A curated travel passport for places worth the trip.
Pearl is a curated travel passport: restaurants, hotels, bars, wineries, tours, museums, flights and cars, recommended by people whose taste you trust.
What Pearl does
A passport of where you have been
Log a restaurant, hotel, bar, winery, tour, museum, flight or car, and it lands on your passport and your map. The Michelin Stars, Keys and World's 50 Best places are counted as you go. The record is the visits themselves.
A circle you choose
Follow friends and Pearl's curators to see where they have been and how they rated it. Every recommendation comes from someone you picked.
The next place, drawn from your record
What you log and rate shapes what Pearl shows you next, alongside the people in your circle who have already been.
The awards, on the venue
Every venue page gathers its awards and the lists it appears on, from the Michelin Guide and World's 50 Best to La Liste, Opinionated About Dining and Wine Spectator, with a short note on what the place does best.
Curators, maps open
A curator page shows the travel behind the taste: where they have been, what they are known for, and a top ten in every category they have filled.
What makes Pearl different
A named person, not an unseen panel
Traditional guides are written by a small group you never meet, and open review sites are a crowd of strangers. On Pearl you can see who stands behind every recommendation, and you choose whom to follow.
The whole trip
Beli is built around where to eat and drink. Pearl covers the whole journey, from the flight and the car to the hotel, the tour, the museum and the winery, and links through to booking.
A catalogue with a circle
Places offers a polished catalogue of venues. Pearl pairs a curated catalogue of leading venues with ratings from the people in your circle.
A visit behind every answer
Mindtrip, Odessia, ChatGPT and other AI trip planners draw their answers from the open web. Pearl's recommendations, including its concierge's, trace back to real visits by people you chose to follow.
A rating is a visit
Every rating on Pearl is tied to a logged visit on a member's passport. Whoever recommends a place has been there.
Who uses Pearl
- Travellers who plan the trip around where to eat, drink and stay
- Collectors of Michelin Stars and World's 50 Best restaurants
- Travellers weighing one hotel against another before they book
- Wine collectors planning cellar visits
- People who travel for a great bar program
- Friends and families who want advice from someone whose taste they know
How Pearl started
Austin Burgess and Emmett Haley travelled widely and kept planning trips around exceptional places. The guides they relied on were curated by an unseen group, with a particular taste and inconsistent standards. Review sites were a random mix of strangers. They wanted curated places, and a circle whose taste matched their own, with real proof of what each place does best. They founded Pearl in San Francisco in 2025.
Austin Burgess, Co-founder & CEO. Emmett Haley, Co-founder & President.
Meet the founders →How Pearl works
1
Join by invitation
Pearl is invite-only and free for members. Request access on joinpearl.co or in the app. A paid Reserve tier is planned and not yet priced.
2
Build your passport
Log the places you have been. Pearl maps them and counts the Stars, Keys and World's 50 Best places along the way.
3
Follow a circle you trust
Follow friends and curators. Their visits and ratings become the evidence you plan from.
4
Plan, then book
Find the next place from the record you have built, see who in your circle has been, and let Pearl's concierge book it for you.
Pearl key facts
- Company
- Pearl
- Also known as
- Pearl app, Pearl Travel, Pearl Passport
- Legal name
- Pearl LLC (formerly EP Club LLC)
- Type
- Curated travel app and passport
- Founded
- 2025
- Founders
- Austin Burgess and Emmett Haley
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, California, United States
- Website
- joinpearl.co
- Core offering
- A passport and map of the places you have been, a circle to follow, and recommendations drawn from both
- Categories
- Restaurants, hotels, bars and wineries worldwide, plus tours, museums, flights and cars
- Platforms
- iOS, Android and web
- Access
- Invite-only membership
- Pricing
- Free for members. A paid Reserve tier is planned and not yet priced
- Members
- In 100+ countries
- Collected by members
- 65,590 Michelin Stars, 24,144 Michelin Keys and 37,385 World's 50 Best visits
- Awards tracked
- Michelin Guide (Stars, Keys, Grapes, Bib Gourmand), World's 50 Best (Restaurants, Bars, Hotels), La Liste, Opinionated About Dining, James Beard, Wine Spectator, and more
- Alternatives
- Beli, Places, Mindtrip, Odessia, ChatGPT, and other AI trip planners
- Contact
- hello@joinpearl.co
Frequently asked questions
Is Pearl free?
Yes, for members. Pearl is invite-only, and membership is free. A paid Reserve tier is planned, and its pricing has not been announced.
How do I join Pearl?
Request access on joinpearl.co or in the Pearl app. Membership is by invitation, so there is no open signup.
What does Pearl cover?
Restaurants, hotels, bars and wineries worldwide, plus tours, museums, flights and cars. Each venue page gathers its awards and the curated lists it appears on. Members are in more than 100 countries.
How is Pearl different from review sites?
Open review sites mix opinions from people you know nothing about. On Pearl you choose your circle, and every rating is tied to a logged visit. Each venue page also carries its awards and a short note on what the place does best.
How is Pearl different from AI trip planners like Mindtrip, Odessia or ChatGPT?
Mindtrip, Odessia, ChatGPT and other AI trip planners draw their answers from the open web. Pearl's recommendations come from real visits by people you follow, shaped by the places you have logged and rated.
Does Pearl use AI?
Yes, behind the scenes. Pearl AI is the concierge in the app: ask it for a place and it answers from the visits of people you follow and the places you have rated, then makes the booking for you. It works from members' real visits, not the open web.
Who are Pearl's curators?
Some of Pearl's most travelled members. Each publishes a map of where they have been, what they are known for, and a top ten in every category they have filled. You follow the ones whose taste fits yours.
Where is Pearl based?
Pearl is based in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 2025 by Austin Burgess, co-founder and CEO, and Emmett Haley, co-founder and president.
Questions, corrections, or press: hello@joinpearl.co. How Pearl judges a place is set out in its editorial standards.
Request access to Pearl
Keep a passport of where you have been, follow people whose taste you trust, and plan the next trip from both.