TV Trip Shows You the View from Your Hotel Room

Part of the fun of this conference is the chance to have short meetings with new companies who are entering the on-line travel sphere. I sat with two young guys who have started a new company called TV Trip. It's a cool concept--they provide a video look at thousands of hotel rooms around the world. The site offers a look at the lobby, the views out the windows of the rooms, the beds the bathrooms and the gym. The kind of stuff you'd want to look at before you commit to booking the room.

"This stuff is boring to most people, you know, looking at hotel rooms, but if you're planning on staying there it is fascinating," said Marc Ruff, the CEO. He's a Frenchman who lives in Munich. The editing is done in London. The other partner Steve Stollerman, lives in Paris. They've shot more than 1000 hotels so far, and plan to add hundreds more in the months ahead. The site is only one month old, so there is a lot of growing to do. They give the hotel a DVD of the videos they shoot, and don't charge them for adding them to their site.

I asked them the obvious question: where does the money come from? They said that sites like Expedia and the major hotel chains pay them a commission when people book after seeing the videos. Their information and videos are available in five languages, so nearly anyone can take advantage.

I just wish I had been able to go onto this site before I booked a room at LA's Adventure Hotel, which my dear Cindy soundly rejected after we saw it in person.