I’ve been a member of VibeAgent for a while now. And I’ve been wondering all this time when they would launch their service, while pondering their service.
VibeAgent combines user reviews of hotels, a social network for travelers with a Meta Search engine. The meta search engine includes the ability to search for hotel with a certain “vibe”. Select criteria that are important, or unimportant to you (hip, modern, lively, boutique, etc.) and hotels will be sorted by their VibeIndex.
The VibeIndex is based on the user ratings. When rating a hotel, you also rate the hotel for it’s hipness, modernness, etc. It’s an interesting concept for sure. When the search results are presented, it doesn’t tell the user exactly how the properties were sorted the way they are. I would like to see a number for each of my criteria (‘4 of of 7 users considered this hotel hip’, for example). It feels arbitrary and random right now. There aren’t a lot of reviews yet either. Obviously because the website has only been in beta so far. Time will tell if more reviews will increase the relevancy of the results.
The meta search is very slick. It offers many (if not all) of the Kayak features and more. It’s very web 2.0. One area for improvement is the way until search results are presented. In Kayak, you see results as they come in. In VibeAgent, you have to wait until all results are aggregated.
The social network revolves to a large degree around customer reviews. The tie in with the meta search could provide an opportunity that currently doesn’t exist. There aren’t many users yet so time will tell if and how a community will form.
I think VibeAgent is a promising new entry in the travel space with lots of potential. They key will be to build a strong community of reviewers. I wish Adam Healey and his team success in his venture.