10 award-winning travel tech startups to watch in 2025

It’s not easy to be the best. In the world of travel tech, it’s even more difficult as you need to combine technology innovation with a deep understanding of ever-changing market needs. 

Traveling is an adventure, and catering to adventurers' free and wild spirit is like trying to build a castle on a tidal wave. But some companies succeed, and we want to explore what makes this year’s travel awards winners so special. Let’s look into the core — the traveltech trends they successfully grasp – and then dive deeper into how they do it. Let’s start!

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5 travel tech trends that will impact industry in 2025

In 2025, tourists will increasingly crave new experiences and advanced services. Let's explore five digital transformation trends shaping travel's future, backed by numbers highlighting their impact.

1. Top travel companies smash into TikTok

TikTok's influence on travel decisions is undeniable – 60% of TikTok users get interested in visiting a new destination after seeing it on the platform. With nearly 150 million users in the US alone — representing almost half of the country's population — TikTok is a potent tool for travel marketing campaigns.

This trend is forcing travel startups to rethink their social media strategies, focusing on creating authentic, engaging clips that resonate with the platform's young, adventure-seeking audience.

2. AI-powered travel technology

Artificial Intelligence is changing the way travelers plan and experience their trips. By 2033, an impressive 75% of travelers worldwide expect to use AI for planning their accommodations. The younger generation is particularly open to AI assistance, with 62% of millennials expressing interest in AI-powered travel companions for tips and insights during their holidays. 

Moreover, one-third of all travelers are now open to using generative AI tools like ChatGPT to plan their getaways. This shift towards AI-driven planning is likely to lead to more personalized itineraries, smarter recommendations, and enhanced customer service throughout the travel journey.

3. Focus on experiences & personalization 

The power of personalization in travel experiences is becoming increasingly evident. 36% of travelers are more likely to pay a higher price for experiences based on their own behavior profiles. This demonstrates that travelers value tailored experiences that align with their preferences and past behaviors and are willing to invest more for a personalized journey.

Virtual and augmented reality technologies transform how travelers preview and choose their destinations. An encouraging 60% of people say they would be willing to book a trip if they could first experience it virtually. This trend is expected to have a significant economic impact, with predictions suggesting a $1.5 trillion increase in tourism revenue due to VR by 2030.

Combining immersive virtual previews and data-driven personalization creates a new paradigm in travel booking.

4. Cultural tourism

Cultural experiences are becoming increasingly central to travel plans. At least 40% of tourists are classified as cultural tourists, seeking authentic local experiences and deeper connections with their destinations. This trend underscores the importance of showcasing unique cultural offerings and supporting local communities in travel marketing and product development.

Travel companies are responding by curating more immersive cultural experiences, partnering with local artisans and communities, and promoting sustainable business travel practices that benefit both travelers and destinations.

5. High-quality digital experience

The quality of a travel brand's digital presence impacts booking decisions – 71% of travelers mention the quality of their digital experience as crucial for decision-making, and 75% admit to judging a company's credibility based on its website design. And this is just the beginning — technology improves hotel guest experience tenfold.

When you look at these numbers, the need for travel technology companies to invest in superior digital experiences becomes obvious. This includes optimizing for mobile devices, improving website load times, creating intuitive user interfaces, and ensuring seamless booking processes. Seamlessly integrated travel tech solutions increase customer satisfaction, boost higher conversions, and improve brand loyalty in the competitive travel market.

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Best travel tech startups for trip planning and booking

Travel startups are revolutionizing how we plan and book our journeys. These award-winning companies use technology to create seamless, personalized, and efficient travel experiencess. Let's explore these standout travel tech companies transforming the trip planning and booking process.

Japan World’s Tourism Film Festival Award: Travel Alberta 

Travel Alberta won an Oscar in the travel tech industry for its tourism promotion videos. These guys know how to put you right into the atmosphere of their destination. But promo materials are just the beginning of what they offer. Travel Alberta puts an immersive digital experience at the heart of its travel solution to bring landscapes and rich cultural heritage to life.

Travel Alberta caters to the following trends:

• Immersive experiences and personalization

3D tours of iconic locations like Banff National Park and the Columbia Icefield Skywalk allow potential visitors to explore these wonders before they pack their bags. This assists travelers in making informed decisions about their trips, aligning with the trend of immersive pre-travel experiences.

• Culture exploration

What sets Travel Alberta apart is its art of blending natural wonders with cultural richness. By highlighting the Calgary Stampede alongside tranquil moments at Banff Upper Hot Springs, Travel Alberta ensures that each itinerary offers a perfect balance of excitement and relaxation.

• AI technology is a great help

The company is changing how visitors experience Canada's western province through its AI-driven trip planner. It allows guests to engage with local festivals, Indigenous experiences, and hidden gems like the Carter-Ryan Gallery and Live Art Venue. This holistic approach to trip planning sets new standards in the travel industry.

