Confirmation today of the start of some consolidation in the online reputation management sector in the travel industry.
Munich, Germany-based TrustYou has taken over the ORM services previously run by Brand Karma in what is being outlined as a partnership between the two companies.
There are no commercial terms being disclosed in the deal which will be formally announced later this week.
Essentially, TrustYou will take over all of Brand Karma's existing ORM customers, giving the Singapore-based company the opportunity to expand its focus on providing digital marketing expertise and virtual reality tools for travel brands.
The pair say previously that have been "looked at as competitors", but the agreement will push complimentary services available from both companies.
Brand Karma is said to have created "hundreds" of virtual reality experiences for hotels, destinations, conferences and events over the course of the past six months.
Its online reputation management platform and customer base will now be handled by TrustYou to provide semantic analysis, reporting, competitive benchmarking, guest satisfaction surveys and other services such as its Meta-Reviews platform to hotels and travel brands.
TrustYou co-founder and CEO, Benjamin Jost, says the agreement will also allow it to expand its presence in Asia-Pacific.
His counterpart at Brand Karma, Morris Sim, adds:
"Virtual reality today is where social media was 10 years ago when we started our business; its potential for sales and marketing is immense."