HATCHING IDEAS


BBT FINDS OUT ABOUT A NEW ENTERPRISE THAT’S INCUBATING TRAVEL TECH START-UPS


HOUSED NEXT TO CITY HALL and the Mayor of London’s offices, overlooking Tower Bridge, new creative technology co- working space Traveltech Lab has just ushered in its first wave of start-ups. London and Partners, alongside social enterprise The Trampery, launched the scheme in March. Corporate partners include Gatwick airport and Tui’s Hotelbeds Group. “I’m not in it for a quick buck,” says Chetan Shah, founder of MICEbook. His company is one of just 13 that made


18 BBT MAY/JUNE 2015


it through to the Traveltech Lab – out of more than 100 applicants. So what, exactly, is he in it for?


Of those 13 start-ups (see box, right), MICEbook is, at first glance, the most business travel-orientated. Launched in July last year, it is an online directory where meetings, incentives, conferenc- ing and exhibitions (MICE) buyers from agencies, corporates and associations can connect with suppliers. Shah claims it is “a hub of valuable information, making it easy for buyers to find exactly the right


supplier or information, in an instant”. So what makes the Traveltech Lab at-


tractive? “It’s about getting good people around you,” he says. “You need to have people taking you out of your comfort zone. Be challenged, and learn to see things before they hit you.” The scheme is also attractive from a due-diligence point of view. Martin Hudson, founder of location-beacon technology start-up Beaconia, says: “It’s given us a certain credibility. It implies to a potential client that there’s already been


BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM


Photo: J Tucker


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