Remote Summer: Germany Edition 🇩🇪

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Here is this week’s curated selection of the top news in innovation, trends, and startups that are shaping the travel industry.

  • Halal travel made easy. The UK-based startup HalalBooking has secured $2.5 million in angel investment for its Series B round. The travel platform offers over 500,000 halal-friendly accommodations across 100+ countries, allowing travelers to filter properties based on specific needs such as halal food and prayer facilities, for example. HalalBooking’s July sales achieved a record-breaking $10 million and, looking ahead, the company plans to achieve $75 million in sales this year and has its sights set on reaching $600 million within the next four to five years.
  • Instant payouts for hotels. In partnership with global financial platform Stripe, OYO is ready to enhances payment convenience for US customers and hotel owners. The integration offers seamless in-person payments via Stripe Terminal and real-time payouts through Instant Payouts, improving cash flow for OYO hotels. The collaboration also provides secure online payment options with robust fraud protection, reducing processing charges. OYO aims for higher payment success rates, ensuring efficient bookings and check-ins, delivering an enhanced guest experience.
  • Group bookings for hotels. Emerging from Vienna, the group travel booking platform Tripmakery.com has has secured a significant seven-figure investment in its latest funding round. The platform ddresses the challenges of group hotel bookings through a unique API, simplifying the procedure for travelers organizing trips with over 10 people. With steady user growth and plans for European, North American, and Asian expansion, Tripmakery.com intends to use this investment to boost its growth and establish itself as leading solution for group bookings.
  • Qantas loyalty revamp. Australian airline Qantas has revamped its Qantas Business Rewards platform for small and midsize companies, partnering with Spotnana to enable seamless booking of flights, hotels, and rental cars. The platform offers travel management features, policy setup, real-time data reporting, and flexible payment options using points or cards. The integration with Spotnana’s travel-as-a-service platform is part of Qantas bet to simplify business travel and reward utilization, positioning itself as a comprehensive travel management solution for its clients.
  • Connecting guests and gastronomy. Not exactly a travel startup, but interesting for many of those business working in the space between hospitality and travel innovation. German restaurant app Neotaste has secured €5.9 million in its Series A funding round. While subscribers benefit from offers such as ‘two main courses for the price of one’, restaurants can use Neotaste to promote themselves, generate new customers and receive customer reviews. With presence in 13 cities across Germany, the startup plans to expand domestically and internationally, enhancing its offerings.