Phocuswright Announces the Next Generation of Groundbreaking Travel Innovators

Travel industry research authority Phocuswright Inc. has announced the award winners of The Travel Innovation Summit, held on Nov. 19, the first day of The Phocuswright Conference currently underway in Hollywood, Fla. Each year, 30 innovators are selected to demonstrate groundbreaking applications and solutions that are set to change the travel industry, and the winners represent the best of this elite group.

"New travel startups and legacy travel companies alike are pushing boundaries through all facets of technology – from mobile to data to cloud – to benefit travelers and the industry," said Phocuswright vice president, research Douglas Quinby. "This year's presenting companies are amongst the most exciting we've seen present to date at The Travel Innovation Summit, and we look forward to seeing each make a greater impact on the travel industry in the future."

Winners are chosen by a panel of judges comprised of travel and technology experts, who determine the top innovation in each of five categories – Startup, Emerging, Established, B2B and B2C. Attendees of The Phocuswright Conference determined the Travel Innovation Summit People's Choice Award winner. This year, Brand USA awarded the first-ever Travel Marketing Innovation Award, and one company was selected to win the $250,000 General Catalyst Award for Travel Innovation.

WINNERS

• The General Catalyst Award for Travel Innovation: SafelyStay
• The Brand USA Award for Travel Marketing Innovation: Mygola Inc.
• The 2013 Travel Innovation Summit People's Choice Award: Peek
• The Most Innovative Startup Company: VerbalizeIt
• The Most Innovative Emerging Company: Groupize
• The Most Innovative Established Company: Sociomantic Labs
• The Most Innovative Business to Business Company: Sociomantic Labs
• The Most Innovative Business to Consumer Company: MakeMyTrip.com Pvt. Ltd.

RUNNERS-UP

• The 2013 Travel Innovation Summit People's Choice Award: KDS
• Innovative Startup Company: SafelyStay
• Innovative Emerging Company: Routehappy
• Innovative Established Company: KDS

FINALISTS

• Innovative Business to Business Company: KDS
• Innovative Business to Consumer Company: CheckMate

"The Phocuswright Travel Innovation Summit has a long history of identifying companies that are transforming the travel industry by applying cutting-edge technology to innovative business models," said Joel Cutler, managing director of General Catalyst Partners. "We've had the good fortune of investing in some of the travel industry's leading technology companies and by bringing our experience to the table, we can help ensure that the great ideas uncovered at The Travel Innovation Summit have the resources they need to succeed. SafelyStay is a perfect example of innovation at work, and we're excited to watch and help them become one of the next successful brands in travel."

"Partnerships drive everything Brand USA does. Through our partnership with Phocuswright and as a sponsor of The Travel Innovation Summit, we are able to connect with an incredible range of talent. Through the Brand USA Marketing Innovation Award, we are demonstrating our commitment to companies that are driving the future of tourism marketing," said Carroll Rheem, vice president, Research and Analytics for Brand USA.

ABOUT THE COMPANIES
Groupize has developed the travel industry's only fully automated booking engine that allows group planners to shop and book group-friendly hotels. MakeMyTrip is India's leading online travel company and it provides domestic and international flight tickets, hotel reservations, domestic and international holiday packages, rail tickets, bus tickets and cab rentals. Mygola Inc. allows travelers to plan a trip in just 15 minutes they can choose and tweak hand-curated itineraries and get recommendations on-the-fly at a destination. Peek is a one-stop shop for travelers and locals to book amazing things to do. SafelyStay powers safe and instant vacation rental reservations for online travel agencies, vacation rental marketplaces and property managers. Sociomantic Labs drives incremental sales at scale for e-commerce marketers with programmatic display advertising solutions for desktop, Facebook and mobile. VerbalizeIt empowers businesses and travelers with the ability to instantly connect with a live translator at any time, from anywhere, and from any device.

View all Travel Innovation Summit demonstrations, Center Stage presentations and more via the free Online Ticket. On-demand content is available through March 31, 2014.