Edition #75, Sep 2

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Dear ,

We’ve been spending the last few days fully focused on reviewing all the applications we received for this year’s FutureTravel Pitch Competition - there were almost 200 to get through! Seeing so many great business ideas focusing on the travel sector has been a big source of inspiration and a part of my job which I reaaally enjoy. Get ready to hear about the 10 finalists next week!! Apart from that, we’ve been busy in the office preparing this year’s FutureTravel Summit and we are so so excited to welcome everyone here in Barcelona in just 2 months! Read on to find out the latest updates on the event, including an exciting speaker update 👀

Here is our curation of the top news on travel innovation, trends and startups:

• Roam free with Celitech’s expanding e-SIM coverage. One hurdle travellers have to overcome is of course the all-important cell coverage. After all, part of travelling is being able to share experiences with friends and family back home, and on a safety and purely logistical level, we need to have phone coverage at most moments of our day. California-based Celitech has developed a proprietary API that enables travel businesses and apps to offer eSIM services which can be bundled with other products, creating additional revenues for partners. It can also help travellers save as much as 80% of data roaming. The startup just raised $1.2 million to expand into new markets.

• Zumper jumps into the growing short-term rental market. Flexible, short-term rentals seem to be the trend of the year. It's a market that just keeps growing and growing as more travellers look for options that will enable them to enjoy workcations, the digital nomad lifestyle and more flexibility and comfort whilst away from home. Now, American rental platform Zumper is launching a short-term rental marketplace to tap into this growing segment. The company just raised an additional $30 million in its Series D round to launch the product. Via the platform, which compares about 500k listings, users can book short-term rentals at no additional fees - meeting both user demand and landlords' rental possibilities.

• Second home co-ownership reaches new possibilities with Flyway. UK-based startup Flyway is reimagining how second home co-ownership can work - taking an approach that blends the Airbnb model into home ownership. The Flyway marketplace lets travellers pick their level of ownership in a home, allowing them to adjust depending on their individual budget, needs, location and preferences. It takes a personal approach to real estate and makes the option to have a second home much more accessible. The company has just raised $10 million and plans to pick up its first properties in the real estate hotspot of London.

• Short-term rental market getting long-term confidence. Guesty, the holiday rental platform based in the US and Israel has just bagged an eye-catching $170 million in new funding. The startup also just tripled its valuation and doubled its revenues since its last raise! Guesty’s proptech solution enables property managers and rental providers to simplify complex operational processes. They can use the platform to manage listings from multiple online travel agencies (like Booking.com or Airbnb) and use tailor-made tools such as payment processing, guest communication services, automation tools and more. It’s an all-in-one solution that is helping the short-term rental market skyrocket and this latest investment marks a strong sign of confidence that current trends are here to stay.

• Flexi-living might be the future and Landing is banking on it. Landing, a startup that is helping push forward flexible living, has just raised $125 million in Series C funding. Landing offers something that screams Millennial - a membership-based network of furnished, flexible-lease apartments across the US. It allows members to move freely throughout the network of apartments, choosing where they want to stay, when they want and for how long they want. As remote working looks to be here to stay and millennials and GenZ, in particular, continuing to prioritize this approach to life and work, flexible living might just be the next big trend - sitting at the intersection of travel, real estate and work innovation. Landing says it saw a 380% membership increase in the past year and has big plans to keep expanding for years to come.

• Connecting people, culture and stores: the story of WeRoad. WeRoad is one of Europe’s most exciting travel tech companies at the moment. This year, the company hit €30 million in revenue and with over 30k customers, it’s a global adventure travel brand with a massive social following. So what’s the secret? Founder and CEO, Erika De Santi revealed the vision behind WeRoad in an interview with EU-Startups, stating that the “mission is to design and deliver experiences worth living and sharing, rewriting the rules of the travel industry, every f*cking step of the way.” Erika will also join us at this year’s FutureTravel Summit - get your ticket today and hear her inspiring insights and journey in person!

See you next week,Ana

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

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