VibeAgent has been picking up steam as we get closer to the site’s launch. I’d like to highlight some of the mainstream media coverage we’re receiving and thank those that are taking notice of what we’re up to!

Jeri Clausing, over at Travel Weekly, nailed it in this week’s cover story on user-generated content:

A new site launching next month, VibeAgent, will take the TripAdvisor concept to another level by marrying hotel reviews, social networks, personal preferences and competitive pricing…the site uses a user’s personal profile and reviews by people in the user’s personal network to find the hotel that best suits him or her. It also lets users specify during a search if they are looking for something specific, such as a romantic hotel with a luxurious spa. It then uses an algorithm to find the right personal option and does a meta-search of various online booking sites to find the cheapest prices for hotels.

Last week, Gary Lee of The Washington Post called VibeAgent a “hip, new travel site,” stating on the site’s travel blog:

Vibeagent.com, a new travel site launched not long ago by a couple of young travel entrepreneurs, is positioning itself to be the first trip-planning stop for savvy travelers…It’s a kind of fresher, more youthful version of the increasinging popular Tripadvisor.com.

Rob Lovitt at MSNBC featured VibeAgent as an exciting new travel site, saying:

Why it’s cool: When it’s time to find a hotel, the site will cross-reference your preferences with its existing database. Factoring in other users’ reviews and any social-network group you’ve created, it will assign each result a “vibe index” based on your parameters and others’ recommendations. “The more information you put in,” says co-founder and CEO Adam Healey, “the better the recommendations will be.”

Once you’ve selected a hotel, the site then switches into meta-search mode, scouring the Web for the best price through various OTAs and hotel-chain reservation systems. The idea, says Healey, is to provide recommendations you can trust at the best possible prices all on one site.

And Sean Dodson over at The Guardian in the UK named VibeAgent “Best of the Net”, pointing out our advantages over TripAdvisor.

It’s an uphill battle taking on the market leader, but we’re looking forward to the challenge - I’ll be sure to keep you posted as VibeAgent’s star continues to rise!