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Tuesday 19 August 2014

Announcing Yelp Integration with our Flat Postings

We’re pleased to announce the integration of the Yelp API with our flat postings! Yelp on FlatClub means less questions & more fun.

You've seen how we improved on our flat postings, and one of the biggest overhauls was to our maps. The Yelp API integration was a big part of that. Take a look at this map as an example:


When you’re traveling it’s very nice to see suggestions that are near where you’re staying. Since you’ll likely need to stay in a specific place, you may not want to go out every night on the underground to the trendiest or most popular areas of the city.

There is so much awesome stuff in London, but it’s not always easy to figure out where those things are in relation to where you’ll be. There are lots of hidden gems across the city, and seeing them can sometimes be a challenge. With the Yelp API you’ll have access to over 20,000 restaurants and nightlife spots in London with the additional bonus of being able to narrow your search to within walking distance. No more attempting to decide which top 20 pub to go to - Yelp will give you suggestions right on your doorstep.


When it comes to being rewarded for seeing things differently, our office experienced that first hand with Yelp. We had some fun testing the API out for ourselves, and found a very well-loved coffee shop near our office. We hadn't noticed it before, as it’s not the sort of place you’d walk into off the street - as it’s off of a side street on another side street! Certainly out of the way, and very ‘locals only’. It’s a small little shop doing some of the nicest coffee nearby - and specialty Australian sweets! How else could you hear about it but through word of mouth & Yelp recommendations? It’s not the sort of place you’d stumble upon by exploring the city.

Experiences like that are what we hope the Yelp API will bring to our guests - fun things that you never even thought to look for right outside your door.

That’s not all the Yelp API can do, though. It’s also the backbone of our great transportation overlay - so you’ll know the nearest bus stops & underground stations to where you’re staying.

In the future, we’d like to include something that can help our guests find cool venues & special events nearby, and we believe Yelp can help us accomplish this. We’re also curious about being able to suggest certain flats to people based off of their reasons for traveling or their preferences for nearby things - for instance, if you want a flat in Bloomsbury and you love coffee, we could suggest a room near some of the top rated coffee shops of that neighborhood!

What are some other cool things that you believe Yelp & FlatClub could bring to your London trip?