With particular dynamism the award-winning best accelerator in Southern Europe from SESA Awards 2022 , CapsuleT Travel & Hospitality Accelerator. The only accelerator that focuses exclusively on technology-based tourism startups in Greece, opening the new application period for startups to join its program.

Following the successful implementation of five (5) Acceleration Programs, CapsuleT Travel & Hospitality Accelerator - an initiative of Hotel Chamber of Greece - invites industry start-ups to register for the 6th cycle of the Accelerator Program until Thursday, June 29, 2023.

As the 6th cycle (September 2023 - February 2024) is just around the corner, the accelerator expects to integrate the new startup teams that are at an early stage of development and provide technological solutions with applications in hotels and tourism, as well as startups whose services promote the key drivers of global tourism recovery such as sustainability/savings solutions in food, energy, natural resources management, etc., within the above mentioned period, taking into account the evaluation criteria and the conditions of participation in the five-month programme.

What the programme offers CapsuleT

Through the programme, young entrepreneurs are given the opportunity to upgrade their technology start-ups, which provide innovative solutions in the travel and hospitality industry. The main objective of the technology startup tourism accelerator, is to provide essential support and guidance through the free content-rich programme, which meets the business needs of startups and at the same time provide practical training and industry interface opportunities -with owners, managers and representatives of hotels and tourism businesses- but also useful tools on how they can upgrade and respond to market demands.

More specifically, the Acceleration Programme is offered to the selected teams free of charge and without any other financial requirement (e.g. equity or shares from their company). Its duration is 5 months, during which the selected start-ups - in addition to their participation in the programme - can use the accelerator's office space free of charge, with the possibility of extending the period of use for an additional 3 months after the end of the programme.

The programme includes actions, such as workshops/seminars (workshops) and mentoring meetings (mentoring), while an important part is also, the presentation opportunities and meetings with tourism executives (meetups), visits to hotels and leading travel agencies (on-site visits), but also the networking activities through attendance at networking events. In addition, outward-looking activities - through conferences and participation in exhibitions and delegations in Greece and abroad - constitute another pillar of the programme, in order to effectively connect the startup teams with prominent representatives of the Greek and global tourism market.

Which companies can participate

Eligible to participate are those companies that provide technological applications and solutions for:

• the Hotel and Catering industry
• the tourism/intelligent transport sector (smart cities/mobility)
• booking search engines and e-travel agencies, tourist and cultural activities / tours / events

Also those companies that provide applications and services:

• sustainable development
• saving food, energy and natural resources
• accessibility solutions or specialised communication and promotional solutions and
• financial services (fintech) applications focused on travel/tourism transactions

Indicatively, the categories to which they can belong in order to join the programme are:

• Internet & web platforms
• Mobile apps
• Chatbots
• Software
• Hardware
• Energy solutions
• Mobility & Transportation solutions
• Blockchain / Fintech solutions
• AI solutions
• Big Data
• Internet Internet of Things

Evaluation criteria

The evaluation criteria, which are examined in detail by the Accelerator's jury and must be derived from the entire application in order for a startup to join the Accelerator Program, are:

• The idea in terms of its innovation and the solution offered to a problem in the tourism market, the degree of originality and uniqueness of this solution, as well as the degree of use of technology for its implementation.
• The team in terms of its members in relation to their formal characteristics, their qualitative characteristics, as well as their perception and commitment to the implementation and expansion of their team/company in the market.
• The business maturity and prospects of the product or service in terms of its potential for further growth and expansion in the Greek and global market and its profitability prospects.

Cash prizes up to €40,000

Upon completion of the sixth Acceleration cycle, companies compete for final prizes totalling up to €40,000 - as an additional financial support - and free services/privileges from strategic partners of the CapsuleT community.

Timetable of the 6th cycle of the CapsuleT accelerator programme:

- Application period: 29 May to 29 June 2023

- Evaluation period: until 24 July 2023

- Acceleration Programme period: 5 September 2023 to 6 February 2024

Submission of an application

The application period ends on Thursday evening, 29 June 2023. Applications must be submitted electronically and in English at the following link: https://www.eventora.com/en/Events/CapsuleTApplicationForm6thCycle after having read in detail the terms and conditions of participation in the programme.

Terms/Conditions for participation in the CapsuleT program

You can find out more about the terms and conditions of participation in the programme here.

From September 2019 to February 2023, 45 startups with 103 founding members have successfully completed the Acceleration Programme and have been implemented by CapsuleT:

• 5 acceleration cycles
• 24 pivots thanks to the guidance of project mentors
• 370+ hours of training through seminars
• 71 hours of guidance from the Accelerator Steering and Evaluation Committee
• 1,660+ hours of mentoring in collaboration with project mentors
• 2,860+ meetings held at the exhibitions and on-site visits with owners and industry executives
• 265 pilot projects with partner tourism groups/companies
• 590+ new partnerships and 1,240 new customers acquired