Mike Coletta and Gilad Berenstein discuss the challenges of trip-planning startups. They provide a comprehensive background on this category starting with Microsoft Trip Planner ‘98. Their professional background and experiences give them a great perspective on where the industry stands today, and where it may go in the future.
With so many startups in this space, the real question is how the upstarts will compete with the big players: Google, Microsoft, Expedia, Booking, or any of the consumer-facing LLMs. The large OTAs launched their own planning tool and have significant distribution advantages. In discussing a few of the startups in this space, they point to some with significant backers like Deets, founded by Paul English (who co-founded Kayak).
Mike and Gilad also point out that the business models around AI companies favor big companies. While they don’t like how it’s playing out, it’s an important point to keep in mind when evaluating the landscape.
For anyone working at or considering starting a trip-planning startup, this content is essential.
