Travel planning with a twist.
Welcome to 2where
Travel planning with a twist.
Our Team
Who we are...
Bringing together people who share the same motivation and passion is a recipe for success. 2where is nothing without the team behind the scenes.
Peter J. Visco, Co-Founder / CEO / CFO
Peter Visco serves as a Co-Founder of 2Where. Peter is also an independent consultant who has amassed approximately 20 years of professional experience working in a variety of areas including internal controls, internal/external audit, investment management, back office operations, financial consulting, risk management, and organizational operations. Peter earned a Bachelors of Science degree in Economics from The Pennsylvania State University. Peter currently lives in Ellicott City, MD with his wife Jessica, his son Jackson, and his dog Bailey.
Justin Kidwell, Co-Founder / COO
Justin Kidwell serves as a Co-Founder of 2Where. Justin is also a Managing Consultant with IBM Global Business Services where he develops growth, operations and organizational strategies for clients to develop industry leading capabilities. In addition to his consulting experience, Justin served as the Director of Finance for PeacePlayers International – South Africa (PPI-SA), a non-profit organization that combines a life skills curriculum and basketball activities to develop leaders, change perceptions and bridge social divides among South African youth. Justin earned a Master’s of Business Administration (Finance & Economics) from Columbia Business School and two Bachelors of Arts (History and Economics & Business) from Lafayette College. Justin lives in Washington, DC with his wife Sarah and his daughter Elise and enjoys hiking, biking and other outdoor activities.
Our Story
The story of 2where began a few years ago back in 2013. Pete and his wife Jessica were looking to take their first vacation alone since the birth of their son, Jackson, in September 2011. The trip was going to be a short, weekend getaway from Friday to Sunday. The only issue with the trip was that Pete and Jess did not know exactly where they wanted to go. Also, since this was Jess’ first time away from Jackson, she wanted to make sure they weren’t away for too long.
As they started trying to come up with a destination, they began to discuss the specifics needs or wants for their trip and came up with the following:·
- Relatively upscale hotel
- Hotel on the water
- Bar at the hotel that overlooked the water
- Place where the “town” and nightlife were within walking distance
- Flights that would land them at the destination early Friday, but would depart early Sunday in order to be back by early afternoon·
- Hotel and airfare totaling less than a set dollar amount
With these specific criteria in mind, Pete and Jess began their search online to find the perfect destination. They searched the normal websites that people go to when planning and booking a vacation, but pretty much all of the websites they tried asked, first and foremost, what was their destination. This caused a problem as their destination was unknown.
Eventually, through countless hours of searching the web and considering different locations, flights, hotels, and other considerations, decided on Newport, RI. Luckily, the trip turned out to be lots of fun and was a welcome getaway.
However, Pete and Jess were annoyed and frustrated with the process they went through when trying to plan the trip.
During their many discussions of their options, Jess commented that wouldn’t it be great if there was a website where you could go without first knowing your destination and you could select various criteria that would produce results matching those selections? This innocent question led to many generic discussions about whether they should try and design a website that would solve this issue and allow for a more criteria-based search to select a location.
The main issue with that idea was that neither Pete nor Jess are developers nor did they have any truly useful skills that would translate to them developing this site. Regardless, they went online and decided to try and find a domain name to purchase that would seem to fit the functionality of the site just in case they decided to try and make this happen.
After trying countless names that were already owned, they landed on 2where.com. Seemed catchy, was a name people would remember, and actually was representative of the purpose of the site. Seemed like a winner, so Pete bought domain.
From there, Pete conducted more exhaustive research to see if something like this already existed. It seemed like a simple idea, so how could it not have been done already? What he found was that there was really nothing out there that allowed you to search or plan a trip without requiring dates or a destination. There was nothing that used very specific set of criteria to narrow down a list of destinations. So Pete did some further research and designed a set of criteria that would provide the user with a seemingly unlimited combination of selections.
At this point, the project stalled for a while. Since Pete was not a developer nor did he have access to or an understanding of the skills needed to develop such an intricate website, he put it on hold. This was a frustrating point in the process because everyone Pete and Jess told about the idea seemed to love it and wished something like this existed.
In 2015, Pete began to get excited about the idea again and decided he wanted to find a way to make it happen. He went to his great friend and colleague, Justin, as someone who he thought would be great to bounce around ideas and work towards bringing this somewhat far-fetched idea to fruition.
