The FutureTravel Summit is back to Barcelona on October 30th, and this year we’ll be gathering at the beautiful Antigua Fábrica Estrella Damm – a former brewery turned into one of the city’s most vibrant cultural venues.
On top of the speaker sessions, there’s one moment that always brings the energy: our startup pitch competition. 10 early-stage travel startups take the stage. And that’s their shot to impress the jury and take home a prize package worth €350K.
The Prize Package
The winning startup team will receive a prize package with a value of €350K in credits. The prize package items include the following:
- Up to €310,000 in Google Cloud credits, including one year of free Google Workspace for new signups in the Startup Program, dedicated support from Google’s Startup Success team, and direct technical guidance from Google engineers.
- 90% discount on HubSpot‘s AI-powered and connected CRM (prize valued at 17.000 USD) with tools to scale sales, marketing, and customer operations.
- €9,900 worth of simpleshow credits to produce high-quality, AI-powered explainer videos.
- 6 months free on Notion’s Business Plan with unlimited AI features (up to €10,000 in value), plus access to the Notion Perks program and the Champions Community.
- €5,000 in JetBrains licenses for top-tier development tools like IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, and JetBrains AI.
- A complimentary exhibition booth at the 2026 FutureTravel Summit (valued at €2,000), including 3 event tickets.
- Plus: media visibility, including a spotlight in the FutureTravel newsletter and coverage in EU-Startups.com.
The Jury
Our 10 finalists will pitch in front of a world-class jury composed of leading venture capital experts, including: Bobby Demri (ROCH Ventures), Elena Ruiz Requena (Amadeus Ventures), Jose Gaytan de Ayala (Kinnevik) and Virginia Bassano (Eight Roads). Additional VCs, business angels, and startup accelerators will also be in the audience, making this a unique chance for high-impact exposure and feedback.
The Finalists
Now, time to reveal the 10 outstanding finalists of this year’s edition:
- ALOE: Founded in 2023, ALOE is the experience layer for hospitality, a plug-and-play platform where hotels can sell their own services and offer curated experiences from local providers through an integrated marketplace. The Italian startup allows guests to book everything in one place, while hotels earn a commission on every sale. It simplifies the booking, management, and payment processing of external experiences, helping hotels unlock new revenue streams.
- ALTEK AI: Headquartered in Norway, Altek AI helps hotels automate customer service. Its AI platform connects directly to hotel systems such as the PMS and booking engine, allowing the assistant to answer questions, make bookings, and upsell in real time. Their solution is designed to improve the guest experience, reduce staff workload, and increase revenue.
- Controlá: Founded in 2023, Controlá installs plug-and-play smart devices to automate energy management in vacation rentals, offices, and coworking spaces. Their system detects presence and environmental conditions to automatically control air conditioning, lighting, and water heating, reducing energy consumption without compromising user comfort. Based in Spain, they promote sustainability adapted to your needs.
- Cora: Set up in 2023 in Italy, Cora develops an operations management platform powered by AI and designed for every type of accommodation that seamlessly allows the control of any hospitality facility. It streamlines tasks like housekeeping, maintenance, and internal communication through a cloud-based dashboard and mobile app. The platform helps improve staff productivity, reduce costs, and ensure consistent service quality.
- Cumbaya: Founded in 2024, this Belgian startup offers an AI-powered platform that simplifies trip planning, booking, and management. Users can instantly generate personalised itineraries based on their interests, needs, and budget. The app also provides real-time recommendations and dynamic tools to adjust plans on the go, streamlining the entire travel experience.
- HostyAI: Straddling Portugal and Australia and founded in 2024, HostyAI offers a SaaS platform that helps short-term rental hosts and property managers automate guest communication. Their AI-powered assistant handles inquiries, sends personalised messages, and supports guests 24/7 across platforms like Airbnb, WhatsApp, and email. By integrating with reservation systems, it adapts responses based on booking details, house rules, and local regulations.
- ReLUGG: Based in Germany, ReLUGG is an instant luggage compensation platform. It partners with airlines to instantly compensate passengers affected by delayed luggage and to provide luggage essentials, all within 30 minutes of arrival. It charges airlines per passenger served, with no upfront costs or long-term contracts. The solution integrates seamlessly with airline operations and passenger communications, enabling real-time eligibility checks, service activation, and reporting to minimise airline effort and maximise passenger satisfaction.
- Via.ai: Based in the UK, Via.ai operates at the intersection of AI technology and customer engagement. Founded in 2023, the startup enables brands to integrate a branded, conversational assistant into their existing apps or websites, offering users real-time, personalised travel and lifestyle recommendations. These intelligent agents are available 24/7, continuously learning from interactions and are designed to turn everyday engagement into meaningful, loyalty-building experiences.
- Voyla: Founded in 2024, this Hong Kong-based startup addresses a major pain point for Gen Z travellers who save hundreds of posts on social media and platforms like Google Maps, but never organise them. Voyla is building a personal AI agent that captures and learns users’ travel preferences from scattered social media saves. The AI agent analyses shared posts to understand each user’s unique travel vibe, then automatically organises and recommends personalised destinations that match their interests.
- Yaay: Headquartered in Denmark and founded in 2024, Yaay is an AI- and creator-powered travel app that transforms users’ favourite TikTok and Instagram travel videos into bookable trips. Users can save destinations, hotels, experiences, or restaurants to Yaay, organise them in visual moodboards, and let the AI find a way to book it all. Alternatively, they can discover shoppable videos from trusted travel creators and the wider community directly on the platform.
Startups are not just “nice to have” in travel anymore. They’re reshaping how the whole system works. Come see 10 of the most ambitious teams take the stage with what they’re building next. Get your ticket!
