About TripHub

Trip Planning Sites (August 20, 2008)

Another popular question of late has been, "since TripHub will no longer be available, can you point me to another online trip planning site?"

Again, there is no single, simple answer. What kind of trip? How many people? Do you know when and where you're going or are you looking for ideas? How complicated is your itinerary and will everyone be traveling together? Do you want to keep your plans private or share them with the world?

There are many online travel planning sites. Some new, some well-established. Each is different and each has its own strengths. There's also a host of collaboration and organizational tools that, while not specifically travel oriented, offer rich functionality.

So, with that caveat, here are some sites you may find helpful:

evite - While there are many upstarts competing for this business (MyPunchbowl et al.), evite remains the granddaddy of online invitation sites. It's not perfect, but it works and everyone knows how to use it.

Google Sites - Create a custom Web site for your group or event. Shared discussions, calendars, pictures, documents, privacy settings, etc. Or you might try a wiki or group organization site like WetPaint and Backpackit.

Groople - Group reservations and planning tools including room lists and payment collection from individual group members. Some suppliers such as Carnival Cruise Lines also offer online group reservation and planning tools for their customers.

TripIt - Organizes trip itineraries (flights, hotels and activities booked from leading online agency and supplier sites) and creates a private Web page with maps, weather, etc. that you can share with friends and family. Other sites (TravelMuse et al.) allow you and your group to clip, organize and share content and sites you find on the Web.

WeddingChannel - Offers free and fee based sites for organizing your wedding where you can communicate event details, collect RSVPs, recommend hotels, share photos, etc. Similarly MyFamily.com offers free and fee based family sites that may be useful for organizing reunions and vacations with extended family.

Yahoo Trip Planner - Explore and copy other people's trips/itineraries and create your own custom travel guide with hotels, activities, restaurants, maps, etc. that you can share with your group (requires Yahoo IDs) or the world. There are several other sites (TripWiser et al.) that allow you to build your own itineraries and remix those of others.

Clearly this isn't a comprehensive list. Feel free to add a comment and share your reviews and recommendations.

What Happened? (August 12, 2008)

Since notifying customers yesterday that TripHub.com will be shut down, we've received several very kind and supportive emails. (Thank you!) Most people have expressed disappointment and the common question is "what happened?"

There is no single, simple answer to this question. Certainly we made mistakes, and unfortunately we were impacted by factors beyond our control including the current economic environment and state of the travel industry. We came close to realizing a different outcome for our venture but, as the saying goes, close doesn't count. At the end of the day, despite a well-received, market-leading product and early success with strategic partners such as Orbitz and Alaska Airlines, we simply ran out of money to continue executing on our vision. We continue to believe there's a rich opportunity to improve the travel planning experience and, while it's no longer our destiny, we look forward to watching as others carry on down the path we helped to pave.

Service Notice (August 11, 2008)

TripHub's trip planning service will no longer be available after Friday August 22, 2008.

We encourage you to copy and save any information currently accessible from your trip home page (attendee lists, blog posts, event schedules and other trip details) to your personal files. This information will not be available after August 22nd.

We have worked hard to deliver a new, easier and more fun way to plan, coordinate and share gatherings that involve travel and we are disappointed that we are no longer able to provide this service.

We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for using TripHub.

Sincerely,

The TripHub Team

Over 60 Million US Online Leisure Travelers Took a Group Vacation in 2007 (April 14, 2008)

Last month Forrester published a report on the group travel market titled "How Travel eBusiness Can Better Serve The Small Leisure Group Segment."  Here's their summary:

"Forty-six percent of US online leisure travelers are group travelers — those who have taken at least one group trip with others outside their immediate household. While the travel industry has focused the majority of its group booking strategies and technologies on groups of 10 or more travelers, a very important group has been underserved and ignored: the small group market. Thirty percent of group trips are composed of small groups of five to nine travelers. Small group travelers are more likely to research and book travel online when compared with larger groups of 10 or more travelers, making them a very attractive online audience."