IMA Best in Class World Travel Award: Profitroom

In 2022, this travel startup won the Interactive Media Award with their hotel partner Wilderness Hotels website. Profitroom’s platform empowers hotels to optimize their direct bookings, enhance guest experiences, and drive revenue growth. It’s currently being used in 3,500 hotels worldwide to create a seamless and intuitive booking journey that puts guests at the heart of the experience.

Profitroom caters to the following trends:

• Digital experience quality

Profitroom's Booking Engine 360 is designed with a guest-centric approach, prioritizing user experience and creating a smooth booking journey. The platform’s interface and rapid load ensure a smooth process, catering to the growing expectations of tech-savvy travelers. 

• The power of personalization

By offering personalized package recommendations and dynamic pricing, Profitroom delivers tailored experiences by analyzing guest behavior patterns, empowering hotels to provide customized recommendations and upsell opportunities that drive loyalty.

• AI-powered travel technology

The traveltech company’s AI-based automatic copywriter is designed for the hospitality industry. This travel technology tool streamlines the creation of engaging email campaigns, social media posts, and other marketing content for hotels.

Travolution Best Technology Product Award: Joyned

“The leisure traveler is buying a destination. The business traveler is buying the journey,” says Dave Hershberger, President of Travel Leaders. 

‍Joyned goes along with this motto, boosting group travel booking experience with its social revenue platform, and addressing the growing demand for collaborative travel planning for both Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) and hotel chains. This company took the Best Technology Product at Travolution, Most Innovative Travel Tech Solution at the Technology Innovator Awards, and Most Successful Scaleup at Hustle Awards. Not to mention the Skift IDEA 2024 Award and others. What makes them so great?

Joyned caters to the following trends:

• AI-powered travel technology

AI Helper/Concierge solution assists prospects in making purchases by reducing the need for external information. It uses AI and big data to provide personalized activities, dining, and local attractions. And leveraging AI to analyze user sentiment, behavior, and intent, Joyned automates the right promotions to maximize conversions.

• Experiences and personalization

The platform enables real-time group discussions and decision-making directly on travel websites, allowing friends, families, and colleagues to plan together and discover new travel business and leisure ideas. Users can connect to organic communities for inspiration, questions, and promotions, enhancing the overall travel planning experience.

• Digital experience as a focus

Joyned recognizes the crucial role of a superior digital experience in travel booking decisions. 

By integrating seamlessly with travel websites, the platform enhances the user experience, making group bookings more intuitive and engaging.

COAX’s travel personalization wins: Hosty and MiCRM

COAX hops on the wave of travel tech trends with two solutions that address the demand for personalized, smooth, and connected travel experiences in the short-term rental and broader travel technology sectors.

Hosty: Empowering short-term rental hosts

‍Hosty is a vacation rental booking solution that streamlines property management and the booking experience. Its simple booking calendar and customizable pricing empower small hospitality businesses with free business process automation.

Hosty caters to the following trends:

• Experiences and personalization

Hosty enables hosts to create tailored experiences for guests through customizable pricing for weekdays and weekends and an ability to set minimum stay requirements. Features for sharing booking details, prepayments, and house rules drive personalized communication.

These features allow hosts to adapt their offerings to specific guest needs and market demands, addressing the growing desire for personalized travel experiences.

• Digital experience quality

As a user-friendly booking app managing multiple properties from a single profile, Hosty improves the digital experience for hosts. This aligns with the trend where the quality of digital tools is crucial in the travel tech industry.

• Social media presence

Hosty's widget, shareable on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, displays real-time availability and pricing for guests. This integration taps into the trend of travel inspiration through social media, particularly among younger travelers.

MiCRM: Travel planning just to the user’s desires

‍MiCRM's "Create Your Journey" feature is perfect for personalized travel planning and booking. The platform's intelligent algorithms help users discover right what they want and explore destinations based on personal tastes.

MiCRM caters to the following trends:

• Experiences and personalization

"Create Your Journey" allows travelers to craft their ideal trips based on individual preferences and interests. The tool offers a unified OTA marketplace for hotels, activities, and custom packages. This level of customization addresses the trend where travelers value and seek out personalized experiences.

• Digital experience quality

The platform's intuitive shopping cart, robust booking management system, and seamless transition from planning to booking enhance the digital travel planning experience. This aligns with the critical importance of superior digital experiences in travel booking decisions.

• Cultural tourism integration

By helping users explore destinations in unique ways, "Create Your Journey" supports the growing interest in authentic, culturally rich travel experiences. The comprehensive approach of bringing together various travel components (hotels, activities, packages) into a single platform caters to travelers seeking holistic, experience-focused travel planning tools.

