You’re booking your trip in Montreal for Labor Day weekend. There’s no shortage of apartments for under $100 a night on Airbnb. Price: check.

And it seems like every accommodation is rated at least 4 stars with positive reviews. Quality: check.

This place is next to a metro station. But will we use the metro? Are there coffee shops nearby? What about a park to walk the dog? Location: hmm…

It’s easier than ever to live like a local when you’re on the road. New platforms from Airbnb to TripAdvisor have revolutionized the travel industry. The sharing economy in particular has allowed travellers to slip into the shoes of a local in whatever city they find themselves.

Still, this hasn’t changed what we look for when booking a trip. Just like when your parents planned their honeymoon, there are three key factors all smart travellers consider when booking an accommodation: price, quality, and location. Whether you’re staying in a hotel or renting an apartment, these are the principle factors that will guide your trip planning. The first two have been figured out- large booking platforms like Expedia figured out how to deliver the lowest prices while sites like TripAdvisor evaluate quality. Airbnb’s search engine helps users find a vacation rental based on price and quality. Location remains a challenge.

“Location is the most important criteria for travellers when booking.”- Brian Chesky, CEO & Co-founder, Airbnb

There’s a reason real estate agents chant, “Location, location, location.” At home, location determines your rent, your commute, and your social life. A new study by economists David Albouy, of the University of Illinois, and Bert Lue, of the University of Michigan in the Journal of Urban Economics (discussed by Richard Florida at CityLab) looks at the role of “location” in 2,000 communities across the US. “Driving to Opportunity” evaluates the desirability of location according to people’s willingness to pay to live there. Homebuyers obviously value features like schools and safety very highly, but the significance of amenities like bars and restaurants are interesting to travellers as well.

Albouy and Lue find that what makes a place attractive is not its natural environment (sorry Vancouver), but urban characteristics like “density” in addition to what they call “artificial amenities,” basically man-made features like bars and restaurants. The study found a direct correlation between a concentration of bars and restaurants and what people will pay for a location. Essentially, people are paying for access to amenities.

The mantra “Location, location, location” should be adopted by the travel industry too since it’s even more important when you’re on the road and have a limited time to explore a city. Unlike homebuyers, travellers aren’t limited by factors like family and job location; they have more flexibility to choose their dream location but less time to enjoy it.

Airbnb has attempted to integrate location into their platform with neighborhood guides for 21 cities, but they are not accurate enough to match travellers with their needs. Keywords like “Artsy” and “Up-And-Coming” are based on certain people’s perceptions and can’t account for an entire district. Travellers headed to Brooklyn, for instance, may be lured by the “Peace and Quiet” of Greenpoint, only to find themselves staying on a block near bustling Williamsburg. Users can’t rely on vague qualitative measures when choosing a location especially in rapidly changing neighborhoods.

We’ve been saying there’s a place for everyone, you just have to find it. But what does that mean? Location can refer to proximity, amenities, and vibe. Location means something different for everyone.

Some travellers want to stay right next to the tourist sites; others want to get off the beaten path. Party animals need to be in the middle of the nightlife while families might seek a quiet residential street. Public transit enthusiasts need to be next to a metro station, but that won’t matter much if you’re driving.

Prices are high or low. Quality is shown by number of stars and reviews. Location isn’t black and white.

Currently there are no good options for finding well-located travel accommodations. To compare different options, users have to flip back and forth between websites, Google Streetview, and travel blogs. This is overwhelming, tedious, and uncertain. Airbnb lets users search by certain neighborhoods, but that doesn’t solve the problem. Limiting your search in Montreal to the Plateau leaves you with over 1,200 options across 8.1 km². Most of these aren’t well located but you won’t know until you get there.

We’re a team of urban planners that have developed a platform to solve this problem. Through our work and studies, we’ve come to appreciate the complexity of location. We developped a tool that takes into consideration both the character of an area, and how easy it is to reach the things you want to see and do during your trip.

Let’s say you want to be in a pedestrian-friendly area, want to enjoy the nightlife of the city you are visiting, and prefer a quiet neighborhood; you can search for a place that checks those boxes.

We synthesizes user preferences and location data points using the same technology used by city planners to create a location score. This score makes it as simple to compare accommodations based on location as it is for price and quality. We’re working to quantify the subjective. That means you can search by location based on what location means to you.

In addition to attractions like museums and amenities like markets, users can now browse locations by their character. Our GIS-based indicators use measurable factors like population density and greenery to help travellers find the location that is best for them all the way down to a city block. We’re backing up abstract labels like “trendy” and “pedestrian friendly” with concrete data based on factors like block widths, independent coffee shops, and commercial diversity, to name a few.

Check our site to see what Nexmoov can do for you.