You can get your copy at Forrester.com.

Looking for more information on the group travel market? Check out:

A recent study from Orbitz.

This summary of PhoCusWright's 2007 Groups & Meetings report.

Some early TripHub data posted way back in 2006.

Smarter Planning Tools (April 2, 2008)

A quick update on some recent enhancements...

Plan without dates!

We recently eliminated the requirement for items on the Event Schedule to have dates and times. Sometimes you know you want to do something but you haven't decided when. For example, you know you want to play golf on your trip but you don't have a tee time yet. Or perhaps you want Saturday to be beach day but you need to talk to your group about what time to go. Now you can enter placeholders and make lists of things to do, and add the details later.

Smart destinations

Some TripHub features, like Trip Maps, require an exact destination name to work well. For instance, "Las Vegas, Nevada, US" vs. simply "Vegas". But you should be able to enter what you want. And now you can! Whether you are going to "Disneyland," "NYC," or "Lambeau Field," we'll find the right map and ensure that TripHub's content is relevant for your trip.

Search the Web

Looking for information on your destination? Or perhaps you want to find some pictures or videos to add to your Trip Blog. We've added Web Search to make it easy. Simply click on the link in the left hand navigation and TripHub instantly delivers images, news, Web sites, and more.

Offers from Orbitz

Sometimes finding a good deal can be hard. TripHub now offers integrated suggestions from our partner Orbitz. Look for deals and offers on your Trip Home Page and throughout the site.

Group Travel Stays "All in the Family" (February 12, 2008)

From Orbitz's February 6th Traveler Update:

Estimated to reach approximately $90 billion in 2008, the leisure group travel market continues to be one of the fastest growing segments of the travel industry. Orbitz, furthering its commitment to keep travelers "A Step Ahead™," takes a closer look at group travel in its quarterly Traveler Update Report, released today, to get a pulse on traveler behaviors driving this popular trend. The report also offers insider tips on how to best manage group travel challenges.

Preferred Companions

The family vacation can make for lasting memories, and also for great comedy. While some might associate stress with a family getaway, 50 percent of those surveyed say "extended family" is the group with whom they would most like to travel. Traveling with friends is the next most popular option for group travel, which is defined as traveling with five or more people. The top companions for group travel are as follows:

Extended family - 50%
Friends - 29%
Social group - 11%
Guys/girls only getaways - 6%
Groups where you meet new people - 4%

Types of Group Trips and Activities

Family reunions are always one of the favorite types of group trips, however The Traveler Update Report found that cultural-themed vacations are the most popular, with women preferring these activities more than men (45 percent versus 28 percent, respectively). Trips that center on a sporting activity were also popular, with more men than women preferring sports-related trips (27 percent versus 10 percent, respectively). The most popular group travel vacations, according to the Traveler Update Report are:

Cultural-themed - 36%
Sports activity-related - 19%
Family reunions - 19%
Cruise - 16%
Travel to a sporting event, destination wedding and bachelor/bachelorette parties comprise the remaining - 10%

"Group trips are an excellent way to reconnect with family and friends; however, they often require a lot of coordination and with multiple parties, and email exchanges can become overwhelming," said Tom Russell, group vice president, brand marketing for Orbitz Worldwide. "We're catering to the growing number of travelers who want to plan a group trip, and making the planning and coordination aspect of that trip easier for all who are going."

Challenges in Group Travel

Once travelers know with whom they're traveling and the type of trip they'd like to take, it is the planning that can be the most difficult part. When asked about the challenges of planning a group vacation, the Orbitz survey found that the biggest concern was keeping everyone happy (40 percent). Thirty percent point to the challenge of organizing and scheduling activities and itineraries as the toughest task. To keep everybody's preferences in check, e-mail is the most preferred tool (36 percent) with travel agents/trip planners/coordinators the least popular organizational method (14 percent).

