Adam Groffman of the new travel site www.wimdu.co.uk approached us via mail a couple of weeks ago and asked us if we were interested in a partnership. We looked at this site and asked him if he would also be available for an interview on our blog. His answer was positive …

1. Please try to describe yourself in just 5 words
Interesting traveller; social media fan!

2. Tell us about the travel site www.wimdu.co.uk and when it all started…
Wimdu started back at the beginning of the summer. It has since grown into a global company with thousands of cheap apartments available in over 50 countries around the world. Wimdu.co.uk serves as an online marketplace for travellers to find affordable accommodation when abroad. It can also be used as a way to see a more “local” side to your travel destination. I’m passionate about travel myself (spent the last year and half on a round-the-world trip) and it’s exciting to see travel companies who are actively trying to promote travel & tourism.

3. What was the decision to develop this travel site?
While there are other travel accommodation websites, Wimdu’s focus has been to provide quality offers in major European travel markets. Wimdu is based in Berlin where each summer tourists flock to the city and end up renting cheap places to stay for a few weeks or a few months. Because of the constant fluctuation of people in and out of apartments here, it makes sense to be able to rent out free rooms to those that need them for short periods. Plus, it gives travellers a different perspective of the cities that they visit rather than stuffy, formulaic rooms.

4. What is so special about this site?
Wimdu’s website allows you to search for apartments worldwide. Every property has a calendar associated with it and you can search by various amenities, whether there’s breakfast available or even an indoor fireplace. All these advanced search features help you to find exactly what you’re looking for when you travel. And it can accommodate for just about every type of traveller—budget, luxury, families…

5. Have you ever come across a blog, website or magazine that you thought was interesting and if yes, which one and why?
Many! I’m a travel blogger myself in addition to working for Wimdu. I’ve written about my past year and a half of travels around the world at travelsofadam.com, though I’m now living in Berlin so it’s now turned into a website about why Berlin is probably the coolest city in the world (no offence, Vienna). I’m also a bit of a social media addict so I’ve come across hundreds of sites through Twitter simply because they’ve shown up in my feeds. Some of my favourite people to follow on Twitter are GOOD Magazine, Letters of Note and a million different travel blogs because they all share unique & interesting stories.

6. Which travel sites do you like?
There are A LOT of travel sites out there. Trippy looks like it might be an interesting one to pay attention to.

7. What inspired you to develop www.wimdu.co.uk?
While I didn’t personally develop the website, I am interested in the future of the travel industry. Renting holiday apartments is becoming increasingly popular around the world. But in Europe there was a need to provide enhanced searches for specific types of travellers, not to mention quality places to rent and Wimdu helps to serve that purpose. In fact, there are over 600 apartments in Berlin, alone!

8. What is your personal goal for this travel site in 2011?
Wimdu has a lot of exciting ideas for the future! As for travel accommodation, there are many different travel trends which will affect the industry. Over the summer, Wimdu hosted one lucky winner of our “dream job”—Pauline got to travel around Europe for two months staying in various Wimdu apartments. She shared her adventure and photos on the Wimdu travel blog which was fun to follow along. Wimdu UK also uses Twitter and Facebook to share interesting apartment offers through social media which will only become more active as the website grows. You’d be surprised how many tree houses are on offer through the Wimdu website!

9. Any comments you would like to share with us?
Be sure to check out the Wimdu.co.uk website for your next trip abroad! There are places to stay in almost every major city: Rio de Janeiro, New York, Milan, Hong Kong…you name it!

Curious how Wimdu works? Check out our video: