About Real Travel
Real Travel Overview
Real Travel is the best place for people to plan and share valuable travel experiences.
At Real Travel, we believe that travel is about valuable experiences. You want to get the real deal on a place before you go. You want suggestions from experts and travelers who have been there for itineraries, accommodations, dining and things to do. You want to find the places and deals that provide you with value.
So we've created Real Travel, a free travel site that brings together the information and tools that you need to plan and share valuable travel experiences.
The Team
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Ken Leeder, CEO and Founder
Ken Leeder is the original travel enthusiast here at Real Travel. From trips across Europe with his parents as a child, to working in Central and Eastern Europe, The Former Soviet Union, Southeast Asia and, now, California as an adult, travel has always been part of Ken's life. While recently trying to plan a trip around the world, Ken realized that relevant and personalized travel information that could be trusted was very difficult to find online. As a result, Real Travel was born.
Prior to Real Travel, Ken founded Full Degree, a successful Product Information Management software company that was acquired in 2004. Previous to Full Degree, Ken was head of business development at AdForce, a leading Internet ad serving company. Ken earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Western Ontario and an MBA from York University.
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Francisco Marin, Vice President of Engineering
Originally from Arizona, Francisco joins the Real Travel Team with extensive experience at companies including IBM and Amphire, a supply chain management solution provider. At Amphire, Francisco worked as Senior Development Manager, leading a team that developed internet applications for food services supply chain. Prior to Amphire, he was Senior Developer for Full Degree, a successful product information management company.
Francisco has a degree in Computer Science from Stanford University and enjoys traveling across the United States and along the California coast, with future trips planned to Hawaii and Atlanta.
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Paul Hepworth, Director of Engineering
With Real Travel since the beginning, Paul is an entrepreneur oriented web developer and project manager with in-depth experience in a wide variety of web technologies. Over the past eight years, Paul has worked in the travel, finance and music industries, designing and building both consumer and enterprise products and services. Having traveled throughout the United States, Hawaii and Canada, Paul shares his love of travel with the entire Real Travel community, and hopes to someday soon place some extra pins on his travel map for Australia, South and Central America.
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James Lenigk, Software Architect
James brings to Real Travel a wealth of research and development experience creating software as a service for syndicating content and rich media. James holds patents in streaming media and has received his degree in Computer Science from the University of California at Berkeley. An aspiring traveler, James traveled to Germany, Belgium, Mexico, and Hawaii and plans to travel more in the future.
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Jenica Szymanski, Managing Editor
Jenica is the Managing Editor at Real Travel and has a background in community outreach, creative writing and travel publishing. She has traveled in Europe, Central America, the South Pacific, Asia and Mexico by bus, train, car and foot. Prior to Real Travel, Jenica worked for Avalon Travel Publishing. She has received her Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University.
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Chris Sloan, Senior Front End UI Developer
A self described "pixel pusher and "CSS wrangler," Chris brings his passion for design and usability to his role as Real Travel's Sr. Front-end UI Developer. Before joining the Real Travel team, Chris gained extensive design and UI experience while working as a graphic and web designer for the music industry and social networking sites. Chris received a BFA in Graphic Design from Virginia Tech.
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Mark Munroe, Director of Product Management
Mark joins Real Travel with a wealth of experience in online travel from both Vayama as Director of Product Management and as Product Manager at SideStep. Mark has extensive experience in developing products and online marketing and has worked in Banking and Telecom before settling into the Travel industry. Mark loves camping, the shore, the mountains and tends to hop back and forth between the east and west coast of the United States. Mark is particularly looking forward to traveling in Croatia and Nova Scotia in the near future. He received a BA in the Humanities from Adelphi University and a MS in Computing Management from New York Polytechnic.
The Board
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Michael Tanne, Chairman and Founder
Michael is founder and CEO of Wink, a recently launched Internet search engine. Michael is perhaps most known as founder of AdForce, a successful Internet ad serving company which went public in 1999 and was later acquired by CMGi. Michael also founded XDegrees, a provider of solutions for distributed file storage, acquired by Microsoft in 2002. Previously, Michael directed product management at Verity, the leader in enterprise search. Michael was Assistant Director of the Center for Emerging Technology Enterprises in Warsaw, Poland where he helped entrepreneurs create technology companies after the collapse of the Soviet Union. His first company was Madenta Communications, a provider of speech and computer access devices for the disabled.
Michael is an active investor and adviser to in early stage companies through a small investment fund, Endeavor Group, and serves on the Board of Cloudmark, a leader in anti-spam solutions, and is an investor/adviser to LinkedIn, Flock, SimplyHired, Snap and Real Travel. Michael is also Founder and Board Member of Full Circle Fund, a Bay Area non-profit that engages emerging business leaders in philanthropy through grants and hands-on assistance to promising organizations. Michael holds an MBA from Stanford University and a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Alberta.
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Ken Leeder, CEO and Founder
Ken Leeder is the original travel enthusiast here at Real Travel. From trips across Europe with his parents as a child, to working in Central and Eastern Europe, The Former Soviet Union, Southeast Asia and, now, California as an adult, travel has always been part of Ken's life. While recently trying to plan a trip around the world, Ken realized that relevant and personalized travel information that could be trusted was very difficult to find online. As a result, Real Travel was born.
Prior to Real Travel, Ken founded Full Degree, a successful Product Information Management software company that was acquired in 2004. Previous to Full Degree, Ken was head of business development at AdForce, a leading Internet ad serving company. Ken earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Western Ontario and an MBA from York University.
In the News
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"specialized for travelers, providing custom maps with virtual pins for the places you’ve visited"
from article: Techie Tips for Travelers by Rick Steves - Atlanta Metro News
- July 1, 2009 -
"specialized for travelers"
from article: Techie Tips for Travelers by Rick Steves - Rick Steves' Europe
- May 18, 2009 -
"Real Travel has great blogs"
from article: Share your vacation with these online services
- May 15, 2009"Delivers a great experience"
from article: It's time to find the world's best vacation spots
- February 20, 2009 -
50 Best Travel Websites of 2007
- November 21, 2007 -
Winner: Silver Award Winner
The 2007 W3 Awards
Recognizing the Power of Creativity
- October 15, 2007 -
Winner: Standard of Excellence Award
Web Marketing Association WebAwards 2007
- September 18, 2007 -
Winner: Best Online Community
ATLAS Awards 2007
Association of Travel Marketing Executives
- June 7, 2007 -
Winner: Travel Category
Web 2.0 Awards 2007
- May 9, 2007 -
"websites to make travel planning easier"
from article: Site Seeing
- Spring 2007 Travel Issue -
"...popular spots for online travel reviews"
from article: Dream Destinations
- May/June 2007 -
Using blogs to accelerate word-of-mouth marketing
- May 2, 2007 -
Travel Search Marketing: Time for a Test Drive?
- April 6, 2007 -
Travel 2.0: Social networking takes a useful turn
- January 26, 2007 -
Travelers Contribute to Online Guides
- December 19, 2006 -
Real Travel Trip Planner: Cut, Paste & Share
Travel Tips
- October 13, 2006 -
Winner: Standard of Excellence Award
Web Marketing Association WebAwards 2006
- September 28, 2006 -
Best of the Web 2006 - Trip Planning
- September 25, 2006 -
New Ways to Trade Travel Secrets Online
- Page D1, September 19, 2006 -
e-Travel's Second Wave
- Issue 24, June 26, 2006 -
Travel blogging is really taking off
- May 3, 2006 -
"It's never been easier to connect with other travelers and learn from people who have been there."
- April 21, 2006 -
"One of Twelve Essential Travel Sites"
from article: Online Travel Gets Personal
- February 17, 2006
Also included Yahoo Travel, TripAdvisor, Expedia, Orbitz, Kayak, Mobissimo, SideStep, World66, AOL Travel, Seat Guru and Travelocity -
Best of the Web - 2006
Categories: General Travel & Travel Blogs -
"...taking the blogging concept a step further, adding photo albums and linking bloggers to each other based on similar travel interests and destinations. If you're a blogging traveller, this can put you in touch with a network of peers who have visited the same destinations as yourself - and might still be there. If you're still pondering a trip, you can read ahead and see how other travellers fared."
- January 4, 2006 -
"Other hot startups include Real Travel..."
- November 21, 2005 -
"Real Travel Gets $1M In Seed Funding"
- November 21, 2005 -
"A new wave of user-friendly and interactive Internet technologies are turning heads..."
- November 13, 2005 -
"'Open' web sites generate big buzz..."
- October 7, 2005 -
Launch Pad
- October 5, 2005
Press Releases
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Canada Hits The Blogosphere
Real Travel & CTC partner on Canada travel blogs, amplify success of traveller to traveller marketing
Vancouver, Canada and Los Altos, CA – July 5, 2007 – Share travel advice? Check, we've got it. Real Travel, Inc. and the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) announced today they are collaborating so travellers can find and share travel advice on the CTC's tourism website.
Real Travel is a travel blogging and travel guide site. Based in Los Altos, CA (US), the company helps more than half a million people each month plan trips through advice from other travellers (http://realtravel.com). This cutting edge offering launched phase I of CTC's “User-Generated Content Strategy” earlier this month (http://blogs.canada.travel).
On the CTC's travel blog (www.canada.travel) powered by the Real Travel blogging service, visitors can easily share their Canadian travel experiences, including travel tips, photos and highlights. Real Travel's editorial team rates all entries and displays the very best as a valuable source of information for people planning trips to Canada.
This breed of travel review — advice from others posted online — has recently emerged as a valuable resource for consumers planning a trip. A full 65% trust peer opinions posted online, compared to television, newspaper and magazine marketing campaigns, according to travel research company PhoCusWright.
