Yesterday marked Miami’s first travel tech conference, the Future of Travel.
With over 250 attendees from different countries and industries, LAB Ventures successfully kicked off the first-ever event in Miami to bring together all corners of the travel industry. From start-ups developing disruptive technologies, angel investors, and established global brands, the Future of Travel was vibrant in content and attendees.
For this unique event, LAB Ventures created a complete program that included pitch sessions from the region’s most interesting and disruptive start-ups. The 10 presenting startups offered services ranging from rental car meta search and multi/modal travel booking, to interactive city guides and hotel management systems: Viajala (Colombia), Axle (NY, US), VoyHoy (FL, US), RentingCarz (FL, US), Porter and Sail (NY, US), Daycation (FL, US), Simplenight (FL, US), PurpleCloud Technologies (PA, US), Soundwalkrs (Colombia) and Hotel Online (Kenya).
The judges Andrew Sturner, Founder, Tech, Media & Real Estate Ventures, Seth Cassel, President, EveryMundo; Noam Beno, Manager, Corporate Strategy, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.;Parker Stanberry, Founder, Oasis; and Kerri Zeil, Director, Amadeus For Startups chose VoyHoy (FL, US) as the best pitch. won the grand prize and will be presenting their business at Seatrade Global. Attendees chose Daycation (FL, US) as their favorite, granting them People’s Choice award.
Compelling panel discussions and keynote speeches continued for the rest of the day, which addressed the ever-accelerating tech trends in travel. Marriot explained how they’re experimenting with open information to create a personalized experience for their visitors. Through social media and clients’ digital connection, they are working to create the first integrated hotel room experience, which automatically matches your preferences from social media. The panels reminded us that technology is an integral part of today’s travel experience. From booking to electronic boarding passes, digital concierge services to interactive city guides, virtual reality tours to drone photography, new technology is continuing to reshape the way we move around, stay, and play.
Next year will bring more. Mark your calendars for February 2019!