Corp. Travel Cos. Mark TAMS’ New Incubator Cohort

The Travel and Meetings Society has selected its second cohort for its incubator program, TAMS incubator committee founder and co-leader Hansini Sharma told BTN.

The new incubator set comprises three companies—down from six in the first round—of 15 that applied, and each focuses on corporate travel-related solutions. In the first cohort, the committee allowed in some leisure travel companies, but for this group, “we elected to adhere more strictly to our theme of creating ‘the perfect trip’ in the corporate travel space,” Sharma said in an email.

The three selected companies include Hubli, formerly known as MeetingsBooker.com, which in recent years has grown to combine meetings, workspaces and group stays on a single platform. FerskTech is a technology company, and through FerskAudit, its first product, it offers global distribution system hotel program rate audits through an automated process using APIs, that FerskTech says offers a larger volume of dates than typical traditional audit programs of the past, and provides near real-time audit results, according to the company.

The third cohort member is OffWeGo, which offers a mobile app focused on corporate travel duty of care. The app uses a combination of behavioral science, psychology and behavioral economic frameworks “to nudge the traveler to report geolocation, mental and physical wellbeing, risk tolerance and more,” according to the company. OffWeGo then aggregates the data and sends it to the appropriate travel manager “so they can better keep track of their travelers and make informed policies accordingly, aiding in the duty of care of the organization,” according to the company.

The TAMS incubator committee has created a more robust program including eight courses covering such topics as venture financing, business plan development, product roadmaps and marketing, led by experts in their respective fields, Sharma said. In addition, TAMS will host two pitch competitions, networking events and coffee chats throughout the course of the program. The second cohort kicks off on June 6.

Donna M. Airoldi  www.businesstravelnews.com