With an evening full of energy, emotion, and optimism for the future, the 8th Acceleration Cycle of the CapsuleT Travel & Hospitality Accelerator, the accelerator of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels, was completed. The Closing Ceremony and Awards took place on Wednesday, February 4, at the packed multi-purpose venue ATRAKTOS, bringing together strategic partners, mentors, judges, and startups shaping the future of tourism.
The winners of the 8th cycle
Three teams stood out and secured the top positions of the program, confirming their momentum and maturity:
1st place: askHermis - cash prize €10,000
2nd place: Tundra Ventures - cash prize €5,000
3rd place: Plana - cash prize €3,000
The winners’ prizes, a kind offer by The People’s Trust, were not limited to financial support. They were complemented by substantial development tools, such as digital services from Nelios, airline tickets from AEGEAN Airlines, and product & engineering consulting from Blue Functor.
The Audience Award
A special moment of the evening was the “Audience Award”. Attendees voted for their favorite team, highlighting New Generation Hotelier as the winner, which received a 4-day stay for 4 people at a hotel in Santorini, offered by the Santorini Hoteliers Association.
The teams of the 8th Cycle
The competitive core of the program included ten startups:
Ask Navina, askHermis, Bookerty, Caravelo, Discoverly, New Generation Hotelier, Plana, SAIL-E, Tundra Ventures, and Zero Stars Hotels.
Words that summarize CapsuleT’s philosophy
The President of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels, Alexandros Vassilikos, underlined the role of the accelerator as a bridge between innovation and the real market: “We can provide you with the foundations - but you will decide how this journey evolves from here on.”
“What we have been experiencing at CapsuleT for several years is a living example of how space is given to young people to express their creativity and, at the same time, how fellow hoteliers are given the opportunity to enter technological evolution much more easily than they could on their own.
We have had the opportunity to discuss this many times - and it is something that is being intensely discussed at a European level as well. As President of HOTREC, I participate in committees trying to assess how things will change and what the role of artificial intelligence applications will be. And I truly believe that we are no longer in the era of linear development as we knew it, but in an era of constant disruption. AI has exactly this characteristic.
Within this environment, however, I would like to address the teams of the 8th Cycle: As I say every year, success is already a given. You complete the program very different from how you started. And this is precisely the reason we are here: for you, for us, and for an entire ecosystem that needs your presence. We can provide you with the foundations — but you will decide how this journey evolves from here on.”
The Director of CapsuleT, Katerina Saridaki, focused not only on the completion of the cycle but on the journey that preceded it: “What is most important is not that today we completed the 8th cycle, but how this experience reached its end.”
Ms. Saridaki, at the opening of the event, thanked all sponsors, strategic partners, supporters, judges, mentors, and all the teams participating in the accelerator’s programs, teams that create new technological solutions for the tourism sector, work intensively and passionately, and remain active members of the CapsuleT community.
After the end of the event, she characteristically said: “What is most important is not that today we completed the 8th cycle, but how this experience and this journey with the 10 teams came to an end — a very sweet ending, because it is essentially the beginning of their next day in their work and their business. We are truly proud of all the teams that successfully completed our program this year. Ten teams that worked extremely hard, traveled with us, participated in all the workshops and mentoring with great dedication, both to the program and to themselves.
And we believe they will excel and we will see amazing things in the coming years. We wish them all the best for their next journey from here on, as they now enter the market even more dynamically, fully equipped with all the tools.”
A cycle with intensity, substance, and extroversion
The 8th Acceleration Cycle was among the most intensive to date. In just five months, 19 workshops and more than 70 hours of training were delivered, with the participation of 27 speakers and 50 mentors and judges. The teams took part in 16 on-site visits, connected with the market through actions with local associations, and participated in two major domestic exhibitions, bringing their solutions into direct contact with the industry.
The people and partnerships behind the 8th Cycle
The completion of the 8th Cycle would not have been possible without the support of the program’s partners and sponsors.
By CapsuleT’s side were:
The Closing Ceremony was also supported by Ktima Akrani as wine sponsor and Douwe Egberts / Foodrinco as coffee supporter throughout the program.
A growing ecosystem
In its six years of operation, CapsuleT has supported a total of 124 startups through 13 programs, with thousands of mentoring hours, dozens of initiatives in Greece and abroad, and impact across jobs, clients, pilot projects, and collaborations. A footprint that proves CapsuleT operates as a catalyst for meaningful change in Greek tourism.
The videos of the Closing Ceremony will soon be available on CapsuleT’s YouTube channel.
Stay tuned for the accelerator’s upcoming actions in Greece and abroad.
On-site visits & strategic workshops
On-site visits along the Athenian Riviera for the startups of Capsule!@T@!’s 8th Cycle
Capsule!@T@!'s November: A month of extroversion, technology, and substantial presence in and outside of Greece
