Just in time for summer travel, Stay.com’s new collaborative travel app allows users to effectively create a ‘city in their pocket’ by downloading their own guides and enjoying them offline, saving on international data charges. Each guide combines expert advice provided by Stay.com’s international travel experts, partner sites, input from fellow travellers and friends and users’ own preferences, making old-style guidebooks virtually obsolete. Stay.com is now available as a free download in the Apple App Store and Google Play, and also on the web at www.stay.com.

With Stay.com, users can download guides and maps for 116 cities on their smartphones allowing them to continue to discover and add new places to their personal guide even without an Internet connection or the risk of incurring roaming charges. Any addition to the personal travel guide will be automatically synced once on Wi-Fi, incorporating input from multiple users – be they friends or fellow travellers.

“We are thrilled to offer users a better way to plan trips and travel on both web and mobile,” said Joachim Paasche, founder and CEO of Stay.com, which was named one of TIME Magazine’s Top 50 websites in 2010. “By providing travellers with a truly social experience, they can create a city guide that’s completely personal combining recommendations from experts and their friends.”

The downloadable, vector-based maps, based on cutting-edge technology, take up minimal space (less than 5MB) so users get a smooth panning and zooming experience and don’t have to worry about long load times. The maps will always be available offline, and with GPS functionality, users will find their way around town and discover nearby attractions.

Valuable integrations provide trusted information from established travel resources. For example, integration with Google Places allows users to map millions of local venues around the world including museums, parks, stores, and hidden gems their friends want them to visit.  Content from TripAdvisor and TimeOut among others delivers up-to-date information on local restaurants, hotels and entertainment venues. Integration with Facebook allows travellers to personalize their guides by requesting suggestions from friends, inviting fellow travellers to collaborate on their guides and accessing all Facebook friend check-ins.

Key features include: 
*  Discover great places
Experts have travelled the world to provide insight into the best restaurants, sights and attractions. Stay.com has over 21,000 unique descriptions of recommended places to visit.

*  Plan with friends
Create a tailored travel guide together! Let your friends suggest places, and log in with Facebook to see places your friends have visited in the city.

*  Entire city available offline
Download the entire city to your mobile device, and discover new places even without an Internet connection.

*  Offline map = no roaming charges
Find your way around town without adding a single dime to your phone bill. This is the fall of the roaming empire!

*  Add personal places
Add any place to your city guide — a friend’s apartment, that place to pick up the rental car, the small coffee shop on the corner — anything!