"The CTC understands that travel blogs, written by real travellers, are a proven source of trusted information,” says Real Travel CEO Ken Leeder. “We are pleased to partner with such an innovative destination marketing organization.”
“Real Travel is one of the leaders in social media, and its ability to easily integrate the blogging service and top-rated travel blogs into our site allows the CTC to improve our website content — and better engage people considering Canada as a place to visit,” says Jens Thraenhart, CTC executive director of e-Marketing. “This cutting edge initiative creates value for the Canadian tourism industry and relevancy for travellers, all with the goal to leverage the power of the internet to increase tourism to Canada.”
The CTC is also proud to roll-out its first ever online travel conference Canada-e-Connect which will focus on the latest in online travel trends, including consumer behaviour and emerging technologies to address how the Canadian travel and tourism industry can apply this competitive knowledge into their marketing mix. Canada-e-connect will feature some of the most intriguing speakers in the space and will be held in Vancouver on November 7-9.
About Real Travel
Named “Best of the Web” by Forbes and BusinessWeek in 2006, and Best Online Travel Community of the Year in 2007 by the Association of Travel Marketing Executives, Real Travel is a travel blogging and travel guide site that helps more than half a million people plan trips with advice from other travellers every month. Visit us at http://realtravel.com.
About the CTC
The CTC is a national marketing organization. Our vision is compelling the world to explore Canada. With our partners in the tourism industry and all levels of government, we: Advertise and market Canada in 10 countries around the world; conduct industry research and studies; and promote product and industry development. For travel information, media resources, meetings and conference planning details, research and news or to create extra-ordinary stories all on your own, visit www.canada.travel.
Gloria Loree
Executive Director (Acting)
Communications & Public Relations
Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC)
604-638-8407
loree.gloria@ctc-cct.ca -
Real Travel Awarded Best Online Travel Community of 2007 by Association of Travel Marketing Executives
Travel blogging site wins high praise from both consumers and travel marketers
Los Altos, CA – June 20, 2007 – Real Travel, Inc., http://realtravel.com, a travel blogging and travel guide site that helps more than half a million people every month plan trips with advice from other travelers, was awarded the Atlas Award for the Best Online Travel Community of 2007 by the Association of Travel Marketing Executives (ATME) at their recent annual conference.
Travel blogs, written by real travelers, have proven to be a valuable source of trusted and detailed information for people researching a vacation, while also enabling marketers to appeal to people who are in the process of planning a trip. Unlike other user-contributed sites, Real Travel ensures the quality of its information with an in-house editorial team that rates all of the content contributed to the site.
"Real Travel was selected as this year’s Best Online Community Atlas winner because of the company’s expanding online community that attracts real people and is highly rated by consumers and travel service providers alike," said Joel Chusid, Chairman, ATME.
"Real Travel has done an excellent job over the past year to prove the importance of online communities in effectively putting a message across to people on a highly personal level."
In his keynote presentation at the ATME conference, Henry Harteveldt, VP of Travel at Forrester Research, pointed out that people are relying more on fellow travelers for guidance when planning a trip and that marketers must recognize the new environment in which they are operating.
The ATME Atlas Awards recognize executives and companies for innovative tactics, results-oriented programs and broad marketing vision. Work is judged on innovation, relevance to marketing needs and demonstrated results.
"We are extremely honored to be acknowledged by such a prestigious group from the travel industry," said Ken Leeder, CEO of Real Travel. "Real Travel strives to be a leader in quality user-generated content for people planning trips, and to make it easy for our advertisers to work with us and generate effective results."
ATME, founded in 1980, is a professional organization comprised of senior-level marketing executives from high profile travel companies that represent a wide variety of segments including: airlines, hotels and resorts, cruise lines, tour operators, online travel, international tourist offices, CVBs, state and local tourism offices, car rental companies and technology providers.
The award was presented to Real Travel on June 7 during a ceremony at the annual ATME conference in Las Vegas.
About Real Travel
Named "One of the Twelve Essential Travel Websites" and "Best of the Web" by Forbes and BusinessWeek, Real Travel is a travel blogging and information site that helps more than half a million people every month plan trips with advice from other travelers. Visit us at http://realtravel.com.
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Real Travel and Federated Media Partner to Enable Marketers to Profit from Conversational Media
Leading Travel Blogging site partners with premier Conversational Media firm to provide unique solutions to travel advertisers
Los Altos, CA and Sausalito, CA – April 4, 2007 – Real Travel, Inc., http://realtravel.com, a travel blogging and information site that enables people to plan trips with insights from other travelers, has been selected by Federated Media Publishing, Inc., http://www.federatedmedia.net, to anchor its new Travel & Leisure federation.
Advice from other travelers has proven to be a valuable new source of information for people in the process of planning a trip. According to travel research company PhoCusWright, 65% of people trust consumer opinions posted online over television, newspapers and magazines.
