General Questions

Eligibility and Sign-up

Privacy policy

Finding a destination / city / location

Tips

Rating system

Maps

My account

Inviting other users

LayoverPoints

Deals

Frequently Asked Questions

Here is a collection of questions we have received from you so far. If you have more questions please use the feedback button to let us know what information you are missing so we can update our FAQs. Thank you!

General Questions

What is the purpose of Layoverinfo.com?

The idea behind Layoverinfo is to create a portal where airline employees can share travel information and advice. As airline employees we do not only travel much more than most people, we also know much more about travel than almost anybody else.

How does Layoverinfo work?

The information on Layoverinfo comes from all users. The site provides a framework that allows for easy entry and quick searches of data, but the data itself is created by the users. Layoverinfo will therefore only be as good as the quantity and quality of information you enter. So be a good sport and participate in the site by adding tips and ratings!

What is the ultimate goal of Layoverinfo?

The ultimate goal of Layoverinfo is to build a recommendation function. By taking the ratings of a user as well as basic information from the user profile (such as age and interests) and by comparing this data with the data from other users, the site will be able to make customized recommendations.

This sounds complicated (and it is – from a programming perspective) but for the users it will be very simple.

Example: you have entered ratings and tips for restaurants and bars you like as well as hotels you stayed at. Now you are going for the first time to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and you have no idea where you should stay (you prefer small hotels), what you should do (you like to play golf) and which restaurants you should go to (you are a vegetarian). Simply use the recommendation tool and Layoverinfo will query the database to find restaurants that other vegetarians have rated highly as well as hotels and golf courses that you should like by comparing your ratings and user profile with the data from other users.

For the recommendation tool to work the system has to know your preferences and needs a minimum number of data-points. So start rating places today and you can be one of the first to use the tool when we roll it out.

Eligibility and Sign-up

Who can sign-up and use for Layoverinfo.com?

Layoverinfo is a site exclusively for airline employees. There are several reasons for this limitation. By allowing only airline employees on the site we are able to get very attractive interline deals from suppliers around the world.

But another reason is that we want to create a platform where airline employees will be amongst themselves and can share and discuss travel information that is relevant to them. Therefore please do not invite non-airline people to the site.

Will you built a similar portal for non-airline employees?

Many, many of you would like to have a similar portal for non-airline users so friends and family can use the technology we have developed. We are working on a solution to ultimately build similar portals for other user groups that have specific needs and interests. But for now our top priority is to get Layoverinfo up and running, so your friends will have to be patient.

Privacy policy

Which of my information is shared with other members?

Protecting your privacy is the number one priority for us. Our privacy policy explains in detail which steps we take to protect your privacy.

As Layoverinfo is a networking site, tips and reviews you write will be visible for other users. Other users however cannot see how you rate their tips for usefulness.

Which information is shared with third parties like advertisers?

We do not share the personal information we collect from you (like your email address, please see your privacy policy for details) with third parties. But please keep in mind that when you click on links or ads that take you to other sites the privacy policies of these pages and not the privacy policies of Layoverinfo apply.

Finding a destination / city / location

How do I find a certain city?

The easiest way to find a city is to use the search function on the top right of each page. Just enter the name of the city you want to find. If you are not sure how the name is spelled you can also enter just a part of the name.

Example: a seach for “San” will return all cities, states/territories and countries that have “san” in their name (currently over 200, from Kasane in Botwana to San Antonio in Venezuela).

You can also find a city by clicking on the “Destinations” tab on the main menu. Here you can search a city by the 3-letter-airport code or you can navigate to a city by clicking on the geographic region, then choosing the country you are looking for and then the state and/or city. Example: to find the pages about the city of Tucson you can just enter “TUS” in the airport-code search box or you can click on “More North America” and then pick United States, Arizona and Tucson from the drop down menus.

Why are not all cities in the database?

You have no idea how many cities there are on planet Earth until you start building a web-portal for airline employees ...

We currently have over 10,000 cities in the database. These are all cities in the world that have an airport with a 3-letter-code. We have prepared a second database with virtually all cities worldwide (over 1 million) but we feel that for the start the 10,000 cities should be enough. We are currently building a map-based navigation system that will allow users to easily find cities. Once we have tested the system sufficiently we will add more cities to the database.