Other challenges in coordinating a group trip include:

Deciding where to go - 14%
Deciding what to do - 9%
Gathering deposits and confirmations - 8%

In order to make group travel planning easier, Orbitz offers the TripHub service (http://orbitz.triphub.com), which helps groups easily plan, coordinate and share trips such as bachelor parties, spa vacations, reunions, or any event that involves coordinated travel. The site features: personalized "Trip" pages for sharing all trip information, invitation and RSVP tracking. Travelers can share itineraries and discuss activities on the site, which includes many other helpful tools as well.

Other Findings

While group travel may come with some implied cost efficiencies, the Traveler Update Report found that 75 percent of those surveyed say they spend the same amount or more on group travel. In addition, while "group" means traveling together, most prefer to stay solo when it comes to lodging. In fact, group travelers are more averse to sharing hotel rooms, with the majority (39 percent) saying they never share a room, compared to 22 percent who reported they always share a room.

Those who consider themselves group travelers play a variety of different roles when vacationing with others. Twenty percent of those surveyed feel they are a "tag along," while 33 percent consider themselves "planners." The final 48 percent were comprised of vacationers who prefer to do their own thing (two percent) and a combination of all choices (46 percent).

About Traveler Update Report

The Orbitz Traveler Update Report is a quarterly survey that polls consumers on travel-related issues. This quarter's Traveler Update Report, which focused on changes in travel behavior, was based on a poll conducted on behalf of Orbitz by Ipsos Public Affairs, based in Washington, DC. The total sample size of the nationally representative and scientifically conducted Omnibus phone poll was 580 consumers who have traveled in the past year. The Omnibus poll was conducted between 12/27/07 and 1/3/08.

New Functionality and Happy Holidays (December 20, 2007)

This week we launched several new features and enhancements.  One of the more notable updates is functionality that enables our private-label partners to create and promote suggested itineraries and to streamline trip set-up for their customers.

Here's an example:  Click on the link to "Create your trip home page" below. If you're not already signed-in, you will be prompted to do so. You will land on a trip home page featuring suggested hotels and activities as well as content to help with planning.

Viva Las Vegas! Plan your Las Vegas get-away. Invite friends, Share and discuss plans, Book your travel, and Let the fun begin! Create your trip home page now

Give it a try and let us know what you think.

Happy holidays and best wishes for the new year from the TripHub team!

People's Picks - Finalist for Best Startup (November 5, 2007)

Each year, the Seattle Times runs a poll to determine who the top employers are in the Seattle area. This year TripHub was named a finalist for Best Startup and recognized for our smart and dedicated team. Check it out.

By Popular Demand... Importing Email Addresses (September 19, 2007)

You asked us to make it easier to import and re-use email addresses. We explored several options for doing this and settled on a simple solution.

You can now access your AOL, Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo and Outlook address books from TripHub! This new functionality makes it easier to invite your friends and family on your trips and because you can use your favorite address book there's no need to create and maintain yet another address book.

Here's how it works:

First: Click the "Add From My Address Book" button on the Send Invitations page.
Second: Indicate which address book you want to access.
Third: Select the names you want from your address book.

This service leverages the Plaxo Address Book Access Widget.

Please let us know what you think.

Express Yourself! (September 4, 2007)

We're excited to tell you about three new features we recently added to TripHub and encourage you to give them a try.

Add a Personal Profile

Now you can add a picture, your home city, a link to your personal home page (Facebook, YourFamily.com, etc.), and any additional profile information you want to share with your co-travelers. People will see this when they hover over your name. Create your personal profile now.

Share Photos and Video

Share photos and video that you have stored or have found on leading sites such as Flickr, PhotoBucket and YouTube. In addition to sharing individual images, slide shows, and videos, you can notify your group when you post something new. Check it out.

Find Hotels on the Trip Map

Not sure where you want to stay? We've made it easier to find hotels, start discussions, and even shop for availability. All straight from your Trip Map! Just search for hotels, hover over a pin, and choose the action you want to take.

We hope you find these new additions fun and useful. As always, we'd love to hear from you. Please let us know how we're doing.