Travel marketplaces you should know. World-known VC firm a16z has just launched the 2023 Marketplace 100, which ranks the largest consumer-facing marketplace startups and private companies based on their annual gross merchandise volume. This year’s list features nearly three dozen newcomers, including marketplaces for refurbished electronics, precious metals, and sustainably raised meat. Interestingly, 13 of the 100 marketplaces […]
Tag: Tourism
Holograms at the front desk
Holograms at the front desk. CIC Hospitality is set to launch 30 boutique hotels in Scandinavia, each equipped with a unique feature: hologram receptionists at the front desk. Upon arrival, guests will be greeted by a pre-recorded hologram video and will have access to several options on the display, including pre-recorded hotel information. If the guest needs […]
Your inside scoop on travel innovation, trends, and startups 🚀
Making it easier for hotels to get paid. RoomRaccoon, a hotel management system, has teamed up with Adyen, a global fintech platform, to improve its payment capabilities, making it easier, cheaper, and more secure for hotels to get paid. They’re automating the payment process through RoomRaccoon’s booking engine, channel manager, and front desk, which means real-time tracking […]
Meet the city charging a tourist entrance fee
Have you ever imagined paying a €10 ticket to visit a city? It is Venice’s plan to charge a €10 tourist fee for daily visitors as a way to combat the impacts of excessive tourism, becoming a pioneering and controversial initiative by a city that is now debating the future of tourism and travel. The […]
Meet the city that has robots as guides
Have you ever imagined a city having robots as tour guides? The capital of Hungary, the 9th largest city in Europe known for their majestic architecture, Budapest presents interesting news for its visitors: the possibility of having a customized travel itinerary created by artificial intelligence. Well, it’s not a humanoid robot as much as a […]
Your Crystal Ball for the Travel Industry
Dine like a local, anywhere in the world. Madrid-based startup Velada, founded in 2021, has raised €1 million for its next-gen restaurant guide and booking app that aims to provide global food lovers with the best local, authentic experiences. Curated by food critics and local tastemakers, Velada’s app offers travelers a dedicated local guide to […]
Luxury days are here to stay
Luxury days are here to stay. After bringing its number of users to more than double this year, ResortPass now raised $26 million in funding to expand to more global destinations in the upcoming year. According to one of the investors, the online booking platform is “pioneering a whole new segment of the $1.5 trillion global lodging industry”. […]
Smart Destinations, Creators and Hotel-verse
No funding, no problem. UK-based Pluto has had a pretty out-of-this-world story. After two big crowdfunding campaigns, raising over £1.3 million and a strong community following along the way, the team found new investment drying up. So, they looked for another way to keep their travel app that helps users organise and coordinate travel plans and insurance alive […]
A Fresh Look for Airline Shopping
Taxis taking the skies. United has just made another investment into a possible future mode of mobility – airborne taxis. The American firm just put $15 million into EVE Air Mobility alongside a conditional purchase agreement for 200 four-seat electric aircraft plus 200 options. It comes just one month after a $10 million deposit for Archer Aviation’s similarly sized air taxi. […]
More Inclusive Cities
Branson bets on diversity, sustainability and customer-centricity. From boats to plans to spaceships, Sir Richard Branson is quite the travel guru. He pioneered taking a customer-centric approach to air travel and created a brand that other providers have since tried to emulate. He entered the cruise sector, and through promoting diversity, has democratised access to the luxury yacht […]