About Real Travel
Real Travel is a Travel & Hospitality company based in Los Altos (United States) founded in 2005, and was acquired by Uptake in November 2010. Travel advice and experiences are shared via user-generated social network. It operates in the Travel & Hospitality and Media & Entertainment sectors. Real Travel has raised $1.8 million across 2 funding rounds from investors including Uptake, Thomvest Ventures and Floodgate. The company was acqui-hired. Its focus areas include Consumer, Online Travel, Social Platforms and Travelogue. Its competitors include Couchsurfing, Grabr and Thatch; 3 of its 3 listed competitors have raised funding.
Company details
RealTravel was founded in 2005 in Los Altos, United States, as a social network focused on the travel sector. User-generated content, including advice and personal experiences, is shared through blogs, forums, and photos. Some material is provided via a partnership with Frommers. The platform supports interactions among frequent travelers, facilitating recommendations and discussions.
- Headquarters Los Altos, United States
- Stage Acquired
- SectorsTravel & HospitalityMedia & Entertainment
- Website realtravel.com
- Social LinkedIn X
- Acquired by Uptake (Nov 2010)
Funding Insights of Real Travel
Real Travel has successfully raised a total of $1.8M across 2 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series C round of $800 thousand completed in August 2008. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $1.8M
- Total Rounds 2
- Last Round Series C — $800,000
- First Round $1M
(Nov 2005)
- Investors Count 2
All 2 funding rounds of Real Travel with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2008 | $800,000 | Series C | – | – | |
| Nov 2005 | $1M | Seed | – | – | – |
3 investors in total: 3 institutional.
Investors in Real Travel
Real Travel has secured backing from 3 investors, including venture fund investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Uptake, Thomvest Ventures and Floodgate.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Investments are directed toward fintech, cybersecurity, and martech sectors. | thomvest.com | San Francisco, United States | ||
Early-stage investments are focused on by Floodgate in US startups. | floodgate.com | Menlo Park, United States | ||
Cloud-based predictive analytics platform is utilized for asset maintenance insights. | 2014 | uptake.com | Chicago, United States |
Investor details for Real Travel
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
- Complete investor list
- Round participation
- Investor portfolios
- Co-investor network
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Timeline of Real Travel
4 dated milestones of Real Travel across 5 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Real Travel is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $1.0M.
- Funding Latest funding round, Series C, of $800K.
- Exit Acquired by Uptake.
Competitors of Real Travel
Real Travel has 3 listed competitors in our database, 3 of them funded. They include Couchsurfing, Grabr and Thatch.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| couchsurfing.com | 2004 | San Francisco, United States | $22.6M | 11 | Travelers are connected with locals for home-sharing experiences globally. | |
| grabr.io | 2015 | San Francisco, United States | $24.72M | Parcels are sent through travelers on a social marketplace platform. | ||
| thatch.co | 2018 | San Francisco, United States | $3M | Online platform for travelers to discover & share travel stories |
Detailed competitors of Real Travel
The full competitor set, operating metrics and side-by-side benchmarks require an active premium plan.
- Full competitor set
- Operating metrics
- Benchmarks
- Competitive positioning
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Web traffic of Real Travel
Websites that share an audience with Real Travel (realtravel.com).
Websites whose visitors overlap most with Real Travel. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| virtualtourist.com | 100% | 32.2K | #933,411 | View details | |
travbuddy.com | travbuddy.com | 100% | – | ||
| tripadvisor.com | 100% | 97.7M | #493 | View details | |
igougo.com | igougo.com | 100% | – | ||
| lonelyplanet.com | 100% | 3.2M | #22,034 | View details | |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
All 9 similar websites and full traffic analytics for Real Travel
The complete similar-websites list, audience overlap and engagement analytics require an active premium plan.
- 9 similar websites
- Audience overlap
- Engagement analytics
- Traffic by brand
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Top companies in Online Travel
3 companies that operate in the same segment as Real Travel (Online Travel) in United States, ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Corporate travel and expense management are facilitated through SaaS platform. | 2015 | Palo Alto, California, United States | USD 1.58 B | USD 3.52 M | 847 | |
Spend management and accounts payable solutions are delivered to businesses. | 2019 | New York, New York, United States | USD 5.07 B | 6,209 | ||
Multiple travel services are booked via an app-based platform. | 1999 | Miami, Florida, United States | USD 331.37 M | 5,191 |
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Frequently Asked Questions about Real Travel
Real Travel was founded in 2005.
Real Travel is headquartered in Los Altos, United States. It is registered at Los Altos, California, United States.
Real Travel is a funded company, having raised a total of $1.8M across 2 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Seed of $1M, raised on Nov 2005.
RealTravel was founded in 2005 in Los Altos, United States, as a social network focused on the travel sector. User-generated content, including advice and personal experiences, is shared through blogs, forums, and photos. Some material is provided via a partnership with Frommers. The platform supports interactions among frequent travelers, facilitating recommendations and discussions.
Real Travel's top competitors include Grabr, Couchsurfing and Thatch.
Real Travel has 3 investors. Key investors include Uptake, Thomvest Ventures, and Floodgate.
Yes. Real Travel was acquired by Uptake in November 2010.