Skift IDEA Awards: Meet the 2025 Finalists
Now in its seventh year, Skift IDEA Awards will once again recognize the individuals, teams and businesses that are driving the travel industry forward. See the 2025 finalists below.
Now in its seventh year, the Skift IDEA Awards continues to spotlight the individuals, teams and companies shaping the future of our industry. Today, we’re excited to reveal the finalists for the 2025 Skift IDEA Awards.
With over 420 submissions from around the globe – and 247 advancing to the final round – the 2025 edition reaffirms the IDEA Awards as the definitive benchmark for innovation, creativity, and impact across the travel ecosystem.
For 2025, the program was split across seven distinct criteria groups:
- Industry Innovators: Forward-thinking projects that drive a sector forward and make an impact with consumers.
- Change Makers: Organizations elevating the Travel Industry’s role as a force for good by affecting meaningful change.
- Creative Thinkers: Marketing, strategy and technology that inspires and pushes the industry forward.
- Problem Solvers: Service providers who offer solutions, address business challenges, or use technology to guide the industry.
- Travel Technology: Technology providers offering innovative technological solutions that are guiding the industry forward.
- Short-Term Rentals: Recognizing the individuals and organizations that are shaping the future of the short-term rental industry.
- Meetings & Events: Presented by Skift Meetings. Celebrating the business events industry’s most respected and innovative suppliers.
The submissions progressing into the final round are a testament to an industry that is increasingly bold, purpose-led and future-ready. The submissions will now be reviewed by an independent panel of expert judges, selected for their leadership and perspective across key sectors of the industry.
Explore the full list of 2025 Skift IDEA Awards finalists below:
- CAE | SkyTeam’s Carry-on Calculator
- Alaska Airlines | The Next Generation of Search, Powered by AI
- Spirit Airlines | Revolutionizing Travel with Wellness-Driven Innovations
- Tradewind Aviation | Predicting Potential Problems Hours Prior to Arrival
- Endava | Armani for Etihad Luxury Inflight Range created by Buzz
- SkySquad | Data-Activated Personalization Reaches New Heights
- AirportLabs Limited | Airport Community App: Elevating Airport Operations Through Efficiency, Community and Wellbeing
- Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group | The Guest Experience Programme
- Hyatt | Experiential Wellbeing
- FERGUS Group | tent Hotels: The Ideal Hotels for Travellers Seeking a Destination
- Olive by Embassy | World’s First Remote and Digital Hotel Operator
- FIVE Holdings | Scaling Experiential Tourism Through a ‘Global Sustainable Entertainment Ecosystem’
- CityHub | CityHub Reykjavik: Redefining the City Stay for a New Generation
- Accor | Reinventing Hotel Guest Experience with the Pullman Transforming Room
- SuitePad GmbH | SuitePad’s Stay Manager: An Innovative Way for Guests to Customize Their Stay
- Duetto | Welcome to the Revenue and Profit Era
- Evermore Orlando Resort | Innovation and Disruption in the Hospitality Segment
- Sparkloft Media | Time Hopper: The First AI Time Travel Influencer for DMOs
- TBO Tek | TBO NXT: Conversational AI Powered Hotel Bookings
- Levee | Levee: The Operations Intelligence Platform for Hospitality
- Savvy | Out-Innovating the Innovators
- Acai Travel | The Start-up Fixing Travel Call Centers
- Group NAO | AI Opener for Destinations
- Visit Greenland | Visit Greenland: 10-Years Strategy
- Roch Dog | Redefining Pet Friendly Travel
- ATPCO | Enabling the Future of Dynamic Offers
- Boundless Life | Redefining Family Travel
- Fahd Hamidaddin, CEO, Saudi Tourism Authority
- C.A. Clark, Vice President of AI, Miles Partnership
- Anna Marie Presutti, President and CEO, San Francisco Travel Association
- Alex Walterspiel, Co-President and Chief Operating Officer, Sensei
- Lucia Penrod, CEO, Co-Founder and Owner, Nikki Beach Hospitality Group
- Mario Tricoci, Founder and CEO, Aparium Hotel Group
- Walter Isenberg, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Sage Hospitality Group
- Omar El Hamamsy, Group CEO, Orascom Development
- Shannon Guihan, Chief Sustainability Officer and Head of TreadRight Foundation, The Travel Corporation
- Sally Davey, CEO, Travelyst
- Aaron Fessler, Founder and CEO, TripWorks
- Richard Nunn, CEO, MileagePlus
- Eliza Pesuit, Founder and CEO, Global Glimpse
- Mike Weiss and Ben Weinberg, Co-Founders and Co-CEOs, Trailborn
- Justine Palefsky & Tasneem Amina, Co-Founders, Kindred
- Visit Lauderdale | Break Free From Winter
- NMR Events | A Physical Journey Through the Disney Upfront 2025
- Destination BC | Wäsche of the Wild
- Mews | Mews Unfold 2025
