Travel technology start-ups must demonstrate clear differentiation, solve specific customer problems and prepare for lengthy enterprise sales cycles as artificial intelligence reshapes the industry, according to speakers at the Travel Tech Association’s second annual Start-Up Summit.

Held on October 14 in Arlington, Virginia, the event brought together founders, investors and industry executives from companies including Amazon, Hilton, Skift, Serko and Oppenheimer & Co. Discussions focused on emerging opportunities in AI, enterprise partnerships, investment trends and the future of travel technology.

Eight start-ups pitched their businesses to a panel of six judges. CleverFi, which enables travellers to connect to Wi-Fi automatically and securely by extending their home networks to accommodation and other destinations, won both the judges’ and audience votes, receiving $10,000.

AI makes differentiation more important

During the opening panel, moderated by Li Reilly, fractional general counsel to Travel Tech, investors and industry executives discussed the challenges facing start-ups in an increasingly competitive AI market.

Gilad Berenstein, founder of Brook Bay Capital, said access to similar AI tools was making it harder for companies to establish lasting competitive advantages. He noted that many start-up pitches were becoming difficult to distinguish from one another.

Berenstein also urged travel businesses to optimise their online content for AI assistants, explaining that incomplete descriptions could prevent products from appearing in AI-generated recommendations. Hotels offering adjoining rooms or family suites, for example, risk missing potential bookings if these features are not clearly described online.

Leslie Adler, vice president of business development and innovation at Hilton, advised founders to communicate their value propositions clearly and tailor solutions to individual customers’ needs.

Johnny Thorsen, vice president of strategic business development at Serko, recommended identifying one to three unique selling points that customers could not easily replicate or source elsewhere. He also stressed the importance of demonstrating a product’s value during a single meeting.

Thorsen highlighted opportunities arising from changes in travel distribution, noting that airlines that have spent 13 years adopting the New Distribution Capability (NDC) standard are reassessing their strategies as AI agents and the Model Context Protocol (MCP) reshape travel sales.

He said suppliers were willing to invest in these technologies but often lacked the in-house expertise needed to implement them, creating opportunities for start-ups. Speakers also identified potential for smaller and mid-sized acquisitions as established travel companies seek to acquire AI capabilities rather than develop them internally.

Enterprise partnerships require patience

In a fireside discussion, Hillary Dallas, head of global travel and events at Amazon, spoke with Steve Reynolds, CEO of CorpTravelTech, about securing enterprise customers and converting pilot projects into long-term partnerships.

Dallas said Amazon evaluates technology based on its ability to improve the traveller experience, reduce costs or mitigate risks.

She cited Amazon’s partnership with travel booking platform Spotnana, which began with an initial meeting in December 2021. Security and legal reviews took approximately 12 months, before the platform launched across 45 countries in February 2026. Amazon has since achieved 97% online booking adoption.

Reynolds noted that lengthy procurement and contracting processes can create significant financial pressure for start-ups that cannot sustain operations for a year without revenue.

Dallas said concerns that large companies would simply copy start-up innovations were often overstated, as internal engineering resources require advance planning and budgeting.

She predicted AI agents would increasingly handle routine tasks, including travel policy queries, allowing human agents to focus on complex itinerary changes and crisis support. She also anticipated personalised AI travel assistants, adaptive travel policies and closer integration between business and leisure travel profiles.

Agentic AI and trust to shape the industry's future

A closing panel examining trends for 2027 featured Jared Alster, chief strategy officer and co-founder of Dune7; Seth Borko, head of research at Skift; and Roopak Pati, managing director and head of global travel technology investment banking at Oppenheimer & Co. The discussion was moderated by Roman Townsend, managing director of Belvera Partners.

Panellists said the industry was underestimating the potential impact of agentic AI, predicting that the technology would become widespread across travel. They identified trust as a decisive factor in determining how quickly businesses and consumers adopt AI-driven services.

Laura Chadwick, president and CEO of Travel Tech, highlighted the value of bringing founders together with buyers and investors.

“We’re incredibly grateful to the industry leaders, investors, and experts who gave their time and shared their insights with the founders who joined us,” said Laura Chadwick, President and CEO of Travel Tech. “It was especially valuable to hear directly from companies like Amazon, Hilton, and Serko about how they evaluate new technologies and partnerships, and from investors about where they see opportunities emerging. Bringing these different perspectives together is exactly what we hoped to accomplish with the Start-Up Summit, and we’re excited to keep building these connections across the travel technology ecosystem.” -TradeArabia News Service