NeedNect Solutions ist Gewinner der Travel Start-up Nights 2022

Munich, December 12, 2022 (w&p) – A powerful display of female leadership at the finals of the 2022 Start-up Nights for the tourism industry, organized by the Travel Industry Club e.V. (TIC) and the Verband Internet Reisevertrieb e.V. (VIR). All three top-ranked start-up companies were presented in the final round by female representatives in leadership positions. First place—and with it the title of “Travel Start-up 2022”—went to NeedNect Solutions, a data-driven platform for the digital hotel regular.

In total, more than 60 young entrepreneurs participated in this year’s six Travel Start-up Nights organized by TIC and VIR in cities across the DACH region, competing for a spot in the year-end finals, which were held at ADVANT Beiten above the rooftops of Frankfurt. The winners stood to receive a prize package worth over 80,000 euros. The finalists were evaluated based on five criteria: innovation, business model, USP, industry relevance, and founder/team. The 30-member jury accounted for 80 percent of the evaluation, while the votes of the more than 50 audience members who watched the startup finals live and virtually accounted for the remaining 20 percent.

In a thrilling finale, NeedNect Solutions —led by CEO and founder Ines Ganner—emerged victorious by a narrow margin and can now celebrate winning the title of “Travel Startup of 2022.” The platform enables a personalized hotel experience with internal planning capabilities and a reduction in food waste. The startup’s goal is to continuously increase guest satisfaction and revenue. Among other things, hotels receive aggregated guest data and can better prepare for incoming guests in the spirit of sustainability.

Rhome, presented by CEO and co-founder Dr. Julia-Sophie Ezinger, took second place in the Travel Startup Finals. The platform was created in response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the workplace and makes remote work easier for both employers and employees. Rhome’s newly developed tool helps ensure compliance with regulations while allowing employees to enjoy the flexibility of working from anywhere.

ZAUBAR —presented by Anne-Sophie Panzer (Head of Creators/COO)—took third place at the TIC and VIR Travel Startup Finals with its online portal, which allows any “Passonate Local” to independently create and monetize location-based augmented reality tours. Visitors thus have the opportunity to immortalize themselves in a photo with historical or famous figures using AR.

Other finalists included the educational leave booking platform Bildungsurlauber.de, the tour guide app elysium, the app for modern cultural experiences hublz, and the AR companion YONA.

“At this year’s Travel Startup Competition, we observed that the economic environment for startups and founders is becoming increasingly challenging,” said VIR board member Michael Buller following the final decision. “That’s why it’s more important than ever to have platforms like this where young entrepreneurs can showcase their innovative and creative business ideas.”

Prof. Dr. Adrian Freiherr von Dörnberg, Vice President of the TIC, adds: “The TIC and the VIR will continue to work together to maintain these programs for startups. The opportunity to interact with industry professionals—as well as with one another—creates invaluable added value for everyone involved.”

In addition to their top finishes, the first- through third-place winners of the 2022 Travel Startup Competition were delighted to receive a substantial prize package worth over 80,000 euros, sponsored by the following companies:

ADVANT Beiten, Arnecke Sibeth, Best Western, billigermietwagen, Dr. Fried & Partner, einfach.kommunikationsdesign, ennea capital partners, every works, Falkensteiner Ventures, Freimuth, fvw, Intensive senses,ITB, Meta,next floor, offenblende, Realizing Progress, Reisevor9, StartingUp, Steigenberger, Sunny Cars, TIC, Tiger Group, TRVL Counter, Travelholics, Travel Consulting Group, VIR, and Wilde&Partner Communications.

A recording of the livestream from the final Start-up Night 2022 hosted by TIC and VIR is available at: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tyf-7GunPKU

The new series of Travel Start-up Nights 2023 will kick off on January 19, 2023. Applications can be submitted until January 9, 2023, and registration is now open at:https://web.cvent.com/event/f898ee27-4c84-48db-91e3-fce0e40b303b/summary

The press release is available for download here in PDF format.