One such platform is Vacationist , an online travel club that offers users the ability to travel th

When online cheap hotel reservation travel services first entered cheap hotel reservation the market, they let the average person compare hotels, flights and pre-packaged vacations and book without going through traditional travel agents. Now years later seven in 10 vacations are booked online , and the online travel space has exploded with review sites like TripAdvisor, last-minute booking apps like HotelTonight, and flight search engines like Hipmunk. Travelers who look online cheap hotel reservation for deals and bookings are now seeing a new crop of travel services offering exclusive members-only travel specials and services.
These online travel clubs all have elements in common: they require users to sign up before viewing prices, they typically feature flash sales that expire within a short time, they focus primarily on luxury or boutique hotels and vacations, and they often have added services like concierges or personal travel agents.
One such platform is  Vacationist , an online travel club that offers users the ability to travel the world and stay in luxury hotels at discounted prices. cheap hotel reservation Vacationist is the result of a partnership between Travel + Leisure magazine and vacation auction service Luxury Link . Luxury Link isn't the only online travel website trying to build its own online travel club though travel review website TripAdvisor  has built SniqueAway cheap hotel reservation , another global site that lets users book vacations and hotels at less expensive rates.
Flash sales and daily deal companies cheap hotel reservation have also been quick to jump on the opportunity. Jetsetter is  Gilt Groupe s offering, and was created to compete in the membership vacation space. Similarly, group buying site LivingSocial has an Escapes section for travel deals, and flash sales site Hautelook acquired travel site Bonvoyou in 2010 in order to start its own Getaways section. Groupon has partnered up with Expedia to launch its hotel sales section, cheap hotel reservation and Rue La La also has its own Travel section.
Most of these sites offer vacations and deals around the world, but some clubs choose to target only specific continents or countries. Founder's Card offers travel deals among its other perks for entrepreneurs, primarily in the U.S. (i.e. between New York City and San Francisco). Founder's Card annual memberships cost $495, and also require a one-time initiation fee.  Secret Escapes is another online travel club that primarily offers travel deals in the UK and around Europe.
Not all of these members-only sites are succeeding though, with  Gilt Groupe putting its Jetsetter site up for sale  for a reported $50 million in October. cheap hotel reservation While the larger online cheap hotel reservation travel sites may have the focus and expertise required to manage an online travel club, retail flash sales sites and ecommerce retailers may not fare as well as most of them attempt the move from retail into travel.
"One trend we've noticed is that as retail evolves, the travel space tends to follow suit," said SniqueAway General Manager David Krauter in an interview. "To predict how other members-only travel cheap hotel reservation sites may evolve, it's probably worth closely watching the retail space."
There are some startups that aren t spinning travel clubs off of an existing flash sales or ecommerce business, but rather building their platform around cheap hotel reservation offering travel deals and assistance to members, almost like the 2.0 version of a travel agent. BetaKit covered  Want Me Get Me  when it launched its VIP travel membership club in early October 2012. It s free to join the site, and the company has partnered with over 200 luxury and boutique hotels around the world, including Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Trump Hotel Collection, cheap hotel reservation and Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, to help travelers pay regular hotel rates but get VIP treatment, with perks like room upgrades and free in-room WiFi.
When someone books a hotel on Want Me Get Me, they can choose perks like a bottle of wine in their room, or valet parking. They get added to the VIP list during their stay. Other companies like hotel booking site Tablet, through its Tablet Plus platform, and Valet are offering similar services, although they have an annual fee to join. Tablet s membership is $195 per year, which gets members complimentary upgrades, cheap hotel reservation weekly private cheap hotel reservation sales, and dedicated cheap hotel reservation customer service reps. Valet has partnered with 80 hotels around the world, and members get special rates and curated local travel recommendations. Their memberships start at $199 per year.
Then there are the extremely high-end luxury travel clubs in the vein of Exclusive Resorts , with new players in the space like Inspirato and Demeure , which offer exclusive vacations at villas and resorts cheap hotel reservation around the world. Inspirato launched in 2011 and has a $15,000 annual membership fee, with over $48 million in funding raised to date, and Demeure launched in October 2012 and while it has free and $495 annual plans, the VIP package with travel assistants and special pricing is $7,500 per year.
Demeure Club is not a product for everyone, that s for sure, said Demeure CTO Jim Murphy in an interview. But, for discriminating travelers who are interested in a deeper relationship, with a devoted travel assistant, very high service levels and access to exclusive properties the value is obvious. He also noted that their properties are owned by individuals, rather than corporate-owned hotels, so it s almost like an upscale cheap hotel reservation Airbnb.
Ultimately these online travel clubs are about getting access to deals, service, and perks that might only come with being a frequent traveler, or through working with a travel agent or someone in the industry. Whether people are willing to give up their time to monitor flash sales, and their money to pay for annual subscriptions, is another question. Luxury travel cheap hotel reservation club Ultimate Escapes  filed for bankruptcy in 2011 (with Demeure now catering to their former members), so it s clear that any new entrants to the space will need to avoid their missteps in order to find a successful niche.