10 travel sites that want to be TripAdvisor but won’t be

With TripAdvisor now worth $7 billion plus in market cap, it’s not hard to see why companies are clamouring for its crown.

The main problem for those vying to be TripAdvisor 2.0 is the battle for online visitors – managing to survive as a new website until a critical mass of reviews has been achieved, and enough social buzz to make them successful.

“TripAdvisor’s omnipresence is key when it comes to its success,” says online marketing specialist Adam Davidson. “Wherever you are planning to stay or eat, you know and expect TripAdvisor, will have it covered – many other sites can’t match that.”

Differentiation could be the key to a new site’s success, according to Davidson. “While it is difficult to get the ball rolling, once they reach a meaningful breadth of reviews, perhaps in a niche market to start off with, something could take off,” he says. “The habit of contributing reviews is infectious after all.”