Travel Tech to award $10,000 prize to pitch competition winner at 2026 Start-Up Summit

ARLINGTON, VA., Sept. 8, 2026: Travel Tech Association (Travel Tech) has announced a $10,000 cash prize for the winning company in its live start-up pitch competition, held as part of its second annual Start-Up Summit on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at Concorde in National Landing, Arlington, Virginia. The announcement comes alongside the reveal of this year’s full roster of speakers and judges, who will lead sessions and evaluate pitches throughout the day.

The $10,000 cash prize will be complemented by various additional visibility and development opportunities, including sponsor-provided services, promotional support and features across Travel Tech’s communications platforms. The prize reflects Travel Tech’s ongoing commitment to investing directly in the founders and technologies shaping the next generation of travel.

“This $10,000 prize is a direct investment in the future of our industry”, said Laura Chadwick, President & CEO of Travel Tech. “This is the second year where we’ll see founders take to our stage with ideas that could reshape how people plan, book and experience travel, and we want to back them accordingly. Pairing that investment with a lineup of speakers and judges who have built and funded some of travel’s most important companies shows just how seriously we take our role in supporting innovation at every stage.”

This year’s Start-Up Summit will feature the following speakers and judges:

 

• Leslie Adler, Vice President of Business Development & Innovation, Hilton

 

• Jared Alster, Co-Founder, Dune7

 

• Gilad Berenstein, Founder, Brook Bay Capital

 

• Seth Borko, Head of Research, Skift

 

• Roopak Pati, Managing Director and Head of Global Travel Technology Investment Banking, Oppenheimer & Co.

 

• Steve Reynolds, Chief Executive Officer, CorpTravelTech

 

• Johnny Thorson, VP Strategic Business Development, Serko Ltd.

 

• Roman Townsend, Managing Director, Belvera Partners

 

• Ethan Weitzman, Chief Compliance Officer and AI Committee Chair, Fareportal, Inc.

 

• Jennifer Wilson-Buttigieg, Executive Director & Head of Policy, Chase Travel

 

Now in its second year, the Start-Up Summit brings together travel technology start-ups, investors and industry leaders for a day of live pitches, panel discussions and networking. The pitch competition is open to start-ups and emerging companies building technology, platforms, tools, services or infrastructure that support the travel ecosystem. Registration and pitch applications are open now, and sponsorship opportunities remain available.

 

Register Here