Zicasso: The Potential Future of Online Travel Planing

A new online travel site is launching Monday. Before you add to the collective groan, know that Zicasso isn't like other travel sites, and is really worth checking out.

Geared to fill a gap in online trip planning, Zicasso wants to make travel planing much more personalized and hassle-free. Combining online convenience with offline providers, they offer a new way to book travel, leaving you able to book your travel at 3 AM while still having the services offered by online tour operators and travel agencies, all of whom have been screened by Zicasso for value and expertise in specific locales. The service is free for travelers, with travel partners paying a commission on travel booked through the site.

We have grown used to the ease of booking simple trips with one flight/hotel per trip on sites like Orbitz and Expedia, but complicated trips with multiple stops and activities or requiring tour guides still require offline travel service providers. The current sites are starting to get into that area by offering additional services like tickets and tours, but they still have a hard time creating a truly personal trip in a one-stop shop. You can always forget booking online and use a travel agent if you require additional services or require special accommodations, but using one travel agency doesn't always help if they aren't experienced in that area, so travelers end up doing a lot of research themselves for quotes and information.

Zicasso proposes to bring this personalized service to the web. Their target market is mid-range to luxury-level travelers, and their site provides many ways to customize your travel experience, from creating a profile with your interests to selecting favored activities (scuba? safari?) to including information about what you DON'T want to do (for example, the typical tour day spent souvenir shopping may not be your cup of tea).

Zicasso utilizes a model similar to that of online financing quote service Lending Tree; you provide information about what type of travel and activities you'd like to do, and Zicasso's partners who specialize in that area can respond with a quote. Generally, users should receive up to four quotes, typically be returned within two business days. An email is sent when quotes are available for review, and travel companies are available to refine trip if necessary, and users are asked to rate and review the travel company upon return, providing feedback to the site and other users.

Personal information is protected from the partners until the buyer makes a booking commitment on site, then the actual transaction is completed directly with the provider. Feedback for service providers is allowed only from confirmed buyers to protect the integrity of the feedback.

The site itself has many features, including a message system to communicate with the travel agencies and tour operators that keeps your email address private, a dashboard to view trip proposal details and compare bids, and profiles to identify travelers' likes dislikes. Itineraries provided by the Zicasso partners are comprehensive, covering as many services as you may need, including the usual hotels, flights, and car rental, as well as tickets to shows, tours, meals, equipment rental if needed, cars with drivers you may prefer in some countries, and anything else you may have specified in your request, including special needs, wheelchair access, and dietary requirements.

Zicasso has partnered with over 100 companies in over 40 countries for quality, best value, and authentic travel experiences, and levels the playing field for service providers; all get the same scale profile, with a single page with standard formatting for each provider, who may then also provide up to 10 sample travel packages that users can also select and customize if they are looking for ideas rather than a specific trip. Tour operators and travel agencies who wish to be added as a partner can complete a form on the site requesting consideration. Partners are added by invite only, but Zicasso will consider adding additional partners who can provide the same value and quality as existing partners.

Zicasso plans to be first site with ratings reviews for travel agencies and tour operators, as well as provide a travel community for both travelers and providers to share trip information, location knowledge, etc. They will sponsor photo competitions and add other features to foster the community aspect of the site. The winners of photo competitions will have their photograph featured on the site, but also select a non-profit that Zicasso will donate to, supporting local communities and sustainable travel.
Most exciting to me is that Zicasso plans to follow the 1:1:1 corporate philanthropy model used by Salesforce.com, where 1% of the company's equity, 1% of profits, and 1% of employees' paid time are donated to charitable purposes. In Zicasso's case, the plan for those charitable purposes is dedicated to local issues in countries traveled to, as well as sustainable travel. I'm always excited to see companies taking a more world-aware view of their business, especially when it comes to green issues.

If Zicasso can manage to achieve their goals, I think they may have a model that will define the future of online travel booking, saving time that frequent travelers spend creating custom travel plans, as well as providing some of the personalization that all-for-one services have been lacking. The future of Web 3.0 may very well be adding some of the human component back in when it comes to providing services for that extra personalization and relevance.