In an increasingly fragmented travel landscape, Connected Trip is poised to revolutionize how business professionals plan and execute their journeys. What began with the success of BusinessHotels.com, a platform designed to simplify hotel bookings for business travelers, has now evolved into a comprehensive global ecosystem. ConnectedTrip.com aims to be the definitive solution for the “connected trip,” seamlessly integrating every aspect of business travel into one intuitive experience.
Unlike traditional corporate travel solutions burdened by complicated contracts and membership fees, ConnectedTrip.com and its suite of platforms are free to use, open to everyone, and built for today’s dynamic, independent business travelers—and leisure seekers alike. In fact, roughly 50% of the platform’s users are “bleisure” travelers, combining work trips with personal getaways, reflecting a growing trend in modern travel.
From Personal Frustration to Global Solution
The genesis of ConnectedTrip.com lies in the personal frustrations of its founder, Drago Maximov, an entrepreneur and frequent traveler. “I found myself wasting hours comparing different platforms, dealing with hidden fees, and struggling to find business-friendly hotels near my meetings,” Maximov recalls. “There wasn’t a simple, trustworthy site that catered to how business travelers actually travel.”
Rather than waiting for a solution, Maximov launched BusinessHotels.com, focusing on speed, simplicity, and direct access to the best rates, free from the clutter of irrelevant vacation packages or paid subscription plans. This commitment to an open, free, and traveler-centric approach became the bedrock for the broader Connected Trip vision.
The Connected Trip Ecosystem: Free, Open, and Unified
ConnectedTrip.com’s core philosophy is built on two bold decisions: no contracts and no paid memberships. This commitment sets it apart from corporate travel agencies and membership-only platforms, offering:
- Completely free usage for everyone.
- No booking fees or hidden charges.
- Instant booking capabilities across a global network.
- A mobile-first design, perfect for on-the-go professionals.
The ultimate goal is to provide the easiest and fastest way for business travelers—and anyone else—to book their entire journey. Over time, the platform has expanded to include curated recommendations, traveler reviews, and dynamic pricing tools, ensuring users find exactly what they need without guesswork.
Embracing the “Bleisure” Revolution
Maximov observed early on that many business travelers extend their trips for leisure. ConnectedTrip.com has fully embraced this “bleisure” trend, providing options for both business-centric accommodations and leisure getaways, weekend escapes, and family trips. This adaptive approach reflects a significant shift in how professionals integrate work and life.
Q&A With Drago Maximov, Founder of ConnectedTrip.com
Q1: What inspired the evolution from BusinessHotels.com to ConnectedTrip.com?
Maximov: BusinessHotels.com proved the demand for a simple, free, and open platform for business travel. The natural next step was to expand that simplicity across the entire journey—flights, cars, extended stays, and activities. Travelers shouldn’t need five different apps for one trip.
Q2: How does ConnectedTrip.com differentiate itself from other travel platforms?
Maximov: Our core difference is unification without restrictions. We’re completely free, with no membership fees or corporate contracts, and we’re building a truly seamless ecosystem. We’re laser-focused on the independent traveler, whether they’re managing their own business trips or combining work with leisure.
Q3: Who can use ConnectedTrip.com? Is it exclusively for business travelers?
Maximov: Anyone can use it. Our tools are designed for business needs, but they’re equally effective for leisure or “bleisure” travel. It’s completely open and free to use—no barriers.
Q4: What’s your perspective on the “bleisure” travel trend?
Maximov: I believe it’s the future. People no longer want to rigidly separate work and life. Our platform is specifically designed to support that integrated lifestyle.
Q5: How do you maintain a free platform?
Maximov: We earn revenue through commissions from our travel partners, but we always pass the best available rates directly to our users. There are no hidden fees or subscriptions for the end-user.
Q6: Can you elaborate on the “Connected Trip” vision?
Maximov: The Connected Trip is about integrating every component of a journey—hotels, flights, cars, and activities—into a single, intuitive experience. Business travelers waste too much time juggling multiple booking sites. We’re solving that.
Q7: What’s next for ConnectedTrip.com?
Maximov: We are actively expanding our suite of dedicated platforms: BusinessFlights.com, BusinessCars.com, BusinessStays.com, and BusinessActivities.com. Each is designed to serve a specific travel need while seamlessly integrating into the overarching Connected Trip super app.
Q8: Why the focus on independent and “unmanaged” business travelers?
Maximov: They represent the vast majority of business travelers—small business owners, freelancers, remote workers, startup teams. These individuals don’t have corporate travel managers booking for them, and they deserve a powerful, user-friendly solution.
Q9: How do you foresee AI impacting business travel in the coming years?
Maximov: AI will make booking profoundly smarter—think personalized suggestions, real-time dynamic pricing, and intelligent itinerary adjustments based on live data. We are already integrating AI to enhance the user experience.
Q10: What’s your top piece of advice for a business traveler?
Maximov: Stay flexible. The right platform—and we believe ours is—empowers you to adapt quickly when plans inevitably change.
Powering the Future of Travel
ConnectedTrip.com is not merely a booking platform; it’s an initiative dedicated to unifying all travel services under one roof. Maximov and his team are building a comprehensive suite of platforms, all powered by ConnectedTrip.ai, their proprietary AI engine:
- BusinessHotels.com: The foundational platform for booking business hotels, now enhanced with AI-driven personalization.
- BusinessFlights.com: For booking business flights with preferred times and routes.
- BusinessCars.com: For car rentals, ride shares, and executive transport.
- BusinessStays.com: For extended stays, co-living spaces, and long-term rentals.
- BusinessActivities.com: For booking meetings, networking events, and local experiences.
- BusinessPackages.com: For seamlessly building and booking customized business travel packages, optimizing for cost and convenience.
- BusinessVenues.com: For discovering and booking meeting spaces, event venues, and co-working environments tailored to business needs.
Together, these services will form the Connected Trip super app, designed to provide everything a business traveler needs in one unified, frictionless experience, intelligently optimized by ConnectedTrip.ai.
About Asian Airfares Group, LLC
Founded in 2004, Asian Airfares Group, LLC is a dynamic software studio headquartered in San Francisco, California. With a forward-thinking approach and a deep passion for innovation, we operate a suite of successful online travel platforms. ConnectedTrip.com is a leading online platform dedicated to providing comprehensive travel solutions, operating as a proud subsidiary of Asian Airfares Group, LLC. Our foundation is built on innovation, ensuring you receive the most advanced and reliable travel services.
Independent, Accessible, and Free
Even as the Connected Trip ecosystem expands, its core commitment remains unchanged: ConnectedTrip.com is free to use and designed to empower the traveler, not restrict them with expensive memberships or corporate programs.
“Our mission is to support the 99% of business travelers who are independent,” says Maximov. “No fees, no contracts—just the powerful tools they need to travel better and more efficiently.”
In an era where travel can be overly complex, ConnectedTrip.com’s traveler-first approach offers a refreshing simplicity. It is poised to define the future of business travel by prioritizing the real-world needs of modern professionals.
A Business Travel Revolution Underway
From its origins as a hotel booking site to its evolution into a comprehensive travel ecosystem, ConnectedTrip.com is proving that leadership in the travel space doesn’t require corporate contracts or complicated fees. By focusing on the true needs of travelers—balancing work and leisure, managing their own bookings, and seeking simplicity—the company has positioned itself at the forefront of the next generation of travel platforms.
With the full realization of the Connected Trip vision, ConnectedTrip.com is becoming the essential hub for a connected, streamlined, and truly unified travel experience for a new era of business travelers.
Media contact:
Lisa Chen
Asian Airfares Group, LLC
