Leader of the Pack: Polina of Boston

We love how this community has grown so much in a span of 3 years! So we thought it was time to start a blog to keep our world-wide community updated with what’s happening in the travel massive community, including member interviews, event guides and event news.

In case you missed it, we interviewed St. Petersburg Travel Massive co-organizer Sergey Zadyraka on the last post. This time, we’re featuring the Boston Travel Massive community co-organizer, Polina Raygorodskaya. Polina is the CEO and Co-founder of wanderu.com.

Wanderu is the simplest way to find and book bus and train travel between any two points in the country. They aggregate up to date schedules, availability and pricing from inter-city carriers, integrate transit to and from the station and route between providers to create a true point to point search experience for travelers looking for an alternative to flying and driving.

Tell us a little about the travel industry in the Boston.

Boston has a great travel tech scene with some amazing companies in the area including Kayak, Tripadvisor, Wanderu, Amadeus and many other start ups in the travel space.

What travel companies do you admire the most and why?

I think the original CouchSurfing idea and community is amazing because it brought people together from all over the world and allowed people to connect and made traveling more local and more fun. I am also a big fan of Kayak.

What are some of your favorite travel websites?

Kayak, Tripadvisor, Wanderu, Getgoing, Travelzoo, Priceline, Hotwire— That is pretty much what I use when I travel.

What are the biggest trends you are seeing in Boston and in your industry?

I think the trend in the space is to make things super easy to navigate and use as well as make travel a more social and interactive experience.

Why did you decide to organize Travel Massive meetups in your city?

Boston has an amazing community of writers, start ups and established companies in the travel space. I wanted to bring everyone together to network and build relationships with one another because it is a great sounding board to bounce off ideas and create potential partnerships within this network.

I love to be surrounded by like-minded individuals passionate about travel.

Favorite travel tip in your city?

The Esplanade along the river usually has free concerts and festivals on summer weekends. It’s great way to enjoy the day in Boston and hear some great music!

You can’t travel without your…

Sadly, Laptop. I need to stay connected.

Leader of the pack is a monthly series that profiles organizers of Travel Massive meet-ups around the world!