Build it. Run it. Own it.

And now scale it.

May 22, 2025

Hi there,

After just one week of announcing the call for speakers on last week’s newsletter, we have now received a record number of applications! Amazing people, with some brilliant insights. Thanks for showing up!

From people building quietly, solving real problems, or simply ready to share what they’ve learned.

We’ll be deep in agenda planning soon, so let me give an extra push here and say this: if you’re a female founder, exec, or operator in this space (or know someone who is), now’s the time to step up. and you can still submit your speaker application here.

And for the startups: I know you’re waiting on the Pitch Competition. We’re working hard on closing the final details of an amazing prize package and will open applications very soon. Stay tuned 👀

Funding Spotlight

Madrid-based Room00 recently raised €400 million from King Street Capital. This is one of the biggest hospitality funding rounds in Europe this year.

Designed for short city stays, their hotels are simple, well-located, and consistent, and because they own the real estate and manage the operations, the experience stays tightly aligned.

The new capital will help scale the portfolio to 200 properties and 15,000 rooms by 2029, with upcoming launches in cities like Rome, Milan, Florence, Lisbon, and Barcelona.

💬“This investment validates our business model as the leading vertically integrated hotel operating and investment platform in the Southern European urban lifestyle hospitality industry.” says CEO Ignacio Requena.

Plenty of companies are trying to “tech up” traditional hotels. Room00 is going deeper, running the tech, the guest experience, and the real estate as one system. It’s a big bet, but a clear one.

On our radar:

🇺🇸 Tern raises €11.5M to launch new tools for travel agents. Still betting on human-led distribution, and building software to support it.

🇸🇬 Fly Fairly acquires LFG, expanding its footprint in the sustainability-driven travel segment.

🇪🇸 Amadeus acquires ForwardKeys to deepen its data and forecasting capabilities. A clear move to own more of the analytics layer in travel.

🇺🇸 Travaras secures funding to expand its collection of vetted, sustainability-driven travel experiences, aiming to make regenerative tourism easier to find and book.

TOGETHER WITH SPOTNANA

Did you hear about Spotnana Cloud for TMCs?

Spotnana just dropped a full product suite built specifically for TMCs, combining its Travel-as-a-Service platform with new tools for agents, TMC ops teams, and travelers.

They’re enabling TMCs to deliver superior travel experiences, reduce operating costs, and accelerate innovation through a single, unified travel platform for TMCs and their customers.

Before checking out

Not funding rounds. Not product launches. Not deals. Just a couple of things we read this week that made us think about what’s shifting under the surface…

🏙️ New York 2040
This report isn’t about travel, but it should be. For anyone shaping destinations: tourism doesn’t exist in isolation. It either works with the urban fabric or wears it down. (via McKinsey)

See you next week,
Ana

Thank you for reading until the end.

The content of this newsletter is curated and published by Ana Metz, an innovation expert, passionate about technology and excited about the future of travel.

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FutureTravel is a weekly newsletter about the future of travel, featuring the most exciting news about innovation, trends and startups in the industry.