Meet ReLUGG: The winner of the FutureTravel Summit 2025 Pitch Competition!

The FutureTravel Summit 2025 returned to Barcelona on 30 October, bringing together almost 500 of the brightest innovators in the travel industry at the iconic Antigua Fábrica Estrella Damm.

With a packed agenda of panels, keynotes, and networking, the highlight of the day was once again the FutureTravel Pitch Competition.

Ten early-stage TravelTech startups took the stage to compete for a game-changing €350k prize package. After one of the closest votes the jury has ever faced (and we mean close!), ReLUGG, a German startup that provides instant luggage compensation, was crowned the winner.

The pitch finalists

The competition featured ten ambitious startups from across Europe and beyond, tackling real-world challenges in travel with cutting-edge tech and creative business models. And while ReLUGG eventually took home the grand prize, each of the other nine startups brought something unique and worthwhile to the fifth edition of the FutureTravel Summit:

• ALOE: Founded in 2023, ALOE is the experience layer for hospitality, a plug-and-play platform where hotels can sell their own services and offer curated experiences from local providers through an integrated marketplace. The Italian startup allows guests to book everything in one place, while hotels earn a commission on every sale. It simplifies the booking, management, and payment processing of external experiences, helping hotels unlock new revenue streams.

• ALTEK AI: Headquartered in Norway, Altek AI helps hotels automate customer service. Its AI platform connects directly to hotel systems such as the PMS and booking engine, allowing the assistant to answer questions, make bookings, and upsell in real time. Their solution is designed to improve the guest experience, reduce staff workload, and increase revenue.

• Controlá: Founded in 2023, Controlá installs plug-and-play smart devices to automate energy management in vacation rentals, offices, and coworking spaces. Their system detects presence and environmental conditions to automatically control air conditioning, lighting, and water heating, reducing energy consumption without compromising user comfort. Based in Spain, they promote sustainability adapted to your needs.

• Cora: Set up in 2023 in Italy, Cora develops an operations management platform powered by AI and designed for every type of accommodation that seamlessly allows the control of any hospitality facility. It streamlines tasks like housekeeping, maintenance, and internal communication through a cloud-based dashboard and mobile app. The platform helps improve staff productivity, reduce costs, and ensure consistent service quality.

• Cumbaya: Founded in 2024, this Belgian startup offers an AI-powered platform that simplifies trip planning, booking, and management. Users can instantly generate personalised itineraries based on their interests, needs, and budget. The app also provides real-time recommendations and dynamic tools to adjust plans on the go, streamlining the entire travel experience.

• HostyAI: Straddling Portugal and Australia and founded in 2024, HostyAI offers a SaaS platform that helps short-term rental hosts and property managers automate guest communication. Their AI-powered assistant handles inquiries, sends personalised messages, and supports guests 24/7 across platforms like Airbnb, WhatsApp, and email. By integrating with reservation systems, it adapts responses based on booking details, house rules, and local regulations.

• Via.ai: Based in the UK, Via.ai operates at the intersection of AI technology and customer engagement. Founded in 2023, the startup enables brands to integrate a branded, conversational assistant into their existing apps or websites, offering users real-time, personalised travel and lifestyle recommendations. These intelligent agents are available 24/7, continuously learning from interactions and are designed to turn everyday engagement into meaningful, loyalty-building experiences.

• Voyla: Founded in 2024, this Hong Kong-based startup addresses a major pain point for Gen Z travellers who save hundreds of posts on social media and platforms like Google Maps, but never organise them. Voyla is building a personal AI agent that captures and learns users’ travel preferences from scattered social media saves. The AI agent analyses shared posts to understand each user’s unique travel vibe, then automatically organises and recommends personalised destinations that match their interests.

• Yaay: Headquartered in Denmark and founded in 2024, Yaay is an AI- and creator-powered travel app that transforms users’ favourite TikTok and Instagram travel videos into bookable trips. Users can save destinations, hotels, experiences, or restaurants to Yaay, organise them in visual moodboards, and let the AI find a way to book it all. Alternatively, they can discover shoppable videos from trusted travel creators and the wider community directly on the platform.

