How often does a site come along that incorporates the best attributes of a handful of sites and throws them all together? Not too often but there's a great travel startup out there that is making some really awesome steps in doing just that. Specifically, with hotels!

The new site, still in its beta and hidden stage, is called VibeAgent and in one word; it's awesome. You can search for hotels and sift through reviews containing special keywords that distinguish your tastes from those of others and find just the right blend of expectation and accommodation. It's actually quite ingenious. You can post your own reviews of hotels and answer to questions that fellow users ask regarding your review. Actually, the users of this site are called 'Agents' and each one has a profile. You can invite any agent to be your friend, join your group, send them a message, or even bookmark them. Clicking on an Agent will show you a cool map of places they've been and written reviews about, and also whether or not they're 'planning' a trip.

As far as your individual account, there are tons of features. First, there's the usual- you can load a photo, a few lines of 'about me,' date of joining, etc. Then there's the cool stuff. For example, you can note whether you're planning a trip somewhere. Then, people who see that and have ideas for you can pass them along, become your friends, send you a message, etc. Next, and this is an awesome feature, internal messaging. That's right! You can send messages via your own message center to Agents or customer support. That's the beauty of start-ups- the staff is so eager to interact with users; greedy for feedback. I had an issue and Adam, who I believe is one of the higher-ups, helped me out himself. Awesome customer service, don't lose that!

Lastly, the company keeps a blog, which is excellent in keeping all the users up-do-date on the lasted additions, enhancements, and system fixes. It's actually a great source for travel news in general; specifically, hotel searches! There are also forums for meeting and getting help from fellow Agents. All in all, VibeAgent should be a part of your trip planning process- from now on, it's definitely part of mine!