TravelTV for online video

TripTelevision provides solutions to assist with online video needs. They provide custom players, production, post production, distribution and advertising for businesses.  The service allows viewers to manage their experience through profiling and video keyword search tools. The video explains it in detail.  Worth considering if you need an online video.

Things to do in Hollywood, CA as recommended by UpTake

Our company, UpTake is one of the “innovators” chosen to present at the summit.  We are a travel search engine that helps travelers make informed decisions about their trip with ease. We collect, organize and sift the web’s travel information, including 750,000 products and 20 million opinions.  We then deliver the information in one nice summarized package based on a traveler’s specific trip preferences–more about that here.

VacationRoost offers a variety of vacation rental properties

VacationRoost is the “the largest marketplace for professionally-managed vacation rentals.” I was slightly disappointed they didn’t have a rooster for their logo, but the site does have a great name and offers a wide variety of vacation rentals and other handy services.  I searched for Tahoe ski vacations and the results ranged from expensive to down scale, prices for everyone. But, I didn’t like that the advertised price was buried in the results, $500/night is very different than $124 a night, don’t you think?  I realize they are workin’ the upsell, but it feels a bit like a bait and switch to me.  I still will consider using the site to book a vacation rental.  By the way, you may know them by their other names: Ski West, Inc, then Otravel.com and then Mountain Reservations.  I personally like this name and hope they keep it.

Wandrian is a train travel resource

Wandrian, “the travel train catalyst,” has connected global train companies together to serve the train traveler. This helps train companies deliver their product in new ways, lowers their cost, increase sales and helps consumers book train journeys more readily. They are working to improve train ‘connections’ worldwide. I like this concept.

MyWorklight.com software insures sites offering 2.0 technologies remain secure

MyWorklight is a little more technical, “it is a secure and scalable server software product that creates a bridge between the traditional IT environment and numerous consumer-oriented services and technologies.”  In other words, they allow companies to offer Web 2.0 technologies in a secure environments including helpful tools like personalized homepages, gadgets, IM, and social networks.

Worldmate Live offers itinerary management

WorldMate Live is ” the only service that serves your needs both before and during travel by automatically assembling an entire itinerary, including meetings, in one place.”  It also syncs up your personal web site, calendar and mobile device.  WorldMate Live roams with you in real time to help avoid the daily problems a complex itinerary can present.

I am going to compare TripIt and WorldmateLive in another post during my next trip.  I will let you know which service I prefer.  I just don’t think a trip to my sister’s needs an itinerary planner.  I wonder, Is the market large enough for a number of these services?

Yapta helps you find a better price

In the current climate often described as a global economic meltdown, Yapta is in the perfect position to serve the rising numbers of cost-conscious consumers. Yapta tracks prices before you buy. Better yet, if the price drops after the purchase is made, they help you get refund travel credits from the airlines. The latter part of the deal doesn’t sound easy, but I like the concept of someone telling me to buy now!  If only I had the same service with equivalent reliablility in the stock market. Worth a look.

Your Tour is an itinerary planner

Your Tour offers dynamic algorithmic based itinerary planning.  The site is not yet ready for review.

And that brings us to the last of the innovators.  In just a few days, I will be able to see the best they have to offer during their presentations.  Look for details here next week.

Detailed product information collected from across thousands of sources

UpTake announced yesterday that we increased our total number of indexed sources from 1,000 to 5,000 making our database of individual travel sites nearly 10 times greater than any other travel search engine. The sources indexed by us include trusted sites like Expedia, Fodor’s, goCityKids, TripAdvisor, Virtual Tourist, and Yahoo! Travel.

Our database now delivers summarized information about more than 775,000 U.S. products.

Take a minute and understand the enormity of that number…

It is a great many places to stay and things to do. It includes 600,000 U.S. attractions (landmarks, parks, beaches, etc.) and more than 175,000 hotels, B&Bs, resorts and campgrounds and well “alternative” lodging. Yurt, anyone?

We also collected more than 20 million opinions from across the 5,000 web sites, an unmatched breadth of understanding about travel.

Why does this matter?

By doing all of this data gathering, we are decreasing the amount of time a travel planner has to search for information. We gather, organize and  sift the information and then deliver it to you in a succinct summary.  All the information you need to decide on your trips–in one place.  We want you to be able to make a swifter, better decision about your precious vacation time.  I like to think of of us as the most helpful, obsessive, compulsive travel search engine around.

I hope you do too.

PhocusWright 2008, The Perfect Storm

UpTake was selected to participate in the Travel Innovation Summit (TIS) at the PhocusWright Conference 2008 in Hollywood next week.  We were invited to give a 5 minute presentation on Monday, November 17 along with 32 other rising stars in the online travel industry. The six winners of TIS will present their product on Center Stage on Thursday, November 20, 2008 to the conference attendees, many of them leaders in the travel industry.

The selection process is a cross between the People’s Choice Awards and the Emmys, “the influential audience of professionals focused on travel judges the innovators real-time, sending six finalists to Center Stage.”  The expert audience votes, not just a panel of travel experts.  Since I have not attended before, I am curious about the process.  Will the audience choose the best product, the most dynamic speaker or a mix of both?  How do the conference managers handle audience burn-out after either the 20th, 25th or 29th travel companies make similar presentation? More on that during the conference itself….

During the next few days, I will review each of the Travel Innovation Summit participants and give a brief description of who they are, the benefits they bring to the average traveler and any fresh, interesting features and benefits they offer.  I will also offer updates during the conference presentations.

This week is all about PhocusWright.