Travel 2.0 Confronts the Establishment (June 14, 2006)

In his email announcing this year's PhoCusWright Executive Conference, industry insider, analyst and pundit, Philip Wolf commented that the "current marketplace activity represents the most exciting time that I have witnessed since the first online travel wave hit. It's pregnant with potential. One reason is that travel distribution evolution is inextricably linked with the fantastic advancements in software and Web applications. Another is that we are reaching a tipping point where 50% of all U.S. travel will be booked online and international growth is explosive. My favorite thing underway is the many new entrants challenging the very 1.0 companies who themselves challenged the status quo a generation ago."

Never mind that the Travel 1.0 generation lasted a mere decade (consider the amazing changes in the industry since the launch of Travelocity and Expedia in 1996 -- Anyone out there remember Preview Travel let alone PCTravel, TheTrip, BizTravel and ITN?)  PhoCusWright is the leading online travel conference, and TripHub is pleased to be speaking at this year's event and representing the Travel 2.0 wave in a session devoted to the growing online group travel market.

We agree with Philip that it's fun to see so many innovative online travel companies emerging. And, as John Cook commented in his blog "it is kind of interesting how Seattle has shaped the online travel industry... In addition to Expedia, a number of online travel startups got started in Seattle. Maybe it is the rainy weather." Of related interest is John's recent post on the greater concentration of start ups in Seattle as compared to most large cities.

My current count of private Seattle-based online travel companies is 7, including TripHub (and I expect others to emerge). Please let me know who I'm missing on this list.

BeDynamic. Provides up-to-date destination information to the travel and tourism industry.

Charter Bus America. Online charter bus reservations.

Escapia. Led by former MountainTravelSobek CEO, Bill Furlong, and VacationSpot founder, Steve Murch, Escapia offers a Web-based vacation rental management and marketing solution to property management companies.

Farecast. Currently in beta. Ever wondered whether it'd be better to buy your airline ticket now or wait for a better fare?  Farecast has the answer. Read more about Farecast here.

RedWeek. Timeshares for rent or sale.

SeatGuru. The ultimate source for airplane seating, in-flight amenities and airline information.

Updates:

Farecast was acquired by Microsoft (April 2008).

Escapia launched ClearStay a consumer-direct site for finding and booking vacation rentals (November 2007).

SeatGuru was acquired by TripAdvisor, a division of Expedia (May 2007).

Yapta launched their beta. Yapta enables customers to tag specific flights/itineraries found at leading airline and online travel agent sites and then mointors pricing and sends email updates when fares drop or fall below a desired spending limit (May 2007).

Other interesting Northwest-based online travel companies include FlightStats, MyItin, Destination360, and HolidayGolightly.