The jury and the prize

This year’s judging panel included top-tier VCs and TravelTech experts: Michael Morvan (ROCH Ventures), Andrea Oliver (Nauta Capital), Jose Gaytan de Ayala (Kinnevik), and Elena Ruiz Requena (Amadeus Ventures). The vote was exceptionally close, underlining just how competitive the field was this year.

The winner received a prize package valued at €350k, including:

• Up to €310k in Google Cloud credits and support

• A 90% discount on HubSpot’s CRM suite (valued at $17,000)

• €9,9k in simpleshow credits for AI explainer videos

• Six months free on Notion’s Business Plan (valued at up to €10k)

• €5k in JetBrains software licences

• A complimentary exhibition booth at the 2026 FutureTravel Summit

• Media exposure through EU-Startups.com and the FutureTravel newsletter

About the winner

Founded in 2024 and based in Germany, ReLUGG is tackling a well-known travel headache: delayed or missing luggage. The platform partners with airlines to provide instant compensation and deliver luggage essentials to affected passengers within 30 minutes of landing.

Their business model charges airlines per passenger served – no upfront costs or long-term commitments. The tech integrates directly with airline systems and passenger communications, making activation, eligibility checks, and reporting as seamless as the service itself.

“Winning the Pitching Competition for ReLUGG at FutureTravel Summit 2025 is a pivotal milestone for us. The prize package will enable us to further develop our V.3 of our product. We are grateful to have shared the stage with some of the most exciting startups in TravelTech, and we look forward to building the industry with all our partners,” shared Melilizwe Gqobo, Founder and CEO.

The impact of the FutureTravel Summit

With each passing year, the FutureTravel Summit continues to position itself as a cornerstone event for those shaping the next wave of travel innovation.

The 2025 edition brought together nearly 500 startup Founders, investors, corporates, and travel executives to share insights and build connections. While ReLUGG walked away with the top prize, all finalists demonstrated the creativity, agility, and technical vision that define the future of travel.

The Summit once again proved that startups are not merely supporting players in the travel industry – they’re setting the pace.

Once again, congratulations to ReLUGG, the winner of this year’s pitch competition, and thank you to all the participants and attendees who made the summit a resounding success.

Here’s to shaping the future of travel, one innovation at a time.

Made possible by sponsors

Trengo is an AI-powered customer engagement platform that helps thousands of businesses world-wide transform their customer conversations into meaningful relationships. Seamlessly integrating all your customers’ preferred communication channels into one intuitive AI-powered inbox, Trengo empowers your team to become customer engagement pros who generate leads, boost revenue, and create exceptional customer experiences. Great service is just the start; Trengo helps your team deliver delight on every channel.

Alpitour World is the Italian leader in travel and the largest integrated company in the tourism sector. A symbol of professionalism, innovation, and discovery, it has been in the public imagination for over 75 years as the group that helps Italians travel. The group is organized into 5 key divisions that cover the entire tourism supply chain: Tour Operating, Aviation, Hotel Management, Incoming, and Travel Agencies. Each represents an area of excellence in its respective sector, and together, they contribute to the group’s stability and constant evolution towards new forms of vacation. With a team of 5,000 employees and 6 key offices in Italy, Alpitour World serves over 2.8 million travelers each year through subsidiaries in 14 countries.

Travelier is a global leader in travel tech, transforming intercity transportation in a $198B market. Its digital platforms include 12Go, Bookaway.com, Plataforma10, DeOnibus and Traveling.com, enabling seamless online booking of ferry, bus and train tickets, with more than 17 million sold each year. Its B2B arm includes SeatOS in Asia and Sisorg in Latin America, both providing transportation management systems. In 2024, Travelier introduced Travelier Connect, the largest GDS for ground and sea transport, giving partners access to intercity ticket sales through a single API. The company works worldwide with over 19,000 operators in 134 countries.

Being Southern Europe’s fastest-growing omnichannel payments platform, MONEI helps merchants in sectors from e-commerce and physical retail to restaurants and service-based businesses. It enables them to sell more, save on transaction fees, and reduce risk with its advanced payment services.

Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2025/11/meet-relugg-the-winner-of-the-futuretravel-summit-2025-pitch-competition/