Top 5 Companies for Travel Lovers

If you’re the type who gets itchy feet and you hate the idea of working 9–5 in the same place all your life, don’t worry – there’s hope! You can get paid to travel if you pick the right company and play your cards right, according to this article by The Muse. So pack your bags and spruce up your resume – your travel-filled future awaits.

1. Groupon — Chicago

What started in Chicago as a small website offering daily deals for local businesses has become a huge worldwide operation. Groupon is constantly growing, and while that doesn’t always mean that you get to go where the new deals are, you can use Groupon Getaways for discounted travel to wherever the wind takes you. Groupon employees are known to be an adventurous lot, so you’ll be in good company.

2. ThinkHotels — London

This fledgling hotel booking website has found its feet and it’s beginning to seriously compete with the bigger meta-search providers. They have offices in London – not bad for a start – and they always need information on new hotels to add to their rapidly expanding database, so watch out for opportunities to bed down in luxury for the night. They have a pretty small staff, though, so get in quick before someone else snaps it up!

3. Hipmunk – San Francisco

One of the biggest international online travel agents, Hipmunk lets you book hotels and flights in a fun, intuitive interface. It even won an award as one of Travel + Leisure’s Best Apps and Websites of 2013. The company itself is just as good – each employee gets paid travel vacation time every year. And just as a reminder, they have a “ticket wall” where everyone sticks their boarding passes. Talk about motivation.

4. AirBnB – San Francisco

This brand new solution to holiday accommodation has gone from strength to strength recently. Instead of booking a hotel, you rent out somebody’s house. There’s no room service, but in exchange you get the comfort of a fully furnished home, extra space, and maybe even a back yard. Their staff, including CEO Brian Chesky, always stay in AirBnB Rentals, and they travel constantly – Chesky hasn’t owned a home at all since 2010. And if you can’t get away, their conference rooms are designed to imitate popular rental properties, including a New York loft, a Berlin flat, and yes, a treehouse.

5. Uber — Worldwide

This taxi-booking service has exploded in popularity, to the point where more traditional cabbies are protesting – but don’t let that stop you. They’re in 35 cities and still growing, which means they need new Launchers constantly. Launchers are the people who land in new cities and get a local branch of Uber started – so your Frequent Flyer points will go through the roof, and you’ll get the chance to see some amazing little-known destinations.