Consumers demand for this trusted travel information has fueled Real Travel’s rapid growth since its launch a little over a year ago. Half a million people now visit Real Travel each month to make use of the travel blogs, travel reviews and guides -- selected for quality by an editorial team -- to help plan their next trip.
"We’re very excited to be working with John and the whole Federated team," says Ken Leeder, CEO of Real Travel. "FM’s deep understanding of conversational media allows us to provide marketers with solutions that enable them to connect with people who are sharing travel information and planning trips."
FM represents some of the largest conversational media sites on the web today, including Digg, BoingBoing, Dooce, and TechCrunch. Other sites in the new Travel & Leisure federation include Metroblogging, 101 Cookbooks and tastingmenu. Each site in the FM fold is selected based on the quality of its content and the engagement of its community.
"Internet users increasingly look to one another for advice when making important decisions in their lives, such as where to travel. These conversations are happening in trusted communities such as Real Travel, which is on the vanguard of this trend, making the site an ideal addition to our hand-picked federation," says John Battelle, founder and Chair of Federated Media. "We are extremely pleased to have them as an anchor of our new Travel & Leisure federation."
More information about Real Travel’s offerings can be found on Real Travel’s page on the FM website at http://www.federatedmedia.net/authors/realtravel.
About Real Travel
Recently named "One of the Twelve Essential Travel Websites" and "Best of the Web" by Forbes and BusinessWeek Online, Real Travel is a travel blogging and information site that helps people plan trips through the insights and recommendations of like-minded travelers, while also enabling marketers to appeal to people who are in the process of researching and planning a trip. Visit us at http://realtravel.com.
About Federated Media Publishing
At FM, we believe great voices attract great audiences. We're in the business of supporting those voices by connecting them to great marketers, as well as providing a suite of services that let authors focus on what they do best: make compelling media. In so doing, we are creating federations of respected voices that prosper on their own terms. Current federations include Sports, Technology, Automotive, Business & Marketing, Media & Entertainment, Momentum, Travel & Leisure, Graphic Arts and Parenting.
Pamela Parker
FM Publishing
415-332-6955 ext. 134
pamela@federatedmedia.net -
Real Travel and SideStep Partner to Extend User-Generated Content on SideStep.com
Real Travel Enhances SideStep's Growing Content Offering with Top Rated Travel Blogs
Los Altos, CA and Santa Clara, CA - November 9, 2006 - Real Travel, Inc. (http://realtravel.com ), a travel blogging and information site, and SideStep, Inc. (http://www.sidestep.com ), the Internet's leading travel search company, today announced a partnership that will bring Real Travel's top rated Travel Blog content to SideStep.com.
Travel Blogs, written by real travelers, are a proven source of trusted information for people researching and planning a trip. By incorporating Real Travel's content into their site, SideStep further enables its 5 million+ monthly users with a better overall travel planning experience.
"Rich, detailed Travel Blogs are extremely valuable to people in the process of planning a trip," said Ken Leeder, CEO of Real Travel, Inc. "This partnership will provide SideStep users with a wealth of additional information to help them finalize their travel plans. We are extremely pleased to offer our Travel Blog content to such a respected travel service provider."
SideStep will syndicate content through Real Travel's web services API, which allows travel sites to easily incorporate and publish top rated Travel Blogs on their own sites. All content made available by Real Travel is organized and rated by an editorial team to ensure the quality of information. The content will be available on SideStep.com within the coming months.
"By teaming with Real Travel, we continue to expand the way people find and use travel information," said Rob Solomon , president and CEO, SideStep, Inc. "The depth of useful content that Real Travel provides will further enable us to offer the relevant, high-quality information that consumers seek when planning their travel."
About SideStep
SideStep, the Internet's leading travel search company, delivers the most comprehensive selection of travel choices at the best prices to more than five million consumers each month. SideStep has been named one of TIME Magazine's "50 Coolest Web Sites" and declared "Best of the Web" by Forbes and BusinessWeek Online. The company has direct relationships with the largest travel suppliers in the industry and works with a variety of leading world-class brands, providing relevant results from more than 600 airlines, 150,000 hotels and 30,000 car rental sites worldwide. Headquartered in Santa Clara , California , SideStep is privately held and has raised more than $17 million in funding from Trident Capital and individual investors. For more information, visit http://www.sidestep.com
About Real Travel
Recently named "One of the Twelve Essential Travel Websites" and "Best of the Web" by Forbes and BusinessWeek Online, Real Travel is a travel blogging and information site that helps people plan trips through the insights and recommendations of like-minded travelers, while also enabling marketers to appeal to people who are in the process of researching and planning a trip. Visit us at http://realtravel.com.
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Real Travel Launches My Trip Planner
Free service gives people the information and tools to plan the perfect
Los Altos, Calif., October 16, 2006 - Real Travel, Inc. ( http://realtravel.com ), a leading travel blogging and information site, today announced the addition of My Trip Planner - a new, free service that gives people the information and tools they need to plan the perfect trip. My Trip Planner enables people to create their trip itinerary, with a dynamic route map, using recommendations from thousands of real travelers, travel guide information from Frommer's®, and useful links from other websites.
