Startups

The sad fact of most social travel sites is that despite cool design and nice apps, there are plenty of social sites -- Facebook, Pinterest, and, yes, TripAdvisor -- that already did what they're trying to do.

It’s not a new platform that’s needed to take these tourism companies online, but a grassroots efforts to update their technology to process online payments.

It won’t matter if recipients use the credit or another shuns its services as Silicon Valley shoppers will have already boosted Uber’s December profits by becoming trendy gifters.

It may be a leap of faith to park your car at the airport and then rent it out while you travel, but car rental startups are at least making a statement that the standard ways of doing business aren't etched in stone -- and 6-page rental agreements.

As a travel-focused startup ourselves, this is tough to watch, but heartening in that the company acknowledged its mistakes quickly and is reacting fast.

Foursquare is walking a fine line between user engagement and commercialization, and its fate is dependent on this balancing act.

Gtrot is out of "travel" now, joining the ranks of social travel sites that have gone looking in vain for both a revenue model and users.

The ultimate success of Roadtrippers depends on its mobile apps and although a companion app is a step in the right direction, it’ll need full trip planning capabilities to take off with today’s mobile travelers.

Is KnowDelay a feature or a standalone company? Officials acknowledge that it is probably a feature, but it looks like a compelling one.

Booking.com has built its success on the pay-at-the-hotel model, and if more online travel agencies such as Ostrovok and Expedia transition to hybrid models, it will be interesting to see if that forces Booking.com to make changes of its own.