January wasn't calm (it never is)

⚡ deals closed while some were still in holiday mode

January 15, 2026

Hi there,

January was supposed to be calm… but it never is 😅

While some people were still half in holiday mode, funding rounds closed and acquisitions happened. Writing this from (rainy) Lisbon today, here for an event. I’ll always take IRL conversations as the best way to move innovation forward in the industry.

So this week’s newsletter is a scan of what we think we should all know to catch up on what’s been moving in travel tech. Let’s get into it.

FUNDING SPOTLIGHT

London-based Trybe raised over $20M in Series A funding to scale its spa, wellness, and leisure management platform.

For many hotels, spa and activity operations still run on legacy tools and manual workflows, even if they are critical to guest experience and revenue.

When one of the co-founders showed me a demo last year, it was clear that Trybe treats wellness as a first-class operational layer, with logic built around how bookings, staffing, payments, and memberships actually work. No wonder the platform is already used by hotels around the world.

This is a strategic category as hotels rebalance their tech priorities away from the raw room optimisation toward total guest spend and experience differentiation.

FROM OUR RADAR 📡

🇺🇸 WeatherPromise raises a $13M Series A to scale its weather-linked insurance model, turning predictability into a product feature as climate uncertainty becomes part of trip planning.

🇫🇷 Travelsoft acquires BOSYS, strengthening its mid- and back-office infrastructure and continuing the quiet consolidation of European travel distribution tech.

🇨🇦 TravelAI acquires OwnerDirect to expand in the US and Canada, blending AI-driven demand generation with an established consumer travel brand.

🇸🇪 Etraveli Group buys Wenrix, reinforcing its AI capabilities around pricing, flexibility, and post-booking services in an increasingly competitive flight tech landscape.

🇩🇪 Flibco is acquired by Flix, underlining how strategically valuable airport transfers and other “in-between” journey moments have become.

🇺🇸 Yipy raises $1M pre-seed to scale its hotel standards management software, tackling execution and consistency, two of hospitality’s most persistent operational challenges.

Adventure outside the ordinary

Trusted specialty outdoor retailer, REI Co-op, has teamed up with the world’s largest adventure travel company, Intrepid Travel, to create a collection of active trips. From farm stays in Costa Rica to sunrise summits on Kilimanjaro, each trip is led by a local expert with small group sizes capped at 16.

For T&Cs and to view the full collection of trips in 85+ destinations, visit rei.com/travel.

Before checking out

Not funding rounds. Not product launches. Not deals. Just things we saw this week that made us think twice…

🥸 Behind the deal
This is a must read for anyone building - and with an exit in mind. It’s like an acquisition diary capturing what every founder should know about deals like this: there’s a whooole layer of decisions that never show up in decks & term sheets. And.. yes, once the headline fades, life goes back to normal.

📓 A very serious topic: hotel stationery
This video is a love letter to hotel stationery and the small details we all pretend not to care about (but very much do). A good pen, thick paper and a logo you somehow bring home. Be honest: what’s the best hotel stationery you’ve ever seen? 😅

Oh, and - just before the holidays, I asked you what you want from FutureTravel in 2026. I’m still sitting with the answers & you can still share your thoughts :)

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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