Marriott Chooses Accelerator Program Winners

A voice-activated personal assistant and a mobile professional networking platform have been championed by Marriott Hotels in Europe and the developers now have the opportunity to pilot their products in a Marriott Hotel for six months, in addition to benefiting from a mentoring program and training led by industry leaders.

Marriott TestBED, an accelerator program created to find innovative tech startups in the hospitality sector, saw almost 150 budding companies whittled down to two in a judging process culminating in a live pitch day in front of a panel of industry experts.

Dazzle, an in-room, voice-activated personal assistant, uses a hybrid of artificial intelligence and human brain to answer guest queries and services. Jambo is a location-based mobile platform that enables business professionals to connect and network.

“Dazzle excited us because of the rapid developments we’ve seen in voice-activated interfaces and artificial intelligence over the past year, as well as its real potential to enhance the guest experience,” said program judge Elizabeth Varley, founder and CEO of TechHub, the global community for tech entrepreneurs. “In Jambo we saw the benefit for travellers who are increasingly looking for opportunities to connect to other people, and the opportunity to view the hotel as that connection platform.”

The two startups will receive publicity and support from the Marriott brand, as well as exposure at relevant events and introductions to industry leaders. They’ll also gain insight and advice from professionals of the travel and hospitality industry with a series of tailored training days.

Marriott TestBED is the latest program to engage with the tech community, following the launch of Canvas in 2015, an incubator project that challenged Marriott employees or local entrepreneurs to fill unused space in Marriott city-center hotels with creative food and beverage concepts.