Sean O'Neill

WorldMate suffered as many smartphones and other services added free travel notifications. But TripCase and TripIt still have fans among many frequent travelers.

TripActions' funding adds buzz to a category of startups aiming to incentivize travelers to book travel more cheaply, while Bluesmart's fresh funding validates the electronic luggage category.

Airbnb and HomeAway clones are a dime-a-dozen. But we found a handful carving out niche market segments that seem promising. These startups focus on travelers interested in corporate-friendly lodgings, architecture and design properties, Asia's top destinations, and exclusive luxury residences.

If United were Facebook friends with reservation systems like Sabre and Amadeus, it would have just changed its relationship status from "Friends" to "It's complicated." New President Scott Kirby is worried how those companies will display its new basic economy product to travel agents and (indirectly) to ticket buyers.

Stay Alfred's $15 million Series A funding may pale next to the roughly $3 billion that Airbnb has raised. But the company — which services apartment rentals and aims for hotel-quality service — is part of a thriving wave of vendors providing an ecosystem of services around short-term urban rentals.

This is a decent exit for the investors in ReviewPro and a wake-up call to a Western hotel industry ignoring China's tech scene. But it is also a validation of ReviewPro's particular approach of giving hotels actionable analytics on guests for sales and marketing, and revenue management -- and not just monitoring TripAdvisor ratings.