While many travel-oriented sites provide a way for travelers to share their experiences with one another, few let you connect with locals based on your travel destination.
Localyte, of San Mateo, Calif., is a new online network that has set out to connect travelers with locals--not other travelers.
Its features include a community-wide Q&A, email subscription options for keeping track of user-generated reviews on a given service, and search filters based on geographic location and destination activities. This is a dedicated effort to move travelers "off the tour bus" and into the authentic experience a destination has to offer.
Instead of relying on other travelers that have been there, Localyte becomes an open marketplace for local services to promote themselves and connect with travelers as potential friends and clients. While Localyte will certainly benefit from having any local resident provide content for its site, the incentive for local services to provide information on this site is much higher.
While this lets people like independent tour guides or surfing instructors gain visibility, the downside is it could lead to mindless spam from local business vendors trying to reach gullible travelers: Will this result in genuine advice or aggressively self-serving information? Nevertheless, having a web-based platform that creates a marketplace for connecting travelers with local services is one of the best ways in which these two ends can meet, and the user-generated reviews along with reputation rankings based on site participation will likely keep any misguided information in check.
Funded for an undisclosed amount by Tandem Entrepreneurs, Localyte has three core team members.
A similar site that bridges the gap between travelers and local services is Zicasso, though it does so primarily through local travel agents. Zicasso launched earlier this year, but has yet to gain a significant amount of traction.