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Save/ShareAs the competition heats up between travel sites, everyone's coming out with new booking, reviews, and rewards tools to win your trust—and transaction. But which ones make your life easier? We name a few that solve common travel problems in a way other, better-marketed websites don't.
FLASH-SALE CLUBS
The Problem: Sure, the discounts on sites like Jetsetter and LivingSocial are solid (50 percent off is common), but how good are the actual properties?
The Fix: Incorporate real-world ratings. A year ago, TripAdvisor launched an invitation-only sale site, SniqueAway, that only promotes hotels with a minimum four-out-of-five-star TripAdvisor user rating. Each week, three new hotels are typically offered at discounts of up to 65 percent. A recent example: The Restoration on King, a luxury hotel in Charleston, S.C., had rooms at $189 a night, up to 43 percent off regular rates.
GETTING TRUSTWORTHY TRAVEL ADVICE
The Problem: Reviews are only as useful as the users who generate them. And who knows who they are?
The Fix: Amp up reviewer transparency.
The dozen-year-old travel community IgoUgo isn't new—and its 1 million user reviews don't come close to TripAdvisor's 35 million—but a new interface emphasizes trustworthiness. Reviews are written only by IgoUgo members (with clickable profiles) or come from larger online travel agents such as sister site Travelocity, which allows posts only by hotel guests, not anonymous commenters.
SEE MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL
10 Most Useful Travel Websites
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