With My Trip Planner, users are able to plan trips using a variety of resource materials on the site, including extensive amounts of user-contributed content via travel blogs, photos and recommendations for lodging, restaurants, and activities. Frommer's travel guide information, already populated into the destination pages of the site, is automatically added to the trip plan.
An itinerary is automatically generated for the user based on the destination associated with the information. Dynamic route maps are also created automatically and can be manipulated by the user by dragging-and-dropping locations on the itinerary, or by applying or changing dates.
Useful links from external websites can be added by the user. Personal notes can be added to any item saved, and the trip plan can be shared by email with friends and family.
"Real Travel is dedicated to helping the traveler plan their perfect trip by giving them a place to find - and now save and share - travel information," says Ken Leeder, CEO of Real Travel. "My Trip Planner provides travelers with an interactive way to gather relevant travel information, either from Real Travel or from other websites, to help them plan their next trip."
About Real Travel
Recently named "One of the Twelve Essential Travel Websites" and "Best of the Web" by Forbes, Real Travel is a travel blogging and information site that helps people plan trips through the insights and recommendations of like-minded travelers, while also enabling marketers to appeal to people who are in the process of researching and planning a trip. Visit us at http://realtravel.com.
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Real Travel Wins Web Marketing Association WebAward
Travel blogging and information site is recognized with Standard of Excellence award by web marketing industry professionals for the travel industry
Los Altos, Calif., October 4, 2006 - Real Travel, Inc. ( http://realtravel.com ), a leading travel blogging and information travel site, has received the prestigious Standard of Excellence award in the 2006 WebAwards competition sponsored by the Web Marketing Association. This award honors Real Travel's outstanding work in interactive marketing and web development within the travel industry.
Real Travel is a travel blogging and information site that helps people research, plan and book their trips with insights and recommendations from like-minded travelers. All of the content contributed to Real Travel is rated by an editorial team to ensure the quality of information.
More than 2,300 sites from 35 countries were adjudicated during this year's WebAward competition. Each web site was reviewed against several criteria including design, innovation, content, interactivity, navigation, and use of technology. Entries were judged by a team of independent Internet professionals representing a variety of relevant disciplines of Web site development.
"It is an honor to be recognized for such a prestigious award along side world-class websites in our industry," said Ken Leeder, CEO of Real Travel. "We have worked hard to provide visitors to Real Travel the best usability and web performance experience possible. We are extremely proud to have our achievements acknowledged by this distinguished group of web industry leaders."
Now in its tenth year, the WebAwards is the premier annual award competition recognizing individual and team achievements for outstanding web development. They are sponsored by the Web Marketing Association who set the standard for high quality Internet marketing and website development.
About Real Travel
Recently named "One of the Twelve Essential Travel Websites" and "Best of the Web" by Forbes, Real Travel is a travel blogging and information site that helps people plan trips through the insights and recommendations of like-minded travelers, while also enabling marketers to appeal to people who are in the process of researching and planning a trip. Visit us at http://realtravel.com.
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Real Travel Partners with Frommer's®
Leading travel blogging site enhances their user-generated content with authoritative travel information from the market leader in travel guides
Los Altos, Calif., September 26, 2005 - Real Travel (http://realtravel.com), a travel blogging and information web site, today announced a partnership with Frommer's (www.frommers.com), the market leader in travel guides, to provide authoritative travel information alongside user-contributed travel blogs on the Real Travel web site.
Combining the two primary sources of travel information - one from travel experts, the other from the traveling public - gives travelers planning and researching their trips online the most comprehensive and relevant travel information available today.
Real Travel is a travel blogging and information site that helps people plan trips with insights and recommendations from like-minded travelers. All of the content contributed to Real Travel is rated by an editorial team to ensure the quality of information made available to people who are researching, planning and booking trips on Real Travel.
The Frommer's guide content adds expert travel information to over 3,500 destinations worldwide on the Real Travel site.
"We believe that complete travel information includes both authoritative travel information and insights from real travelers," says Ken Leeder, CEO, of Real Travel. "The breadth and quality of Frommer's travel guides makes them an ideal partner for Real Travel."
One of the most trusted names in travel, Frommer's provides travel guide information that meets the full range of traveler's needs - from the value-conscious to the four-star traveler.
"We are very excited about bringing Frommer's information to the users of Real Travel," said Michael Spring, publisher of Frommer's Travel Guides. "We like that Real Travel's editorial team rates all the user contributions to the site, helping travelers make the wisest, most informed decisions, whatever their needs."
"Combining our in-depth travel information with the best of Real Travel's user-generated content provides people planning their trips with a fantastic source of comprehensive, top quality information to plan that perfect trip."
About Real Travel
Recently named "One of the Twelve Essential Travel Websites" and "Best of the Web" by Forbes, Real Travel is a travel blogging and information site that helps people plan trips through the insights and recommendations of like-minded travelers, while also enabling marketers to appeal to people who are in the process of researching and planning a trip. Visit us at http://realtravel.com.