But ready-made solutions aren’t just what COAX can offer. Our team can tailor online travel booking software precisely to your needs and goals. With 14+ years of proven experience, we create highly adaptable platforms that scale as your business grows.

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Top all-in-one travel tech solutions

The travel tech industry is seeing a surge in comprehensive platforms that address multiple aspects of the travel experience. These top travel tech companies are crafting complex solutions that cover to the diverse needs of travelers and service providers. Here are three award-winning businesses that offer complex, all-encompassing travel technology solutions.

Best Hotel App 2022 Hospitality Award: Duve

‍Duve is an innovative travel technology provider honoured by multiple awards for its all-in-one digital platform. By offering a suite of tools from online check-in to mobile keys, Duve helps hotels, hostels, and vacation rentals create seamless, personalized experiences for their guests. This cutting-edge solution caters to the growing trend of digital experiences in travel, allowing guests to manage their entire stay from their smartphones.

Duve caters to the following trends:

• AI-powered travel technology

Duve fully embraces AI in the hospitality sector. The platform uses guest data and AI to tailor services, from customized upsells to targeted communications. The integration of generative AI in communication automates and personalizes guest interactions across channels, aligning with the growing trend of AI adoption in travel.

• Experiences and personalization

The platform uses guest data to customize offerings and communications, allowing properties to provide tailored experiences. The white-label guest app offers hotels a branded, personalized digital experience. Customized upsells based on guest preferences further enhance the personalization aspect. 

• Digital experience quality

Duve enhances the digital guest experience through features like online check-in, mobile keys, and a comprehensive guest app. These tools allow guests to manage their entire stay from their smartphones, from pre-arrival to check-out. By streamlining these processes, Duve contributes to a superior digital experience.

Business Travel Awards 2024: Oaky

‍Oaky is a new name in the hospitality industry. Its upselling platform won multiple awards since 2020. Oaky addresses the growing demand for personalized experiences and revenue optimization in the hotel sector. By leveraging advanced technology and guest data, Oaky empowers hotels to improve guest satisfaction while significantly boosting their bottom line.

Oaky caters to the following trends:

• Traveltech focused on experience

By enabling hotels to offer personalized upgrades and add-ons, Oaky supports experience-focused travel. Hotels can offer local tours, dining experiences, and other unique add-ons through the platform. Offers are tailored to match guests' interests and travel styles.

Also, by presenting personalized offers before arrival, Oaky helps build excitement for the upcoming stay.

• AI-powered travel technology

The Oaky platform uses guest data and AI to create upselling offers and upgrades. AI algorithms automate upselling communications across various channels, including pre-stay emails and in-stay messaging. The system uses AI to predict which offers will most likely appeal to specific guests and helps hotels to optimize their operations and revenue.

• Upselling tools

Oaky enhances experience through a user-friendly interface for hoteliers and guests. Its success is vivid in its impressive client roster, which includes hotel chains like Radisson Hotel Group and Hard Rock Hotels. These partnerships highlight the software's effectiveness in driving results, with clients reporting upsell revenue and guest engagement boost.

Skift IDEA in Best Data Provider: TrustYou

TrustYou is a renowned company shortlisted as one of the best travel tech startups

by Skift. By combining a robust Customer Data Platform with AI-driven chatbots, TrustYou delivers unparalleled guest interactions and insights. The company's solution uncovers target audiences for effective marketing and engages customers with the speed and efficiency of AI.

TrustYou caters to the following trends:

• AI-powered travel technology

TrustYou's platform leverages AI in multiple ways. Its AI-driven chatbots provide efficient customer engagement, while the AI-powered responses in the Customer Experience Platform (CXP) enable hotels to respond to feedback quickly and effectively.

• Experiences and personalization

By transforming reviews into personalized experiences, TrustYou enables hotels to tailor their services in line with individual guest preferences. The Customer Data Platform (CDP) unifies customer profiles for more targeted and personalized marketing. This focus on customization addresses the growing trend of travelers seeking unique, tailored experiences.

• Real-time experience making

With AI-powered chatbots and quick response capabilities, TrustYou enables hotels to engage with guests in real time. This feature caters to the growing expectations among travelers for immediate responses and assistance, boosting overall guest satisfaction.

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Travel tech companies that offer seamless digital experience

While digital experience can make or break a traveler's journey, some travel technology providers stand out for their ability to create seamless, connected experiences. These award-winning travel tech startups are setting new standards in user experience, integrating various touchpoints of the travel process into cohesive digital platforms.

Aeronnovation Awards: AirportLabs Limited

Hotels aren’t the only players in the travel sector – transportation companies make an impact, too. AirportLabs Limited offers an innovative SaaS solution that transforms airport operations. It helped one of its clients – Dubai Airports – win two Aeronnovation Awards in a row. With 200,000 users and partnerships with 50+ airports worldwide, AirportLabs is changing the status quo of aviation operations.

