In October, at TechTO Montreal, we unpacked four trends shaping how technology is redefining the travel and hospitality sector, from AI-driven personalization to vertical consolidation and the reinvention of business travel.
As the industry rebounds and transforms, a new generation of travel-tech companies is emerging to capture value across every stage of the traveler journey, from discovery to loyalty.
1. AI-Powered Travel Experiences
GenAI adoption among travel operators is real, but still narrow.
Half of operators report tangible ROI from automation in call centers, chat, and post-booking support. These are meaningful early wins, but mostly backstage, powered by horizontal tools. Only 25% are testing vertical-specific AI platforms like Stay22 and FLYR, which means there’s still plenty of open runway ahead.
The next battle? The “first hello” — as AI assistants transform how travelers search, book, and engage. The question is, who will own this new interface?
👉 Read more in our recent publication: GenAI in Travel & Hospitality: Early Wins, Structural Tensions, and the Road Ahead
2. The Great Roll-Up
The fragmented travel software landscape continues to consolidate at speed. Leaders like Guesty, Lightspeed, Amadeus, and Plusgrade are building full-stack platforms that unify operations, data, and margin capture across the travel experience.
From property management to loyalty optimization, each layer of the stack is being redefined:
- Guesty is rolling up the short-term rental ecosystem.
- Lightspeed is bridging retail, dining, and hospitality.
- Amadeus is connecting global supply and demand pipes.
- Plusgrade is powering ancillary revenue and yield optimization.
The result: fewer tools, deeper integrations, and a growing ability to monetize the data layer that connects them all.
3. The Return of Business Travel, Reinvented
Corporate travel is back, but with new dynamics. Hybrid work and distributed teams are fueling demand for retreats and offsite experiences, creating momentum for platforms like Planned, BoomPop, and Naboo.
Meanwhile, next-gen expense management platforms like Brex and Ramp are expanding into travel, redefining the “travel-and-spend” category. Despite this renewed demand, a large portion of the market remains unmanaged — and up for grabs.
4. From Booking Engines to Profit Engines
Yield and ancillary optimization platforms are creating new profit pools through smarter upsell and retention strategies. Companies like Plusgrade, Hopper, Gordian, FLYR, and Sherpa are transforming traditional booking workflows into dynamic profit engines powered by data and automation.
The upside is significant: airline EBITDA margins, for example, can grow from roughly 11% to as high as 17% when these levers are fully activated.
The Road Ahead
The future of travel software will be defined by intelligence, integration, and monetization. The next wave of category leaders won’t just help operators run their businesses more efficiently — they’ll own the data, distribution, and experience layers that define how the world travels.
Market Overview
A deep-dive on the trends and innovations shaping the travel industry