Four years after being acquired, Hipmunk is shutting down

If you're still using Hipmunk for trip planning, it's time to find another site. Sooner than later, really.

The Hipmunk team announced this afternoon that it'll be shutting down in just about a week's time. Come January 23rd, says the blog post, both the Hipmunk website and app will be shuttered.

The team also tweeted:

We're saying goodbye. On Jan. 23, 2020, the Hipmunk product will be retired; the app and website will no longer be available at that time. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of our journey. For account help or more info, please visit: https://t.co/81AtCsH3ni

- The Hipmunk (@thehipmunk) January 14, 2020

This shutdown comes right around three and a half years after corporate travel/expensing platform Concur acquired Hipmunk back in September of 2016.

Founded by Adam J. Goldstein and Reddit co-founder Steve "spez" Huffman, Hipmunk was one of the first well-made "metasearch" travel sites. It scrounged up flights (and hotels/car rentals/etc.) from across myriad services like Expedia, Priceline, etc., presenting all the times/prices in one big skimmable interface.

The team had an upbeat tone in the original post announcing the acquisition, with Goldstein noting that "Hipmunk isn't going anywhere." Alas, things change in four years. Goldstein parted ways with the team at the end of 2018.

In an FAQ about the announcement, Hipmunk clarifies that all accounts will go dark come January 23rd - and while it says existing reservations won't be impacted by this, they note that all booking matters should go through whichever final provider they pointed you to.