Tips

What are tips?

Tips are recommendations, reviews and travel information that users add to the database. The tips are shared and are visible to all users.

What is the purpose of tips?

One purpose of the tips is pretty obvious: let’s share everything we know about travel and we will all benefit from this pool of information.

But tips serve more purposes. Image you read a tip from another user and you find it interesting and relevant, for example about a great spot for scuba diving. It seems that the other user knows a lot about scuba diving, which happens to be one of your hobbies. You can now look at all tips written by the other member and find out if she/he recommends other great places for scuba diving. Get the idea? Now substitute scuba diving with golf, shopping, vegetarian restaurants, ski resorts , art galleries, beaches etc.

For which things can I add a tip?

Tips can be added for several categories. When you add a tip choose the category that describes best what you want to write about.

Example: if you write a tip about a bar you can choose “Eat & Drink” as the category or you can choose “Party” as the category.

Here is an overview of all categories:

If you are not sure which category to choose for a tip, just look at the keywords after you have selected a category. You can then choose a different category if you feel these keywords better describe the tip you want to add.

Why are there two different types of tips?

Layoverinfo differentiates 2 different types of tips:

  1. Tips for a physical location
  2. General tips

General tips are tips about things that do not have an address, for example: understanding the Japanese culture, what to wear in winter in Toronto, listening to music from Shakira before you go to Columbia etc. For these tips choose “Add a general tip”.

If you write about a physical location (for example a center for cultural awareness in Tokyo, a place to rent a winter coat in Toronto or a record store in Bogota) you have to choose the option “Add a tip for a specific geographic location”.

We need this differentiation as otherwise the tool that produces our colorful, accurate maps will not work.

How do I add a tip?

There are many ways to add a tip. The easiest way is to click on any of the “Add a tip” button, which you can find all over the portal.

When you add a tip for a specific geographic location you will be asked to enter the name of the place you want to add the tip for. The form we are using has an auto-complete function. This means once you enter the first letters of the name the system will check if we have the place already in the database. The system needs a second or two for the check so please be patient before you enter the whole name and press the “next” button.

If you add a tip for a place that already exists you will save yourself time as you do not have to enter phone number, address etc. The auto-complete function is a neat tool.

Why do I have to enter phone number and addresses?

When you add a tip for a place we do not have in the database yet we ask you to enter some basic information about the place. Please try to enter as much of the information as possible, especially the correct address. If you do not enter the address in the right format, the mapping tool will not work.

What are keywords?

Each tip you add you can categorize with keywords. We use keywords for several purposes. The keywords help other users to get an overview for a certain place. Example: Users can use keywords like “hip” or “romantic” to describe a restaurant. For each place Layoverinfo shows percentage bars, which reflect how users feel about a certain place.

The keywords also drive our search engine (which is currently being build). You can use the keywords to search for a certain place. Example: Use the keywords to find all restaurants other users are describing as “romantic”, “hip” and “moderate expensive”.

You can use as many keywords as you think are needed to accurately describe a place.

Why are there two text boxes?

Based on feedback from you we hope to use the Layoverinfo technology at some point for a non-airline travel portal. However we want to keep the information that is relevant only for airline people separate from information that is relevant for all travelers. On Layoverinfo you find one text box for information that will eventually be shared with non-airline users (like your non-airline friends) and one text box for information that will be visible only for airline employees.

Example: general information about the Sheraton Frankfurt airport hotel like location, services offered etc. are entered in first text box, information about the special rates and discounts the Sheraton offers on rooms, food and drinks for airline employees are entered in the second text box.

Can I edit a tip?

At the moment it is not possible to edit a tip once it has been created. But we are working on a feature that will allow users to edit tips in exchange for LayoverPoints.

Rating system

What can I rate?

On Layoverinfo you can rate two things:

  1. Places that you write a tip about
  2. Tips written by other users

Example: User A writes a tip about the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and rates the museum a 5 (very good). User B reads the tip user A has written and can now rate this tip for helpfulness.

