Travel startup UpTake set to launch opinions super-site
With so many online travel sites crowding the market, you’d think we were nearing a Web 2.0 travel bubble. But according to travel information search engine UpTake, which is launching May 14, there’s still an untapped niche in the market: a travel-opinions supersite.
The market is extremely fragmented with thousands of micro-sites for individual hotels, beaches, airlines and leisure activities. UpTake’s goal is to gather opinions from all of those sites together and become the most… Continue Reading
NileGuide aims to own trip itinerary business
Online travel sites are an increasingly crowded space, so much so that it can be difficult to differentiate between them. NileGuide is attempting to offer something different, a full-service travel site that exists online. The site will help you plan a trip from start to finish. The mission is to own the trip itinerary business.
NileGuide saw the first wave of travel sites as useful simply for booking. The second wave, was good for limited user-generated… Continue Reading
TripIt raises $5.1M to better organize your travels
As someone who has been home for one weekend of the past six, I know that traveling can be a real pain. While the Internet has eased some burdens such as scheduling and price hunting, it has also created new ones, such as organizing trip details when plans are often made across several sites. That is where a site like TripIt comes in.
There are a lot of online traveling sites such as Kayak (our coverage),… Continue Reading
Kayak drinks MyPunchbowl’s Kool-Aid. Team up for Party Center
Online event planning sites work well to let people know what is going on when and who will be in attendance. However, these sites lack the ability to handle more advanced logistics, such as travel arraignments, until now.
One such event planning site, MyPunchbowl is teaming up with leading travel site Kayak to launch the MyPunchbowl Party Center. This new area will work exactly as you might expect. Just as on Kayak, you can search flights,… Continue Reading
Holiday Roundup: Apple devices for store purchases? Digg, and more
The VentureBeat team is mostly taking a much-needed holiday break this week. In the meantime, here’s some of the latest news:
1. Apple devices to offer payment service?
2. Digg tells BusinessWeek that “no acquisitions are in the works” but we’re sticking by our story
3. Amazon Music Store to sell Warner Bros. music
4. Apple’s iTunes to rent Fox Studios movies
5. Web analytics service Compete examines Kayak-Sidestep travel site merger
Apple devices to offer payment service? — The company… Continue Reading
Travel sites Kayak and Sidestep merge, aim to become market leader
Updated
Travel search engine Kayak has taken on $196 million in additional funding from a prominent group of investors.
It has separately purchased main rival SideStep for $180 million, as well as $20 million in the company’s bank account for a total of $200, Techcrunch first reported. [Update: We now hear from a source that the total sale was for slightly less: $175 million plus $18 million in cash, for a total of $193 million.]
Together, the companies… Continue Reading
Kango makes travel search personal and raises $4mm
Kango, a travel search engine that finds lodging and activities that match your personal preferences, is launching a closed testing version and announcing that it raised $4 million from Shasta Ventures earlier this year.
This area is extremely competitive. Companies like Kayak and Sidestep, which search multiple sites for the best ticket prices, have raised millions from marquee VCs; cFares, which finds wholesale plane tickets at discount rates, recently raised $4.5 million. TripIt makes it easy… Continue Reading