Justin was a person who Pete trusted implicitly and who was very educated, successful in his own field of business, and was an avid traveler who would have real-life insights on how to make this website great.
From there, the two partners brainstormed, researched, met with various people, and began to put a plan in place to bring this idea to life. It was the birth of that partnership that took 2where from pure fantasy to potential reality and the train has been moving forward ever since.
Our Vision
2where uses criteria-based search and aggregation of travel destinations based on the user's selection of amenities, activities, budget, and other travel preferences without having to know the destination in advance.
See the 2where.com Website section below for a screen shot of the functioning website that is under development.
Additionally, see the Photo Gallery below for a mock up of what our mobile application might look like or include.
2where.com Website
The following is a screen shot of the functioning 2where.com website that is under development:
2where Mobile App Photos
FAQs
What is 2where?
2where is an innovative approach to travel planning that reflects both the technology and mindset of the modern consumer. We all have specific criteria that drive our decisions, and the goal of the founders of 2where is to allow you, the user, to prioritize your selection of travel preferences and requirements in order to identify the perfect travel destination.
At 2where, we did not want to create a “better than decent” version of a travel planning site, but rather we strived to align the tool that we created with the way us as travelers go about identifying the ideal travel destinations that will make all of our travel dreams come true.
Ultimately our goal with 2where is to turn the name from a noun into a verb. When you’re sitting around with friends or family and someone says, “Let’s take a road trip! Where should we go?” We want the answer to be, “Who knows? Let’s 2where it and find a place.”
How will 2where improve my travel planning experience?
Travel planning can often be some combination of stressful, annoying, repetitive, time consuming, and all around difficult. Whether the problems are deciding on a destination or satisfying the wants of multiple people or staying within budget, travel planning can actually take the fun out of travel. 2where was developed to simplify the travel planning process, and, hopefully, remove some of these stressors.
In order to accomplish this goal, 2where aims to turn travel planning upside down. The majority of travel websites/apps prompt the user to identify a location before providing any sort of search results. These same travel websites/apps, however, do not accommodate those travelers who know what they want to do, but do not have or do not wish to choose a specific destination.
With 2where, the only item that is required to be entered is your starting location. Everything else is optional. We have put together a vast and very detailed selection of criteria to be entered or selected that will allow you to identify the amenities, activities, budget, and other travel preferences needed to identify the travel destination that will fit all of your needs.
How does 2where actually work?
2where uses criteria-based search and aggregation of travel destinations based on the user's selection of various amenities, activities, budget, distance, and other travel preferences to produce a list of destinations.
Behind the scenes, the data that will drive the tool will be made up of live data feeds (APIs) and manually created databases containing information on hotels, airlines, things-to-do, places-to-go, and other common criteria that travelers use to select their destination.
Who are the potential users of 2where?
When we first started developing 2where, one of our main priorities was to make a site that everyone could and would use to help with their travel planning needs. Whether young or old, family or individual, experienced or novice, our goal is for 2where to be your go-to travel planner. We envision the users of our site to include, but not be limited to, people such as:
- Experienced Travelers – Individuals or groups who travel often, but are looking for new and exciting adventures.
- Novice Travelers – Individuals who don’t take many trips, and are looking to discover what’s out there to experience.
- Family Travelers – Families who love to take vacations, but don’t always have the easiest time finding a place that will simultaneously meet the travel needs of all the family members.
- Business Travelers – Individuals who travel for work, and want to explore the areas around their work location.
- Companies/Corporations – When planning a company getaway, retreat, or an off-site meeting.
- Special Occasion Travelers – Those travelers looking for honeymoon, bachelor/bachelorette party, anniversary, spring break, or wedding destinations.
What’s next for 2where?
We currently are in the development phase and have built the site solely as a prototype, so we still have a ways to go. Our plan is to reach out to investors to obtain the funding we need to bring this idea to reality and to make all your travel planning worries wash away. Additionally, we will continue to evaluate and add criteria to ensure that 2where will include as many options as possible and will be robust enough to handle whatever you, as the traveler, can come up with.
How can I stay informed about the progress of 2where?
On the 2where home page, you have the ability to submit your email to us so we can keep you on a list of people who are excited about what 2where can be, and who want to know when the live version of the site will be up and running. If you would like to be added to our mailing list while also providing comments about or suggestions for the site, you can go to the Contact Us page to send us a more detailed note. As 2where progresses through the development process and beyond, we will be sure to keep all of you in the know.