About SmarterTravel
SmarterTravel is a Media & Entertainment company based in Boston (United States) founded in 1998 by Daniel Sau, and was acquired by TripAdvisor in April 2007. Travel content including tips, deals, and plans is published online. It operates in the Media & Entertainment and Travel & Hospitality sectors. SmarterTravel has raised $9.5 million across 1 funding round from investors including TripAdvisor, Link Ventures and Second Alpha Partners. Its chief executive, as recorded, is Daniel Sau. Its website smartertravel.com draws about 286 thousand monthly visits. SmarterTravel offers products and services including Newsletter, Travel News, and Deals Platform. Its focus areas include Consumer, Online Travel, Guidebooks and Horizontal. Its legal entity is Smarter Travel Media LLC. Its competitors include Triple, Atlas Obscura and Discover Los Angeles; 1 of its 3 listed competitors has raised funding.
Company details
SmarterTravel was founded in 1998 in Boston, United States. An online platform is operated in the travel media sector, where content on destinations and itineraries is published. Services such as expert guidance, travel tips, stories, deals, and schedule planning are offered to users. The focus remains on informational resources for travelers across various locations.
- Headquarters Boston, United States
- Founders Daniel Sau
- Stage Acquired
- SectorsMedia & EntertainmentTravel & Hospitality
- Website category Travel and Tourism
- Email••••••••
- Phone•••• ••••
- Website smartertravel.com
- Social LinkedIn X Facebook Instagram YouTube
- Acquired by TripAdvisor (Apr 2007)
- Legal Name Smarter Travel Media Llc
- Total Equity Funding$9.5M (USD)
in 1 rounds
- Latest Funding Round$9.5M (USD), Series B
Sep 2021
- InvestorsTripAdvisor
& 2 more
- Acquired byTripAdvisor
(Apr 2007)
Products & Services of SmarterTravel
SmarterTravel offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including Newsletter, Travel News, and Deals Platform.
Delivers daily travel tips and deals to subscribers
Provides updates on destinations and travel gear reviews
Offers comparisons for flights, hotels, and vacations
Apps and channels of SmarterTravel
its YouTube channel SmarterTravel has 742 subscribers and 30 videos.
Videos from SmarterTravel
The most watched videos on SmarterTravel's YouTube channel, SmarterTravel (742 subscribers). Click a video to play it here.
More on SmarterTravel.
Funding Insights of SmarterTravel
SmarterTravel has successfully raised a total of $9.5M through 1 strategic funding round. The most recent funding activity was a Series B round of $9.5 million completed in September 2021. 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 $9.5M
- Total Rounds 1
- Last Round Series B — $9.5M
- First Round $9.5M
(Sep 2021)
- Investors Count 2
All 1 funding rounds of SmarterTravel 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2021 | $9.5M | Series B | – | Link Ventures, Second Alpha | – |
3 investors in total: 3 institutional.
Investors in SmarterTravel
SmarterTravel has secured backing from 3 investors, including venture fund and institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include TripAdvisor, Link Ventures and Second Alpha Partners.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Link Ventures is focused on investing in AI startups. | linkventures.com | Cambridge, USA | ||
Asset management and venture capital are focused on multiple sectors. | secondalpha.com | New York, United States | ||
Travel and accommodation reviews are provided through an app-based platform. | 2000 | tripadvisor.com | Needham, United States |
Investor details for SmarterTravel
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
- Complete investor list
- Round participation
- Investor portfolios
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People of SmarterTravel
9 people are tracked at SmarterTravel (5 in leadership, 4 in team).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Daniel Sau | Founder & CEO | Leadership |
Thomas Sacchetti | Director Of Product & Analytics: Head Of Travel Services | Leadership |
Tomas Revez | CEO | Leadership |
Kelly Gerard | Chief Administrative Officer | Leadership |
Sayantan Bhowmick | VP Of Finance | Leadership |
Kyle Montgomery | Product Manager, Content & Metasearch Websites | Team |
Chutimon Tangtanaporn | Lead Designer | Team |
Megan Dubois | Contributor | Team |
Clifford Ammann | Senior Product Manager | Team |
Complete people profiles for SmarterTravel
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
- Full employee list
- Team structure
- Board tenure
- Professional contacts
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Timeline of SmarterTravel
3 dated milestones of SmarterTravel across 23 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded SmarterTravel is founded.
