travelers to hotels, people already part of large groups, and families are not part of the sites’ target market.  So, if you are travelling to New York and staying at the Four Seasons, inbed.me may not be the right place to turn.

But for those travelers who are looking for a uniquely social experience in budget accommodations, it offers a new way to check both the safety and sociability of a potential hostel.  Is it the kind of place where you want to stay?  Are the other visitors there interested in interacting with you on their vacation?  Before now, there was absolutely no way to answer those sorts of questions, which was what made travel the adventurous crapshoot it has always been.  Inbed.me offers the potential to answer those questions and completely change travel experience of its users.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCWvnp7-ikI