About Frommer's®
The market leader in travel guides, Frommer's has a guide for every type of traveler --from the sophisticated world traveler to the first-time student traveler on a tight budget. Frommer's publishes more than 320 guides and sells 2.5 million guides annually, reaching more than 7 million travelers who count on Frommer's for exact prices, savvy trip-planning, sightseeing advice, dozens of detailed maps, and candid reviews of hotels and restaurants in every price range. Frommer's-the best trips start here. Frommers.com is a comprehensive, opinionated travel resource featuring more than 3,500 world destinations. For more information, visit frommers.com. Frommer's is a registered trademark of Arthur Frommer. Frommer's is a branded imprint of Wiley.
Lindsay MacGregor
Wiley
201.748.5630
lmacgreg@wiley.com -
Real Travel and T4G Partner to Provide Travel Blogging Solutions to Tourism and Hospitality Industry
Deal enables destination marketing organizations and travel service providers to profit from user-contributed content
LOS ALTOS, Calif. and TORONTO, Canada , Sept. 19, 2006 - Real Travel, Inc. (http://realtravel.com ), the premier travel information and blogging site, and T4G Limited ( www.t4g.com ), a leading hospitality and tourism technology consulting firm, today announce a partnership to provide complete travel blogging and information services to the hospitality and tourism industry.
The deal means travel-related sites can easily extend their marketing reach by accelerating word-of-mouth marketing, boosting customer loyalty, and improving richness of site content and search engine optimization.
Real Travel enables travelers to capture and share travel blogs, photos, reviews and other information with friends and family. The Real Travel technology organizes the information and an editorial team rates the content so quality information is available when researching, planning and booking trips.
The partnership with T4G extends this offering to travel service providers and destination marketers, enabling them to benefit from user-contributed content.
"Given our knowledge of the current needs of the travel industry, we understand the advantage of Real Travel enabling destination marketing organizations and travel service providers to profit from user-contributed content," said Geoff Flood, president of T4G Limited. "This rich, personalized content gives these companies and organizations a powerful means of increasing site loyalty while marketing to both new and existing customers."
T4G offers innovative technology solutions to government and leading hospitality and tourism companies both in Canada and internationally, including New Brunswick Tourism and Parks, Tourism British Columbia and Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.
"T4G's extensive experience in the travel industry has enabled us to extend our unique offering to select travel service providers," says Ken Leeder, CEO, Real Travel. "We are fortunate to work with such a renowned solution provider within the industry."
About Real Travel
Recently named "One of the Twelve Essential Travel Websites" and "Best of the Web" by Forbes, Real Travel is a travel blogging and information site that provides a more personalized and informative experience to travel shoppers and a more effective venue for travel industry marketers than currently exists online. Visit us at http://realtravel.com.About T4G Limited
Bob Brehl
T4G Limited is a full-service, project-based information technology services company founded in 1996. We believe in building teams and breaking conventional wisdom. We believe in our people and true participation in each and every project we undertake. We believe in The Intelligent Application of Technology where less can be more, where innovation leads to opportunity, and where a culture of commitment always strives to exceed customers' expectations. www.t4g.com
abc2 communications
905.274.4191
bob@abc2.ca -
Real Travel Accelerates Sunburst Vacations Word-of-Mouth Marketing with Travel Blogs
Real Travel and Sunburst Vacations partner to offer Sunburst's customers free Real Travel blogs so they can more easily share travel stories, photos and tips with friends and family
Los Altos, California and Needham, MA - Real Travel, ( http://realtravel.com ), a travel blogging and information web site and Sunburst Vacations, (http://www.sunburstvacations.com/ ), a provider of travel packages for destinations throughout the Caribbean, Mexico, Islands of the Bahamas, and Bermuda, today announced a partnership to increase Sunburst'sword-of-mouth marketing while providing travelers the opportunity to plan, book, capture and share their travels using their combined offerings.
A survey by the Travel Industry Association (TIA) reported that 43% of Americans cite friends and family as a source for information about places to visit or about flights, hotels or rental cars. Similarly, a Harris interactive poll revealed that 44% of consumers cite family, friends and co-workers as a top source for recommendations about travel purchases.
With this in mind, Real Travel offers free Real Travel blogging service to all Sunburst Vacations customers to help accelerate Sunburst's word-of-mouth marketing and to market the Sunburst Vacations services to all Real Travel members.
"Sunburst Vacations offers great vacation packages with a wide range of appeal,"; said Ken Leeder, CEO of Real Travel. "And by enabling their clients to easily share their travel experiences with friends and family we are able to accelerate Sunburst's word-of-mouth marketing efforts."
"Partnering with Real Travel will create an ideal word-of-mouth marketing opportunity for our company" said Brad Meiseles, COO of Sunburst Vacations. "And Real Travel's community of travel enthusiasts is ideal for showcasing the travel packages and other services Sunburst Vacations has to offer."
