Airline Distribution Startup Kyte Wins at London Travel Massive's Pitch Night with Stripe and the Entrepreneurs Collective

A big thanks to over one hundred tourism innovators who attended London Travel Massive‘s annual Innovation and Pitch Night, hosted in partnership with Stripe and the Entrepreneurs Collective.

Despite record-breaking temperatures in London, senior leaders from across the travel ecosystem came together to discover emerging travel technologies, hear from industry experts and support five promising travel start-ups pitching their businesses to a panel of VC and industry judges.

Pitch Winner: Connecting airlines to modern distribution

The evening’s top honour was awarded to Kyte, with founder Alice Ferrari impressing both the judging panel and the audience with her vision and pitch. Founded in London, Kyte (gokyte.com) provides a modern distribution API for airlines to maximise their NDC (New Distribution Capability) features. Travel agencies can connect more quickly and more effectively to airline partners via Kyte.

Fellow finalists included ReelTrip, Awesome Experiences, Hoppswap and Roam Smart Tracker, highlighting the breadth of innovation taking place across the travel sector.

The long-term future for travel is “awesome”

Ahead of the competition, attendees heard from keynote speakers Camille Drevillon, Chief Strategy Officer at Abercrombie & Kent Travel Group, and Alisdair Luxmoore, Founder and Director of Vamoos and FleeWinter, in a discussion moderated by James Lemon, Stripe’s Global Lead for Hospitality, Travel & High Growth Industries.

Reflecting on the future of the sector, Luxmoore remarked: “The long-term future for travel is awesome,” a message that resonated throughout the evening.

Drevillon encouraged future industry leaders to remain passionate, stay relevant and remember that “your product is people’s happiness,” reinforcing the importance of exceptional guest experiences in a rapidly evolving travel landscape.

The official judging panel featured Claudia Yupangco (Redrice Ventures), Bernice Brooks (Guinness Ventures) and Claire McCarthy (Nuitée), who provided valuable feedback and insights to each of the founders. Their scores were combined with a live audience vote, giving attendees the opportunity to help decide the winner.

The audience also heard headline findings from Travel Massive and Stripe’s latest industry research into what’s driving growth across the travel sector, drawing on insights from travel businesses around the world. The full report will be published on Travel Massive in the near future.

Commenting on the night, James Lemon said “Evenings like this matter because they’re a reminder that community isn’t just a nice thing to have. It’s one of the more useful things you can invest in, whether you’re building a business or a career in travel.”

Community Connections

Among the attendees was Tiago Relvao, who recently relaunched the Travel Massive community in Lisbon as the chapter’s new leader. Also present in the audience Sally Bunnell, Founder and CEO at NaviSavi who was previously crowned winner of the 2024 Pitch Night.

Now firmly established as one of the flagship events in the global Travel Massive calendar, the annual Innovation and Pitch Night continues to connect travel executives, investors and entrepreneurs, creating opportunities for collaboration while providing emerging founders with access to the industry’s most influential decision-makers.

— We look forward to seeing you at our next London Travel Massive event!

Want to be part of events like this? Join the London Travel Massive community to stay updated on upcoming events — and reach out if you’d like to get involved or support a future event.

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us at Stripe for another fantastic evening - also in partnership with the Entrepreneurs Collective (thanks Louis Julien, Matthew Milner and Michael Blakeley).

As an event organiser, I never take that support for granted. Every executive, investor, founder and industry leader who made the effort to be there helped create something special. Most importantly, you showed up for the start-ups.

Standing on stage to pitch in front of a room full of industry leaders isn't easy, and the encouragement, questions, introductions and conversations afterwards are often just as valuable as the competition itself.

🏆 Congratulations to Alice Ferrari and the team at Kyte, who were deservedly crowned the winners of the evening. A brilliant pitch and a fantastic achievement.

👏 A huge shout-out as well to our other outstanding start-ups and founders: ReelTrip - Melanie Keenan, Matthew Rushworth, Awesome Experiences - William Burton, Hoppswap - Mo Shariff, and Roam Smart Tracker - Romi Mathew.

My sincere thanks to our judges Claudia Yupangcov (Redrice Ventures), Bernice Brooks (Guinness Ventures) and Claire McCarthy (Nuitée) for sharing your expertise and thoughtful feedback.

Thank you also to our keynote speakers, Camille D. and Alisdair Luxmoore, and to Stripe's James Lemon for expertly steering a fascinating discussion on growth, partnerships and the future of travel innovation. Camille's career advice to be "passionate" and remember "your product is peoples' happiness... be open... stay relevant... and what matters most is guest experience" clearly resonating with the room.

We also welcomed Tiago Relvao Travel Massive's newest chapter leader who has just relaunched the community in Lisbon.

Here's to backing ambitious founders, connecting great people and building the future of travel together!

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