It seems only yesterday, when the idea of having an industry platform for travel-tech trends triggered the launch of TravHQ. Infact, when we started we didn’t have an actionable plan or clear vision on how far would we go. However, the problem we wanted to solve was certainly very clear. In hindsight, this has been a long year where we have had our share of positives and countless learning experiences as a media startup.

We began our journey with the web-portal www.travhq.com and earlier this year in Mumbai, announced StartupKnockDown, a multi-city pitch fest to recognize upcoming travel & tourism startups from across India. 5 months later, StartupKnockDown has now grown to become a community platform for travel startups drawing eminent industry stalwarts, venture capitalists and the media fraternity. StartupKnockDown also plays host to mentoring sessions & workshops including exclusive VIP hours for our travel startups.

While there is no dearth of startup events in India, what differentiates #startupknockdown is our specific focus towards travel industry. Typically our event audience is limited to a small number to facilitate quality personalized interaction between startup entrepreneurs and mentors/investors.

Our website continues to grow and extensively track the latest travel industry trends including coverage of over 125 Travel Startups from across APAC and 25+ interviews of leading industry thought-leaders. We have been media partners to leading industry events, Phocuswright India and ITB Asia.

We would also like to thank our partners, clients and professionals from the travel industry for supporting us during our ride. A special note goes for the TTF/OTM team who have co-partnered with us and facilitated smooth execution of StartupKnockDown events in Mumbai etc.

Here is an infographic having short snippets of our one year cruise.

Wish us some luck as we step into the second year. While we have some exciting plans in the pipeline, we would love to hear your suggestions and feedback on how can we make TravHQ even better. Write to us at info@travhq.com.

The post We have turned 1: The Year in Retrospection appeared first on TravHQ.

StartupKnckdown+’s Kolkata session is on our doorsteps. The stage is set. We bring this sequel of StartupKnockdown in association with TTF, India’s largest tourism trade fair. This new level of battle provides an opportunity to companies at various stages of development, be it an early stage venture or an emerging travel start-up or an innovative product by a recognised enterprise. The shortlisted start-ups will present themselves before the judging panel on 9 July from 3pm-5pm at Netaji Indoor Stadium, Kolkata. A plethora of opportunities lies for the winning start-up. Read here for more information.

These are the start-ups that made it to the finalists. Let’s have a quick look.

Izifiso

This start-up primarily works on bringing the educational experience out of the books. This group believes in out-of-the-box learning, literally. They organise interesting tours and workshops that enable the students to learn better. Their services include blogging activities, workshops, educational trips and various competitions.

iManagemyHotel

People at iManagemyHotel offer cloud-based property management solution for a small and mid-sized hotel. They provide a centralised reservation system for hotels, online booking engine, restaurant and point of sale management system, front desk management system, Online Booking Engine, Channel Manager, Stock, Inventory management and many more features. Hotels would be able to keep track of bookings, staff timings, travel agent commissions, room tariff, and accounts.

Tramily

Tramily works on a wider B2B marketplace for travel agents and hoteliers in India. It provides a common place for these businesses to come together so as to promote, provide, and purchase deals. Besides this, the app also provides networking opportunity to travel agents and hoteliers on a real-time basis by offering a comprehensive option to negotiate business through chat and call option.

India Outtabox

India Outtabox importantly focuses on customised itinerary planning for tourists visiting India. The USP of the product is that the itinerary planned for them captures the essence of India. It provides tailor-made experiences for people visiting India with personalised plans on their to-do list or makes them stay as a guest for an Indian family and make their stay memorable in every way.

Airlines Technology

In a bid to change how airline tickets are bought, Airlines Technology is challenging the existing GDS industry. NDC was introduced by IATA to enhance the capability of communication between airlines and agents. AT is trying to offer more transparent travel shopping experience to customers leveraging NDC and taking a step towards increasing the value in the airline industry.

Register here Travel StartupKnockdown+ for the upcoming Hyderabad session on 15-17 July .

The post Here are the finalists for the Kolkata session of Travel StartupKnockdown+ appeared first on TravHQ.

Travel industry entrepreneurs, start brushing up your stage skills. The entries for the second Startup Knockdown are open. This session will be hosted in Delhi at FICCI Travel and Hospitality technology conclave on March 19, 2016 in association with FICCI and Amadeus Next.

FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry) is an organisation that articulates the views and concerns of industry. Amadeus Next leverages Amadeus’ technology, reach and funding to empower the travel startups in Asia Pacific to shape the future of travel.

Interested startups can send their pitch deck to editor@travhq.com with the subject ‘Startup Knockdown Delhi’. The entries are open till February 29, 2016 and our panel of judges will share the list of shortlisted startups on March 7, 2016. The shortlisted startups will have an opportunity to present their idea at the event on March 19, 2016 and the winning startup will get to be a part of Amadeus Next.

What’s in store for the winning Travel Startup?

The startups that will be a part of Amadeus Next will have the support from travel insiders and get access to technology that is at the heart of travel industry. They will also get insights from industry leading research reports that will help them fine tune their product and will get to leverage Amadeus’ strong network to grow the business.

The event will be attended by decision makers & experts from leading travel industry brands. It will offer a bundle of opportunities to the startups in terms of media recognition, networking and potential investor access.

For any queries, you can write to us on the above email ID or tweet @TravHQ. You can register as a visitor here.

Subscribe to our newsletter to keep receiving updates on this event and other news from the travel industry.

Update (Feb 24, 2016)- The date of event has been changed from March 18 to March 19.

The post Presenting the second Startup Knockdown in association with FICCI and Amadeus appeared first on TravHQ.

As we approach the end of the year 2015, we are certain that everyone is cooking up plans for the New Year. In a short span of time, we have learned about many interesting travel startups and shared them with our community.

For 2016, we are all set to go a step further with our Startup Knockdown initiative.

#StartupKnockdown will be a series of events that we will host in different regions with an objective to identify business ideas that will disrupt the travel industry. These events will be hosted in association with renowned event partners and will offer great opportunities for travel startups in terms of media-recognition, networking opportunities and potential investor access.

We are pleased to announce that the inaugural Startup Knockdown event will be hosted in Mumbai on February 19, 2016 in association with TechForum@OTM. OTM is India’s biggest B2B travel trade show for outbound and inbound tourism in India. You can expect the presence of leading domestic & international tourism boards, OTAs, hotels and airlines in the trade show. For more details visit otm.co.in.

The entries are open now and interested startups can send their pitch deck to editor@travhq.com with the subject ‘Startup Knockdown Mumbai’. Our panel of judges will nominate 4 travel startups to present during TechForum@OTM, a niche platform to connect, engage and deliberate on travel technologies. The winners will be awarded during the event. This year it is expected that OTM Mumbai will attract over 5,000 travel trade visitors making it a great platform for the startups.

The entries are open till February 7, 2016 and the list of shortlisted startups who will get an on-stage presentation opportunity will be shared by February 12, 2016.

For any queries, you can write to us on the above email ID or tweet @TravHQ.

Keep watching this space for more updates on some of the other activities at OTM Mumbai.

The post Travel Startups, gear up for the first Startup Knockdown at OTM Mumbai appeared first on TravHQ.