About Real Travel
Recently named "One of the Twelve Essential Travel Websites" and "Best of the Web" by Forbes, Real Travel is a travel blogging and information site that provides a more personalized and informative experience to travel shoppers and a more effective venue for travel industry marketers than currently exists online. Visit us at http://realtravel.com.About Sunburst Vacations
Nick Coda
Sunburst Vacations serves 37 destinations throughout the Caribbean, Mexico, Islands of the Bahamas, and Bermuda and includes options at more than 350 resorts and boutique hotels ranging from affordable to premium grade and nationwide airfare on major carriers. Hotel and air partners at all levels are selected based on their dedication to quality customer service and experience. Visit Sunburst Vacations at: http://www.sunburstvacations.com/
Sunburst Vacations, LLC
781.707.2620
nc@sunburstvacations.com -
Real Travel and Airtreks Partner to Enhance Services for Multi-Destination Travelers
Real Travel and Airtreks join forces to provide travelers with extended resources for creating, booking and capturing Multi-City and Round-the-World trips
Los Altos, CA and San Francisco, CA - March 14, 2006 - Real Travel, (http://realtravel.com), a travel blogging and information web site that enables people to easily find and share travel experiences and advice, along with Airtreks, (www.airtreks.com), the leading provider of multi-city international air travel services and technology, today announced a partnership to provide world travelers the opportunity to plan, book, capture and share their travels using their combined offerings.
Travelers can plan, price and book their round-the-world and multi-city travels using Airtreks' TripPlanner, and then use Real Travel blogs to capture and share their experiences with online travel blogs, complete with route maps and unlimited photos, which they can then share with friends and family while traveling.
"Airtreks offers the leading service for great travel deals and expertise for multi-city trips. We are happy to offer their services to our users," said Ken Leeder, CEO of Real Travel. "And by enabling their clients to capture their experiences on Real Travel, we continue to provide ideal information to our members who are trying to find relevant, first-hand advice on destinations worldwide."
"Real Travel's travel blogs will provide our clients, who travel all over the world, the best place to capture and share their experiences with friends and family," said Steve Johnson, Sr. Vice President, Sales and Marketing for Airtreks. "And Real Travel's community of travel enthusiasts is ideal for showcasing the great services Airtreks has to offer."
About Real Travel
Recently named "One of the Twelve Essential Travel Websites" and "Best of the Web" by Forbes, Real Travel is a travel blogging and information site that provides a more personalized and informative experience to travel shoppers and a more effective venue for travel industry marketers than currently exists online. Visit us at http://realtravel.com.
About Airtreks
Airtreks is the leader in Multi-City International travel technology and services, including Around-the-World and Circle-Pacific airfares. TripPlanner, Airtreks' flagship Internet application, is a revolutionary technology that enables visitors to create a customized itinerary - with an unlimited number of destinations - and receive instant prices at substantial discounts compared to the published fares offered by airlines, typical travel agencies, and other airfare websites. Visit Airtreks at www.airtreks.com.
Edward Hasbrouck
Travel Guru
Airtreks.com
edward@airtreks.com
877-AIR-TREKS, ext. 183 (from the USA and Canada )
+1-415-977-7183 (direct) -
Forbes Recognizes Real Travel as One of Twelve Essential Travel Sites for 2006
Real Travel listed alongside the biggest online sites for travel consumers and researchers
Los Altos, CA (February 24, 2006) - Real Travel (http://realtravel.com), a travel blogging and information site that enables people to easily find and share travel experiences and advice, announced that it was recently recognized by Forbes Best of the Web as one of Twelve Essential Travel Sites for 2006. Included in this list of twelve were such notable sites as Yahoo Travel, TripAdvisor, Expedia, Orbitz, Kayak, Mobissimo, SideStep, World66, AOL Travel, Seat Guru and Travelocity. This accolade further establishes Real Travel's popularity as a leading online travel blogging and information site for travelers.
In an article titled "Online Travel Gets Personal", Forbes notes that as "user-generated content has exploded over the Internet", there is an emergence of next-level travel guide web sites growing in popularity among travel consumers, with Real Travel as a prominent leader.
Forbes praised the site for providing consumers information about destinations from several different user perspectives, and points out that visitors can navigate through the site by destination or user.
"Having already received Best of the Web from Forbes, to now be listed by them as one of twelve essential travel sites is a real honor," said Ken Leeder, CEO and Founder of Real Travel.
About Real Travel
Real Travel is a travel information site that leverages blogging and social networking to provide a more personalized and informative experience to travel shoppers and a more effective venue for travel industry marketers than currently exists online. Visit us at http://realtravel.com.