- Exit Acquired by TripAdvisor.
- Funding First funding round of $9.5M.
Competitors of SmarterTravel
SmarterTravel has 3 listed competitors in our database, 1 of them funded. They include Triple, Atlas Obscura and Discover Los Angeles.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| triple.io | 2017 | Los Angeles, United States | AR visualization tools are supplied to e-tailers for online integration. | |||
| atlasobscura.com | 2009 | New York, United States | $37.95M | Unconventional places are documented and shared via user-generated content. | ||
| discoverlosangeles.com | 2000 | Los Angeles, United States | 58 | Operates an online platform providing travel guides for users. |
Detailed competitors of SmarterTravel
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 SmarterTravel
The website of SmarterTravel (smartertravel.com) receives about 286.4K visits a month and ranks #136,557 among all websites worldwide, #3,918 in Travel and Tourism.
- Monthly visits286.4K
▼ 28.2% vs previous month
- Unique visitors195.6K
per month
- Global rank#136,557
among all websites
- Category rank#3,918
Travel and Tourism · Travel and Tourism
- Bounce rate52%
- Pages per visit1.9
- Average visit1 min 25 sec
- DevicesDesktop 36% · Mobile 64%
Websites whose visitors overlap most with SmarterTravel. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| kayak.com | 100% | 35.8M | #1,115 | View details | |
budgettravel.com | budgettravel.com | 93% | #1,315,604 | – | |
| travelocity.com | 90% | 5.1M | #10,410 | View details | |
| lastminutetravel.com | 90% | View details | |||
| independenttraveler.com | 90% | View details | |||
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
All 40 similar websites and full traffic analytics for SmarterTravel
The complete similar-websites list, audience overlap and engagement analytics require an active premium plan.
- 40 similar websites
- Audience overlap
- Engagement analytics
- Traffic by brand
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Top companies in DTC Media Innovators
3 companies that operate in the same segment as SmarterTravel (DTC Media Innovators) in United States, ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Multi-category news is delivered through an app-based platform. | 2016 | Arlington, Virginia, United States | USD 30 M | 356 | ||
Online platform publishing content focusing on investment | 2011 | Chicago, Illinois, United States | USD 60.4 M | |||
Subscription-based sports media is delivered to local premium audiences. | 2016 | Chicago, Illinois, United States | USD 134.42 M |
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Related news about Smartertravel
Complete news archive for SmarterTravel
Full article history, source details, and older brand coverage require an active premium plan.
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- Older coverage
- Brand-specific news history
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Frequently Asked Questions about SmarterTravel
SmarterTravel was founded in 1998 and raised its 1st funding round 23 years after it was founded.
SmarterTravel is headquartered in Boston, United States. It is registered at Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
Daniel Sau is the CEO of SmarterTravel, as recorded in our data. They have also founded this company.
SmarterTravel is a funded company, having raised a total of $9.5M across 1 funding round to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Series B of $9.5M, raised on Sep 2021.
SmarterTravel was founded in 1998 in Boston, United States. An online platform is operated in the travel media sector, where content on destinations and itineraries is published. Services such as expert guidance, travel tips, stories, deals, and schedule planning are offered to users. The focus remains on informational resources for travelers across various locations.
SmarterTravel's top competitors include Atlas Obscura, Triple and Discover Los Angeles.
SmarterTravel offers Newsletter, Travel News, and Deals Platform.
SmarterTravel has 3 investors. Key investors include TripAdvisor, Link Ventures, and Second Alpha Partners.
SmarterTravel operates through Smarter Travel Media Llc.
Yes. SmarterTravel was acquired by TripAdvisor in April 2007.
The website of SmarterTravel receives about 286 thousand visits a month and ranks #136,557 among all websites worldwide.