After listening to 32 “innovators” at the PhocusWright Travel Innovation Summit in Hollywood yesterday, the verdict is in: Travelers just want more planning tools.
I’m not convinced that we need all the trip planning tools that seem to be coming travelers’ way. There are only so many virtual folders that I can stuff trip information into and have any hope of eventually finding it.
My concern is that all of the Web pages and sites I have saved on one of the travel planning sites will eventually go the way of grocery coupons I clip and stuff into an envelope.
That being said, some new services can really make a difference in organizing your trip and then dealing with problems as the travel proceeds.
At the forefront of the trip planning efforts is Tripit. They, as far as I know, are the granddaddy of the group, having had more time to hone their presentation and their relationships. Tripit allows travelers to send in their itineraries and arrangements to its site by email, to have it organized into a cohesive whole, residing in an easy-to-modify and easy-to-find file. With flight information, destination information, car rental information and hotel reservation information, Tripit automatically adds weather, maps, city guides and photos that flesh out trip information. The Tripit platform also takes advantage of Web 2.0 with travel sharing modules as well. Much of this consolidation of information is automatic, making Tripit a real value-added proposition for most travelers — both business and leisure.
Travelmuse takes a different approach. Their effort is to focus on inspiring travelers with articles, blogs, photos, reviews and more that describe various destinations. Presently, this is aimed at the leisure traveler with nooks and crannies in the site to tuck away personal travel research. The site, after a destination is selected, used the wisdom of the crowds to recommend hotels and dining establishments.
Tripchill consolidates trip information on mobile phone platforms. Lodging, dining spots, appointments, flights, auto rentals and so on can be loaded into the Tripschill service that can then be accessed through cell phones, even old world cell phones with text messaging capabilities. Tripchill can alert travelers about flight changes, the need to shift rental car plans or cancel hotel reservations. The cell phone application offers up local geo-tagged restaurant and hotel recommendations and allows travelers freedom from their computers and the ability to react to changing travel realities while on the road.
Another site dedicated to solving problems and consolidating itineraries through mobile devices while travelers are on the road is Worldmatelive. The service alerts travelers about possible problems and provides links to online services that can get the travel plans back on track.
Planeteye provides a spot for travelers to collect information about any destination based on a geo-tagging preference. Triporati provides a system for travelers to harness the expertise of professional travel writers to select a vacation destination; after the destination is selected the site links visitors out to various online tavel agencies to make arrangements.
Bear with these sites. Some are still adding content and most are in beta form. However, these kinds of travel itinerary consolidators are a coming site wave in the future.
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Very interesting sites, but do any of them talk about how they plan to make money? Once their VC capital runs out how can these sites survive? Great ideas and smart people I am sure but I’m concerned they might not be able to pay their way to that conference NEXT year…..
Charlie,
Good insight. These tools are great and extend the conversion of PC Web like application to the mobile space. As for capital and business models, it was said the same thing about TV. It will find a way as these apps touch the consumer. Take a look at 2go.travel mobile travel application at http://www.2go.travel.
See the tools set at http://2go.travel/iphone/trip-tools. The nice thing is it is free and can add real value to a traveler’s journey.
We’ve checked out some of these new sites – and they do look cool. But I’m still not convinced they will help me plan my next vacation. On the other hand, our site has no VC, is still very small, but it has the potential to help budget-minded travelers plan their next amazing trip.
Our company, NileGuide (http://www.nileguide.com/) was also one of the presenters at the conference. Our trip planning product was very well-received, and we scored highest of all of the trip planning solutions (I’d call Tripit more of a organizational tool, occupying a different piece of the travel ecosystem). We’re well-aware of the skepticism out there, but we’re confident in our ability to win in this space. Why?
1) we’re well-funded and have real runway, having closed an $8mm round in May 2008 from top tier VC’s
2) we have a laser-like focus on building a world-class customer experience in planning travel. Everything else is secondary. That means exceeding customer expectations in each phase of the travel lifecycle.
3) despite #2, we have a clear path to profitability by leveraging a hybrid business model combining transactions and targeted advertising. After all, travel is the largest e-commerce category by a long shot, and enjoys some of the highest average ad rates.
check us out — feedback is welcome!
They ll are good, I checked them out but I usully just go to the airlines website and do my reservtions their. It is easier and more secure.