Online destination advisory service TripBod has enlisted one of the heavyweights of travel book world with Rough Guides co-founder Martin Dunford joining its board.
TripBod is a paid-for service for users to locate local guides and specialists ("Friend at the other end") to help plan itineraries and activities within a destination ahead of travelling.
As well as boosting its board of directors, the UK-based site also unveiled its first smartphone app this week for the Apple iPhone.
The first incarnation of the app acts like a search system for the wider TripBod service, allowing users to search for Bods around the world using a Google Map and the handset's GPS tools.
Users can also search for a relevant Bod based on whether they are likely to have the same interests.
The addition of Dunford is an interesting move for the fledgling startup given his vast experience at the heart of Rough Guides.
Dunford helped create the company and saw it through its eventual acquisition by Pearson, owner of the Financial Times and the Dorling Kindersley travel guides.
TripBod founder and CEO Sally Broom says Dunford's addition to the board will be to help support the business's content strategy and well as wider development of its mobile service.