Rating tips for helpfulness allows users to quickly see, which users are seen as experts by their peers (Think of this as a similar thing to the reputation index a seller has on ebay).

How do I rate places and tips?

You can rate places and tips by clicking on our colorful ratings boxes. You can come back and change anything you have rated at anytime if you change your mind.

Why should I rate things?

You should rate places and tips because it is fun! And it helps everybody on the site to quickly find the best places to go and the best tips to read. And we credit you LayoverPoints every time you rate something. Do you need more reasons?

Who can see my ratings?

Other users are able to see how you have rated certain places. They can however NOT see how you have rated tips from other members for usefulness.

Maps

How do the maps work?

Layoverinfo uses Google to generate maps for this site. Every address and location entered on the site is translated into longitude and latitude information and then displayed on the map.

Why do some cities and places not show a map?

Google maps are currently available for the US, Canada, Japan and Europe. For these countries Google can find street addresses and display them correctly on a map if the user enters the address in the correct form.

Cities and places in other countries can currently not be displayed on the maps.

Why do some cities or addresses show the wrong map?

Layoverinfo relies on the users to enter addresses in the correct form. Please check and make sure you get street names etc. right if you enter an address. It is better to use long forms for street names, for example (23rd Avenue instead of 23 Ave.). The maps will only be as good as the data you enter as a user.

As mistakes happen Layoverinfo cannot guarantee that the maps and locations displayed on the maps are accurate.

My Account

What is the “Passport” page?

The Passport page gives you a quick overview about another user. You can see where the user lives and how this user has interacted with the site so far by adding tips and ratings. Soon users will also be able to add a passport photo to the Passport page.

What is the “Worldmap”?

On the Passport page each user can create a personalized worldmap, which shows all airports a user has been to. To customize your worldmap just go the your Passport page, scroll down and click “Add more places”. You can then add all airports you have been to. Hey, no cheating!

What is the “Interests” page?

Under interests you can share with other users what you like to do when you travel. Ultimately the information from this page will drive our recommendation function. Once you have entered your interests you can choose a destination and with one click the system will give you recommendations by looking at your interests and ratings and comparing those with the interests and ratings from other users for the location you are looking at.

Inviting Other Users

How do I invite other users?

The fastest and best way to tell other airline employees about Layoverinfo is to use the Feedback function of the site. Just click on the button on the top-level navigation, enter the email addresses of the people you want to invite and customize your message text if you want to.

Why should I invite other users?

You should invite as many other airline employees as possible as the Layoverinfo site will work much better if we many users share travel information. So the more people you invite, the better the site gets.

Furthermore you will be credited LayoverPoints for each successful invitation.

LayoverPoints

What are LayoverPoints?

LayoverPoints are our fun way of rewarding you for participating and interacting with other members on this site.

How do I get LayoverPoints?

We credit you with points every time you contribute to the site by adding a tip, rating a place or tip or by successfully inviting a new user. We will add more ways to collect points as we go along.

What can I do with LayoverPoints?

LayoverPoints can be traded for special user privileges such as access to certain parts of the portal where access is restricted. One example for this is the Deals section where we will show authorized users all interline deals and discounts that are available.

LayoverPoints can only be used within the Layoverinfo.com site, the points cannot be used to buy or trade services or products outside the site. LayoverPoints do not hold any cash value and we reserve the right to cancel or modify the LayoverPoints program at any time for any reason.

Deals

Where do I find interline deals and airline employee discounts?

In the Deals section of the portal users can search and browse thousands of airline discounts and interline specials for hotels, cruises, attractions, car rentals and more. We are currently building a new and unique search function that will make finding deals that fir your needs and interests much easier. Therefore we have not opened this part of the portal to the users. We will let you know as soon as this part of the portal is up and running. In the meantime, start collecting LayoverPoints!

How do I access the Deals section?

We are working on building up a database with the best deals for you. Once we have enough content this section of Layoverinfo will open, too.

Feedback

Your Feedback is very important for us. Please let us know what you like and what you do not like about the site, what works and what does not. We are building this site for all airline employees around the world. It has to work for you, not for us. Just click on the Feedback button in the top-level navigation to let us know what you think.