5 Travel Startups to Watch after Pandemic

No one can predict what 2021 had in store for us. Almost every industry got affected in the year 2020, and suddenly in 2021, again with the rise in Corona cases, we can’t say how things will go in the coming few months, but we know after the vaccination, the numbers of COVID-19 patients will go down. And guess what, the travel industry will flourish again although we need to wait for some time. 

Today in this article, we will cover some important travel startups that you need to watch once everything gets normal. We are not encouraging you to travel right now, but we prepare you for the future tour. When COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, back in February 2020, the travel industry was hit the hardest; as per reports, over 95 percent of the travel industry got affected miserably, startups like Airbnb and TripActions immediately realized that the pandemic might last for 2-3 years. Therefore, it’s better to change the way we travel for the foreseeable future.

Also Read: 5 Startups Sector Likely To Shape Post Covid-19 Pandemic

The positive news is that there are signs of recovery as we are in Q1 (2021). In the travel industry, 2020 has been a year where many startups have raised funds to survive the pandemic currently- if they even could raise. The latest data shows that both the number of funding rounds and the average dollar amounts raised by venture-backed travel startups have declined this year. Early (initial) stage startups were the hardest hit, with less fresh venture capital money going towards backing companies at this stage.

However, “during every crisis brings an opportunity,” and we, at Unboxing Startups, believe that there will be many winners born out during the pandemic. After our research, we’ve listed five travel startups below that are redefining the travel and hospitality industry and that we think are worthwhile to keep an eye on in 2021.

1. RubiQ (Tel Aviv, Israel)
2. The Hotels Network (Barcelona, Spain)
3. Smooss (Paris, France)
4. Hopin (London, UK)
5. Stay22 (Quebec, Canada)

Before we dig further, here are some interesting facts you should know about the Tourism industry.

• The tourism industry is the largest industry with a global economic contribution of US 7.6 Trillion!
• The world’s top tourist destinations are:

France — 84.5 million

USA — 77.5 million

Spain — 68.5 million

China — 56.9 million

Italy — 50.7 million

Note- It is based on the report in 2018 (December)

• Among all the world cities, Tourists spend the highest amount of Cash of USD 28.50 billion in Dubai, UAE.
• Amongst emerging travel hotspots, Osaka in Japan is the world’s fastest-growing destination.
  

  ---

Let’s Begin:

1. RubiQ

It is a startup based in Tel-Aviv, Israel, which helps airlines decrease the phone calls load in the call centers while streamlining the passengers’ refund or rebooking processes. In such situations, automation should be used as the key tool to make things better for both end customers and airline call centers. Not only this, but the startup also provides Airclues, which is a white label solution for mobiles powered by Artificial Intelligence. It remains updated, and it facilitates the passengers to personally keep an eye on the schedules/status of the flight or book any alternative flight.

2. The Hotels Network

As internet users are rising, hotel brands need to take innovative approaches to increase their direct bookings. Gone are those days when people used to search hotels with the help of a local guide.

The Hotels Network allows hoteliers worldwide to increase direct bookings by using predictive personalization to offer each guest a unique user experience. The company has developed a personal predictive algorithm for hotels, proficient in analyzing the visitor’s interactions in real-time and assuming the action they intend to take on the website before they do so. This allows hotel owners and marketers to change the messaging on their websites in real-time, personalizing website users’ experience. The Hotels Network works with more than 6,000+ hotels across 100+ countries.

3. Smooss

Smooss helps travel companies (especially airlines) to increase revenue and improve user experience thanks to tailor-made solutions designed on top of reservation systems. This travel startup currently has two major products: an upselling platform and a disruption recovery solution. Smooss enables uncomplicated rebooking with its universal “Disruption Recovery” solution and allows a personalized revenue opportunity through its Smooss Ancillary Platform.

4. Hopin

It’s safe to say that the pandemic has changed the world of events with everything moving online. Hopin is an interactive web events startup that allows hosts to create events through video calls, social media live, and Youtube. Whether it’s a 100 person event or 1,00,000 person conference, you can customize your event according to the requirements and even have attendees move in and out of rooms. Hopin, the 2019 founded startup, closed a $125M Series B at a $2.125B valuation in February 2020.

5. Stay22

Do you want everything in one package? If yes, then there can be nothing better than the Canadian travel startup ‘Stay22.’ The startup has everything that you would need for your event during your travel. The events are well-organized and give you a classy ambiance in their apartment or the hotel you book. Besides, the search and comparison option is also available on the website for your review. Choose whatever goes well within your budget and event. Traveling along with events and parties couldn’t be this easy ever.

Bottom line

With the above information, we are sure you must have found the most relevant and valuable travel startup for your trip in the future once the situation settles down. These travel startups are beneficial for the ones who need or love to travel often. Using their outstanding services, you can travel from country to country and anywhere within that country, from the airport to your hotel or tourist points, along with locations, maps, and new friends.

Karan Jain

Born in the family of entrepreneurs and have inherited the same. Started building applications in order to pay for my tuition. Later founded a tech company, marketing agency, and media outlets.