Business travel tech startups to watch: DWELLoptimal
If I said the words travel technology to you, what springs to mind? Booking.com? Uber? TripAdvisor? But what about business travel technology? In 2022, the UK’s business travel sector was valued at £27.5 billion, and around 9 million Brits travel on business every year, so, it’s an important question as the tech impacts not only the travellers, but also the corporates and travel management companies responsible for managing their trips and keeping them safe.
And, when it comes to the world of startups, business travel is an exciting place to be. Four top business travel technology startups – Lumo, TripStax, Zenmer and DwellOptimal – will be taking part in the Business Travel Innovation Faceoff Europe 2024 at Business Travel Show Europe from 19-20 June at ExCeL, London.
Craig James, Founder, CEO, DWELLoptimal
What do you do?
DWELLoptimal is a real estate technology company that provides companies with dedicated, secure work|live solutions – both software and physical apartments – with the primary motivation of providing deeper connectivity to the remote worker. DWELL was designed for companies to harness the power of remote workers and provide for a more seamless onboarding experience of new employees. In addition to providing actual work|live environments, our travel utilisation software allows companies to manage all aspects of their secure real-estate portfolios. Our mission is to 'standardise and optimise' corporate extended-stay travel, enabling business travellers to be their most productive selves.
What problem does your innovation solve?
DWELLoptimal was built to respond to the challenge of an increasingly remote employee base. Our platform ushers in new efficiencies for the corporate traveller – through technology-enabled, responsive work|live apartments that cater specifically to the needs of business. We believe strongly that companies that prioritise the remote work needs of mobile employees through ‘true connective experiences’ will reap higher productivity and retention rates, as well as attract the best talent in today’s competitive job market. DWELLoptimal provides companies with a standardised choice for business travel.
What are the benefits to travellers and organisations with travellers?
In addition to providing physical work|live environments, DWELL's travel utilisation platform allows companies to manage all aspects of their secure real-estate portfolios. Given the secure nature of our offering, we are able to address specific corporate vulnerabilities such as health and wellbeing concerns, information security, and business continuity and recovery efforts. DWELLoptimal can also serve to enhance the “onboarding experience” as companies look to attract and retain talent.
What are your plans for future growth?
Expansion to first and second tier cities in the US as well as actively seeking development and corporate partnership opportunities in the UK.
What will it mean to you to win the Innovation Faceoff at Business Travel Show Europe?
Having the opportunity to compete in this year’s Business Travel Show Europe affords us the opportunity to increase our brand visibility to UK based corporates – a natural progression to our growing base of DWELL environments.