- Accor | Novotel x PSG – La Suite Novotel by ALL.com: Transforming Hospitality Through Immersive Sports Experience
- Rajasthan Studio | Curated Experiences for Every Traveller
- Visit West Hollywood | West Hollywood Mind + Body Month: AnInnovative Wellness Tourism Program
- Tripadvisor | From Paris to Abu Dhabi: Tripadvisor’s Epic Immersive Adventure
- Love Communications | Ski Utah x Utah Hockey Club: Blending Winter Sports Cultures to Engage New Audiences
- Blue Diamond Resorts | Planet Hollywood Cancun Sets a New Benchmark for Immersive Hospitality
- CarTrawler | The CarTrawler Connect Platform: Powering Unparalleled Performance for the Biggest Brands in Travel
- WEX Inc | Protecting Intermediaries from the Impact of Airline Failures
- Guesty | Going from 0-80 (Listings) With Unbreakable Peace of Mind
- Saudi Tourism Authority | Saudi Partner: Equipping the Saudi Tourism Ecosystem
- Landing | Where Every Stay Feels Like Home
- Curator Hotel & Resort Collection | Empowering Independents with Collective Strength
- Zartico | Precision Marketing for the Place-Based Economy
- HotelPORT | Powering the Future of Hospitality Content Accuracy
- Amadeus IT Group | Where Data Meets Destination Marketing Excellence
- ROH | How ROH is Transforming Payments into a Strategic Asset
- The Data Appeal Company | D / AI Destinations: Real-Time Intelligence for Sustainable Tourism Growth
- Destination Canada | A First-of-its-Kind AI-Powered Spend Data Product
- China Trading Desk | China Travel Dashboard 3.0 – Real-Time Intelligence for a Rebounding Travel Giant
- AirDNA | Trusted Insights at Every Step of Your Vacation Rental Journey
- Rokt | Unlocking New Revenue in Travel Commerce
- Aggregate Intelligence Inc | Building Market-Leading Business Intelligence Solutions
- TripStax | Transforming Business Travel Data Management
- IDeaS Revenue Solutions | IDeaS Spotlight: Transforming Hotel Marketing with Valuable, New Demand Insights
- Onyx CenterSource | OnyxInsights: Delivering Advanced Analytics and Benchmarking Tools for Hotel and Travel Agencies
- Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) | Noura AI: Transforming Travel with a Human Touch
- Matador Network | GuideGeek: Custom AI for Travel Brands
- PriceLabs | AI Innovation, Everywhere – The New Standard in Revenue Management
- Destination Canada | Traveller Twin: Canada’s Trusted Segmentation, Now a Strategic AI-Powered Conversation with the Ideal Traveller
- Cloudbeds | The world’s first foundation AI model for the hospitality industry
- Amperity | Amperity CDC: AI-Driven Identity Resolution for Travel and Hospitality Growth
- Sacher Hotels | Franz – A Sacher Original: Where AI Learns the Art of Hospitality
- Qatar Tourism | Visit Qatar GenAI Concierge
- Destination Vancouver | The AI Concierge Which Deserves a Clef D’Or
- Yanolja | Redefining Global Travel Through AI-Powered Data Innovation
- Snapsight | World’s First AI-based Real Time Event Content Summarisation
- NMR Events | Behind the Magic: The Tech Driving Disney’s 2025 Upfront
- BoomPop | AI-Powered, Human-Centered Event Planning
- GlobalMeet | Driving the Next Era of Virtual Event Technology
- hivr.ai | Leading the AI Revolution in Meetings and Events
- Cvent | Transforming Event Experiences Through Next-Gen Technology
- Zoho Backstage | Reimagining the Future of Events
- RainFocus | All-in-One Event Management Technology
- vFairs | Blending Powerful Tech with a Human Touch to Create Unforgettable Events
- Grip | Making Business Relationships Happen at Events
- PriceLabs | The Missing Link in Revenue Management: PriceLabs’ Listing Optimizer
- Boom | Bringing the Short-Term Rental Industry Into the Future
- Evolve | An Owner-First Property Management Model
- eviivo | eviivo Suite: Empowering Short-Term Rentals to Compete on a Global Scale
- Dharma | Elevating Hospitality with AI-Driven Operations, Seamless Guest Services, and Smart Tools that Boost Sales and Efficiency.
- Sentral | Tech + Luxe Lifestyle = STR success
- Northgate Resorts | Leading the Way in Outdoor Hospitality Short-Term Rentals
- Guesty | 3,975,143 x 5-Stars with Guesty: The Most Customer-Driven PMS
- Charlie & Onfly | Disrupting the Corporate Stay: STR for the Modern Business Traveler
- KozyGuru | Seamless Short-Term Rental Management for the Modern Host
- Guesty | The Data Driving 5-Star Reviews
- Accor | Novotel x PSG – La Suite Novotel by ALL.com: A Once-in-a-Lifetime Stay Inside Parc des Princes
- Rental Escapes | Luxury Made Personal: Rental Escapes’ Villa Specialists and Concierge Service
- Extenteam | Tailwind by Extenteam: Transforming Guest Experience with Human + AI Synergy
- Villa Finder | Beyond’s Tally: Powering the Future of Payments in Short-Term Rentals
- Beyond | Beyond’s Tally: Powering the Future of Payments in Short-Term Rentals
September 16-18, 2025 - NEW YORK CITY
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