AirportLabs Limited caters to the following trends:

• Digital design and connectivity

The company's flagship product, the Community App, is used by over 2,500 organizations in the aviation sector. Catering to the growing trend of digital transformation in the aviation industry, AirportLabs provides tools like the Community App for real-time collaboration and AirTurn for digital aircraft turnaround management. 

• Experiences and personalization

With a focus on passenger experience and operational optimization, AirportLabs' solutions, such as VisionAir FIDS for passenger information displays and Laminar IQFMS for queue management, reflect the industry's shift towards smart, data-driven airports. By offering unified travel technology software that integrates various operational aspects, AirportLabs is helping airports meet the challenges of growing passenger numbers and evolving travel expectations.

Skift IDEA in Global Connectivity: eSIM Go

‍eSIM Go is another top travel startup shortlisted by Skift IDEA. It’s an innovative travel technology company revolutionizing global connectivity for travelers. Their cutting-edge eSIM platform offers seamless mobile data access across over 150 countries, enabling hassle-free international communication.

eSIM Go caters to the following trends:

• Group business traveling and digital nomadism

Addressing the trend of digital nomadism and increased business travel, eSIM Go provides flexible solutions that allow users to stay connected without the need for physical SIM cards or roaming fees. Their product lineup, including the API solution and Breeze affiliate program, enables businesses to integrate eSIM technology into their offerings.

• Focus on digital experiences

eSIM Go's focus on personalization and loyalty integration reflects the travel industry's shift towards more tailored, value-added services. By allowing companies to offer mobile data as a loyalty reward and providing multi-currency, multi-language support, eSIM Go helps businesses enhance customer experiences and build lasting client relationships.

10 XPONIA Travel Awards 2023: Hotelwizetravel

‍Hotelwize’s hospitality award-winning platform addresses the growing trend of direct online bookings by empowering hotels to create stunning, conversion-optimized websites quickly and easily. Key features of Hotelwize include its "Liquid e-Commerce" functionality, which seamlessly integrates the booking process into the hotel's website.

Hotelwize caters to the following trends:

• Hyper-personalization power

Hotelwize's Web Content Personalization feature perfectly aligns with the the trend of personalized digital experiences. This functionality allows hotels to recognize individual website visitors and tailor content to their specific needs and characteristics. For example, a business traveler might see different room options or amenities than a family looking for a vacation stay. 

• Smooth and varied personalization

The platform offers professionally designed templates or "canvases" for different types of properties, from city hotels to luxury resorts. These designs follow mobile-first principles, ensuring a smooth and attractive experience across all devices. 

• Digital experience excellence

As to UI/UX appeal, Hotelwize focuses on creating visually stunning and user-friendly websites.

Dynamic rate presentations on various pages and easy room upgrades enhance the user journey and maximize conversion. Additionally, Hotelwize's commitment to fast loading speeds (with PageSpeed scores over 90%) ensures that beautiful designs don't come at the cost of performance.

Hotelwize show how a ready-made solution can differentiate you in the growing market. However, website builder like Hotelwize won’t cover every specific amd niche requirement out there. If your hotel needs a solution that matches your unique business flows like a lock matches its key, custom web development might be the perfect choice to fully address your needs.

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Travel tech companies that change the game

The travel tech industry is experiencing a digital boom, with top travel companies leveraging cutting-edge technologies to transform how users plan, book, and experience travel. From AI-powered personalization to immersive virtual experiences, these award-winning travel tech companies are setting new standards in the industry. 

By focusing on key trends such as AI integration, personalized experiences, digital quality, and cultural tourism, these travel tech companies are not just keeping pace with traveler demands — they're anticipating and exceeding them.

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FAQ

What are the main trends shaping the travel tech industry?

The main trends include AI-powered travel technology, personalized experiences, high-quality digital interfaces, cultural tourism integration, and leveraging social media platforms like TikTok for inspiration.

How is AI being used in travel technology?

AI is being used for personalized trip planning, chatbots for customer service, data analysis for targeted marketing, and optimizing pricing and revenue management.

Why is personalization becoming so important in travel?

Personalization enriches the travel experience by catering to guest preferences, leading to higher customer satisfaction and increased willingness to pay for tailored experiences.

How are companies addressing the rise of cultural tourism?

Companies are integrating local experiences, partnering with local communities, and using technology to showcase unique cultural offerings and authentic experiences.

What role does digital experience quality play in travel bookings?

A high-quality digital experience is crucial, with 71% of travelers citing it as essential when booking travel. Companies are investing in user-friendly interfaces, fast-loading websites, and seamless booking processes to meet this demand.