Startups

Airbnb isn't all grown up and in the clear yet, but it is making some changes to cope with some of its more stubborn challenges.

Mobile messaging apps such as WhatsApp are becoming a cost-effective and more personal way to communicate electronically for travelers on the go.

There are lots of ways to get from here to there, and new bus services such as Megabus, with free Wi-Fi (admittedly spotty), cheap fares, and a 50-pound luggage allowance, are providing convenience and real competition.

A shakeout has been looming among sites that track rewards miles and offers mileage-related flight services. MileWise's demise is the first among several other companies that will likely fade away.

Let the games begin.

To paraphrase a certain baseball philospher, it's getting late very early for flight-search startups. For any chance of success, they'd better offer something unique, have a lot of funding, and figure out how to attract substantial revenue elsewhere.

As a first-mover, HotelTonight is in an enviable position. The company faces competition from imitators, including big brands, but there absolutely will be more than one winner in the same-day booking sector. There is a whole big world out there.

QuickMobile has found itself a lucrative niche, and is clearly in expansion mode.

Yahoo is hungry to buy small companies and absorb in the talent, unlikely the interest is in building out the Milewise brand and service as a standalone. None of the miles/points startups -- AwardWallet, Traxo, UsingMiles, Superfly -- have broken through yet, and Milewise is in the same general category.

TripAdvisor's acquisition of CruiseWise is great news for TripAdvisor subsidiary Cruise Critic, which is a leading cruise news and cruise-information site, but is hampered by an outdated user interface and bulletin-like forum technology. This acqui-hire will enable TripAdvisor to finally modernize Cruise Critic, a project that's probably been on the agenda for years.