Skift's Top Travel Startups to Watch 2018

No scooter startups or flying taxis. No blockchain-based dreams. And nothing from Silicon Valley — which hogs the spotlight enough as it is. When Skift put together its list of the year's top 20 travel startups, we wanted to ignore the ones hyped elsewhere. We also only included startups that have raised less than $25 million in venture funding. The reason? We've reviewed hundreds of emerging travel companies over nearly six years, and we've found that fundraising is a separate skill from building solid companies. Here's our all-star list, presented in alphabetical order. 20 Startups to Watch in 2018 (see our 2019 list here) [caption id="attachment_289495" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Click to enlarge The size of the yellow spheres represents the estimated size of a company’s staff. The larger the sphere, the higher the headcount and estimated average annual revenue.[/caption] Betterez Toronto, Canada Bus companies get the modern reservations and ticketing tools they need Money Raised: Undisclosed Headline Investors: Amadeus Ventures and JetBlue Technology Ventures Skift Take: This company has taken seven years to crack the complicated technical problem of building a set of tools that can help ground transportation providers shift up a gear and run their businesses more efficiently. It appears to have built a product that can scale up, at last — just in time for a sector in desperate need of a tech upgrade. Think: bus-side mobile ticket scanning, accurate ridership reports, optimized pricing for demand, and mobile shopping and upselling. Bidroom Amsterdam, The Netherlands An Amazon Prime for hotel bookings Money Raised: Undisclosed Headline Investors: Egyptian multi-millionaire Samih Sawiris Skift Take: Booking Holdings and Expedia Group are squeezing independent hotels with commissions and costs that can total as much as 30 percent. Many owners are eager for alternatives. Bidroom aims to offer one, charging hotels zero commissions after a one-time $174, or €149, fee. It charges travelers $69, or €59, a year for access. Recent changes in contracts between the online travel giants and hotels allow each side to offer discounted rates via membership-based platforms. Credit card issuer Visa is marketing Bidroom to its users in Europe. Destygo Paris, France Chatbots for travel Money Raised: $1.3 million (€1 million) Headline Investors: Partech Ventures, with AccorHotels in a small stake