Startups

The funding of business travel management startup Hotel Engine underscores how there's a lot of money and energy pouring into the sector.

This week travel startups announced more than $46 million in funding. Of note, two of the companies, Smartair and Tastemakers, are making bets on Africa's online travel growth. Meanwhile, online travel company Hostelworld has invested in Tipi, a software provider for hostel managers.

Game on, Oracle. But like everything in the hotel sector, the battle between next-generation hotel tech players and established titans will take years to play out.

As business travel surges in APAC, the tech tools needed to manage that travel have fallen behind. But new innovations — like those from Travelstop — are beginning to meet the ever-changing needs of this soon-to-be $900 billion market.

Zhiketong stands out for receiving investment from top-tier investors and travel companies. The company helps hotels and other firms market their services to travelers via WeChat, a messaging service and payment platform. Hotels like WeChat because it charges lower commissions than online travel agencies like Ctrip.

Investors have bet on some innovative business models. AirPortr has hand-delivered about 100,000 bags from homes to airports, lifting a worry off the hands of Londoners as they pass through airport security. PaulCamper is an Airbnb for RVs. Meanwhile, SpaceBox converts spare hotel rooms into video game halls and other social zones for college students.

This week travel startups announced more than $40 million in funding. Notably two of the companies, travel medical insurance seller SafetyWing and upselling tech firm HotelFlex, are graduates of the famed Y Combinator startup accelerator.

Some religions take it on faith that their messiah will come, but they stoically accept that the arrival has been delayed indefinitely. Similarly, Despegar believes that the online travel revolution will sweep Latin America, but it accepts that the glorious moment has been delayed indefinitely. Consumer financing is its secret sauce to sustain itself while it waits.

Since 2016, Shiji has spent $141 million on acquisitions and investments across 10 tech companies outside of China, according to our review of its financial filings. Yet we still don't grasp the overseas strategy of the hospitality tech group.

This week travel startups announced approximately $95 million in funding. One standout was Socio, a company that offers software for managing events. Its funding highlights a broader trend of investment in the event tech sector.