A look at 7 of the newest travel startups
Published by Multibrief on June 23, 2015 and written by Archita Datta Majumdar
It is open season for travel startups. The industry's forecast has fueled the entrepreneurial spirit, motivating existing businesses to innovate and new entrants to introduce their revolutionary ideas.
For these companies, the prospect of success seems much higher than it has been before. Over 1 billion tourists traveled internationally in 2014, a figure that is set to rise by 3 to 4 percent this year.Global business travel, which rose by 6.9 percent in 2014, will see a 8.6 percent growth this year.
Here is a quick look at seven of the newest travel startups that promise innovation and enjoyment for travelers this year:
1. Kaptivating Hospitality software that enables hotels to delve into the digital lives of their target customers to identify business potential and demand. The software studies the social media and search activity of target demographics and creates direct relationships with customers.
2. Pistats
A personal analytics platform for ride-sharing services. People who frequently use services like Uber and Lyft will now be able to visualize their spending and track their spending habits and rides via an integrated map.
3. Eo
A handy app that will allow travelers to connect with locals before they reach a destination. Along with the location, matching is also done through interests, budgets and upcoming travel plans.
4. Cronomio
Matching travel plans with popular events is not a new concept, but the app that integrates the two is definitely a novel idea. This event-discovery platform uses the travel calendar to find events that align with travelers’ interests and help schedule their trip around them.
5. Keeptrax
This is more of a business-to-consumer app that enables tour operators and travel agencies to connect with their customers on a more social level. The app helps them collate all travel information along with details of places visited, interesting travel facts and photos taken to create a complete travelogue.
6. Expat Helpers
Considering the rise in expat population worldwide, this app is a boon. Through this service, expats can connect with and get local hired help in a new city easily. Local labor laws and currency denominations are also easily explained in the system.
7. Get Out
A social app that gathers and offers out of the ordinary information for all kinds of travel experiences. From extreme sports to the most exotic food tours, one can connect with various groups here instead of having to sift through generic information for hours.
The $8 trillion global travel and tourism industry has also motivated tech companies and financial experts to invest into these startups.
The latest to make waves is Travelport which has launched an incubation program to accelerate the rise and growth of travel startups. The seed-stage investment and mentoring program will run in four-month cycles, and will focus on four startups per cycle. As a leading distribution, technology and payment solutions provider, Travelport’s expertise and experience will be a windfall for the newcomers in travel commerce.
In a similar move, Amadeus, one of the top travel technology and solutions providers, has announced a new program called Amadeus for Startups. Innovative travel services will now get technology and consultative support in order to break into the competitive travel industry.
Amadeus will help travel startups face the disruptive and distinctive challenges of business and industry through easily applicable and affordable consulting partnerships. They have also joined forces with a virtual global travel technology incubator and platform, Travel Startups Incubator, in order to fund seed-stage and early-stage travel enterprises.