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Real Travel Announces Seed Round Funding
Leading Travel Information Site Real Travel Secures $1 Million from Angel Investors
Los Altos, Calif. - November 15, 2005 - Real Travel ( http://realtravel.com ), a user-contributed driven travel information site that enables people to easily find and share travel information about destinations worldwide, today announced it has completed its seed financing of one million dollars from high-profile angel investors in the travel, media and social networking industries. Unlike other travel information sites, Real Travel combines travel blogging and social networking to provide travel shoppers with a more personalized and informative experience than currently exists online.
Real Travel lets travelers create personal travel blogs, or travel journals, with detailed route maps, embedded photos and recommendations, and allows them to easily share these blogs with friends, family and others. Travel shoppers can then easily find this travel information, including advice on hotels and restaurants, from like-minded travelers.
"This investment represents a strong endorsement from industry leaders of our vision to become the best site for relevant, detailed user-contributed travel information," said Ken Leeder, CEO and co-founder of Real Travel.
"The majority of travel information sites currently available online focus on quantitative, or price, or provide very basic, generic and anonymous information. In contrast, we saw a need to provide relevant, qualitative information to travelers. Real Travel's rapidly growing community is proof that we are fulfilling this need."
Real Travel officially launched in early October of this year.
About Real Travel
Real Travel is a travel information site that leverages blogging and social networking to provide a more personalized and informative experience to travel shoppers and a more effective venue for travel industry marketers than currently exists online. Visit us at http://realtravel.com.
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Real Travel Announces Partnership with Moon.com
Leading online travel community Real Travel joins forces with leading travel guidebook publisher Moon
Los Altos, Calif. - October 24, 2005 - Real Travel, a travel information site that enables people to easily find and share travel information about destinations worldwide, today announced a partnership with Moon Handbooks, America's most established and finest travel guidebook series. Through this partnership, Moon's large dedicated readership will have access to Real Travel's free online personal travel blogs and Real Travel's rapidly growing community of travel enthusiasts will benefit from exposure to Moon's professional travel guides and expert authors.
Real Travel lets travelers create personal travel blogs, or travel journals, with detailed route maps, embedded photos and recommendations, and allows them to easily share these blogs with friends and family. This service will be extended to Moon travel guidebook readers, giving them an avenue to share their own travel experiences.
"Real Travel is the best place on the web for travelers to share and find relevant travel information from like-minded travelers," says Ken Leeder, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Real Travel. "We want to make our members aware of the excellent information Moon travel guides provide while at the same time giving Moon's dedicated readers the ability to share their own travel experiences on Real Travel."
"This partnership will strengthen the needs of both people looking for reliable and relevant travel information and those travelers who want to share their own experiences with others."
Moon's expert authors provide reliable and entertaining information covering more than 100 destinations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, and Asia and the Pacific.
"We've been extremely impressed with Real Travel's mix of vision and technology," said Moon publisher Bill Newlin, "and we look forward to working with them to give travelers the benefit and tool of high quality research and mapping, in the context of their shared experiences."
About Real Travel
Real Travel is a travel information site that leverages blogging and social networking to provide a more personalized and informative experience to travel shoppers and a more effective venue for travel industry marketers than currently exists online. Visit us at http://realtravel.com.
About Moon
Founded in 1973, Moon Handbooks now features more than 110 destinations across the globe, and over 18 destinations worldwide with their popular Moon Metro series. Moon Handbooks is distributed in over 30 countries and is published by Avalon Travel Publishing, an imprint of Avalon Publishing Group, Inc. Visit http://www.moon.com for more information.
Hannah Cox
Associate Publicist
510.595.3664 x 324
Hannah.Cox@avalonpub.com -
Real Travel Launches New Website that Revolutionizes How People Find and Share Travel Information
Real Travel provides the best place for travel enthusiasts to share experiences and for people to find relevant information from like-minded travelers
Los Altos, Calif. - October 5, 2005 - Real Travel today announced the official launch of their website, a travel information site that enables people to easily find and share travel information about destinations worldwide. Unlike other travel information sites, Real Travel combines travel blogging and social networking to provide travel shoppers with a more personalized and informative experience than currently exists online.
"While trying to plan a trip around the world, I realized that relevant and personalized travel information that could be trusted was very difficult to find online," said Ken Leeder, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Real Travel. "As a result, Real Travel was born. We provide the best place on the web for travel enthusiasts to share their travel experiences and for people to find relevant travel information from like-minded travelers."
Users can create their personal travel blogs with journals and recommendations, route maps, interactive personal travel maps, and unlimited photo galleries. Members can also save favorites and rate, tag and comment on other members' experiences throughout the site.
Real Travel is officially launching their site today at the Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco.
About Real Travel, Inc.
Real Travel is a travel information site that leverages blogging and social networking to provide a more personalized and informative experience to travel shoppers and a more effective venue for travel industry marketers than currently exists online. Visit us at http://realtravel.com .
Contact Us
Have a question or would like to find out more about Real Travel? Here's how to reach us.
By mail
Real Travel, Inc.420 Florence St. Suite 210
Palo Alto, CA USA 94301
By email
info[at]realtravel.com
