Uptake – a different breed of travel website (and why it matters to you)

The vast majority of travel websites operate on a price comparison model.  While industry giants such as Expedia and Orbitz have dominated the scene for years, the market seems ready for a new way to approach travel planning.

Uptake.com, a Palo Alto, California-based startup, could represent the new wave of innovation.  Instead of just comparing prices, the site clusters information from around the web to present user-friendly themes such as “romantic getaway.”

“Our goal is to aggregate and collect all the information out there, especially on unstructured content like reviews, blogs and articles,” co-founder Yen Lee told Entrepreneur magazine. The company targets people who may not know their exact dates, and can be overwhelmed by the huge amount of travel information on the web.

As new startups like Uptake make it increasingly easy for travel planners to access multiple sources of information about your hotel, the need for a comprehensive web presence becomes even more clear.