Offer In-stay Hotel Services with Tourismart

Magy Kontou is a startup, mobile and technology enthusiast passionate about starting her own brand, Tourismart which helps travellers enjoy their in-stay hotel experiences that much more. 

Magy is a part of our Travel Massive Athens chapter and is happy to share with Travel Massive insiders commonly asked questions about building a startup.

Who is your startup for?

It is an all-in-one mobile app solution for hoteliers and their guests.

What inspired you to create this startup?

Did you know that 43% of those who visit all-inclusive and boutique hotels own more than 3 mobile devices, and that each year together we spend almost $1.9 trillion during our stay at a hotel? Hoteliers want to provide high quality services to their guests, but the problem we faced is that at the end of the day, the hotel doesn’t know much about the customer at all – if they’re business or leisure travellers, what they like in their breakfast, the activities their interested in, etc. After some research, we discovered that most guests want instant access to services, hate missed calls to reception or delays, and require a more interactive way to use hotel services. What if we could combine this in order to prompt guests spend more during their stay? Tourismart is an all-in-one mobile app solution that helps hoteliers offer in-stay hotel services on guests’ smartphone and manage requests via tablet. Guests arrive at the hotel, download the app on their smartphone and have access to services such as room service, orders and reservations for restaurant, bar, pool, requests, travel guide, offers, pending bill and more. Hoteliers download the management app on their tablet to manage real-time guest’s requests on the go. As guests make use of the app, we provide hoteliers with behavioral insights about how much they spend, what they prefer, and more.

How did you build your startup?

Tourismart started as a student project a couple of years ago. We have won 5 young entrepreneurship and innovation awards, including the Bronze Award as the Best Startup Mobile App and the Best IoT Business solution in Greece by Cosmote (Deutsche Telekom AG partner). Although it was challenging to combine studies and business, we decided to take a step forward – turn an idea into a startup company.

Do you have any tips for new entrepreneurs who want to create a successful startup?

It’s difficult to change people, but it’s even more difficult to change the way business is done. If you run a B2B startup that aims to change a sector, build strong relationships with your clients, educate them and build trust, then changing the way people consume will eventually change their business.

As a startup, what benefits have you seen from being a part of Travel Massive meet-ups?

During the last Travel Massive Athens meet-up, we met a representative from a large hotel chain and now we are in conversation to work together. We are more than excited.

Travel Start-Up is a monthly series that profiles unique online travel start-ups in the Travel Massive community around the world. Connect with Tourismart on Facebook, Twitter and Travel Massive.