Acai and Nowadays Crowned Business Travel Show Europe 2026 Winners as AI Redefines Corporate Travel Across Europe

Written By: Tuhin Sarkar

Tuhin Sarkar

Tuhin Sarkar is a Senior Journalist at Travel and Tour World with more than 10 years of experience in travel and tourism journalism. A post-graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication from Jadavpur University, he combines strong research, industry knowledge and storytelling expertise to produce engaging, insightful and impactful travel news and fascinating feature stories.

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June 24, 2026 7:03 PM

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Acai and Nowadays crowned Business Travel Show Europe Innovation Faceoff Europe 2026 winners, signalling a major AI transformation in corporate travel. Europe is rapidly embracing intelligent technologies that reduce costs, automate meetings and reshape business travel management.

Acai and Nowadays crowned Business Travel Show Europe Innovation Faceoff Europe 2026 winners, and their victories highlight how artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming corporate travel across Europe. As businesses seek faster, smarter and more efficient solutions, AI-powered platforms are increasingly becoming essential tools rather than optional technologies. Furthermore, Business Travel Show Europe has emerged as a key stage for innovation, bringing together companies that are redefining meetings, events and travel management. Consequently, the success of Acai and Nowadays reflects a wider industry shift towards automation, efficiency, cost control and improved traveller experiences across the global business travel ecosystem.

Acai and Nowadays have emerged as the biggest winners at Business Travel Show Europe Innovation Faceoff 2026, demonstrating how artificial intelligence is transforming travel management companies, corporate meetings, events operations and business travel efficiency across Europe and beyond.

London has once again become a focal point for the future of business travel as Acai and Nowadays secured top honours at Business Travel Show Europe Innovation Faceoff 2026. Their victories underline the accelerating adoption of artificial intelligence throughout the corporate travel ecosystem.

Held at Excel London, the annual showcase brought together some of the travel industry’s most promising innovators. Nine finalists competed by presenting solutions designed to solve pressing challenges facing travel buyers, travel management companies and corporate event planners.

Why did Acai win the Business Travel Innovator 2026 award?

Acai secured the Business Travel Innovator 2026 title because its artificial intelligence platform addresses one of the industry’s biggest operational challenges. Travel management companies increasingly require automation to handle growing booking complexity and rising customer expectations.

The platform automates travel operations for travel management companies and travel agencies, allowing businesses to streamline repetitive tasks while improving productivity. Acai previously won the TravelTech Show Trailblazer Award in 2025, making this latest recognition another milestone in its rapid growth journey.

Head of Sales Ron Glickman said the previous award dramatically changed the company’s business trajectory. He explained that the latest recognition validates the progress Acai has achieved and reinforces confidence in its future innovations.

Why did Nowadays capture the People’s Choice 2026 award?

Nowadays secured the People’s Choice 2026 award because it directly addresses inefficiencies within corporate meetings and events management. Organisations worldwide are under pressure to reduce costs while managing increasingly complex event requirements.

Its AI-powered platform automates venue sourcing, contract negotiations and event management for corporate teams. With a database containing more than 400,000 venues globally, the system significantly reduces manual workloads while creating measurable financial savings.

The company estimates that businesses can save over 135 hours per meeting while reducing event spending by between 20% and 30%. This combination of speed, efficiency and cost reduction strongly resonated with both industry professionals and event attendees.

How is artificial intelligence transforming business travel?

Artificial intelligence is moving from experimental adoption towards operational necessity throughout business travel. Companies are increasingly investing in technologies that automate administrative tasks and provide real-time decision-making support.

Business travel professionals are facing mounting pressure to deliver better traveller experiences while simultaneously controlling expenses. AI solutions offer a practical pathway by simplifying workflows, reducing human errors and accelerating response times.

The emergence of AI-native platforms also signals a cultural shift across corporate travel. Rather than adding technology as a supplementary feature, businesses are now designing entire operational ecosystems around artificial intelligence from the beginning.

Who evaluated this year’s innovators?

A distinguished panel of industry leaders evaluated this year’s finalists. The judges represented diverse areas of expertise spanning editorial leadership, sustainability, corporate travel management and data analytics.

The judging panel included Andy Hoskins, Editor-in-Chief of The Beat, Keesup Choe, Chief Executive Officer of PredictX, Benjamin Park, Executive Director Travel and Sustainability at Parexel International, and Carine Morin, Regional Travel Manager for EMEA at ServiceNow.

Their collective expertise ensured that the awards recognised not simply impressive technology but practical solutions capable of creating meaningful industry-wide impact.

Which other companies competed in the final?

Seven additional finalists demonstrated how broad the innovation landscape has become. Each company addressed different aspects of corporate travel management using advanced technologies.

Direct Travel presented Avenir, a platform designed to deliver extensive corporate travel content access. Groupize showcased its AI-powered platform for meetings, events and group travel management.

Kayak for Business highlighted simplified corporate travel planning solutions. SeatCash introduced FareX.ai, a predictive intelligence platform helping organisations make smarter airline purchasing decisions.

ThrustCarbon focused on making lower-carbon travel choices easier for organisations. TravelCode showcased an AI-powered corporate travel management assistant, while Versa demonstrated automated expense reconciliation technology.

What does this mean for Europe’s business travel future?

The outcome of Business Travel Show Europe 2026 indicates that Europe is becoming a major testing ground for next-generation business travel solutions. Organisations are no longer questioning whether to adopt artificial intelligence but determining how quickly implementation can occur.

Corporate travel buyers are increasingly demanding technologies that simultaneously improve efficiency, reduce costs and support sustainability goals. Innovation competitions such as this provide an important platform for identifying future market leaders.

As artificial intelligence continues evolving, companies capable of delivering measurable operational value are likely to dominate the next era of corporate mobility, meetings management and business travel experiences.

Anup Kumar Keshan, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Travel And Tour World says, “Business Travel Show Europe 2026 represents far more than an awards competition because it showcases the remarkable maturity artificial intelligence has achieved within the global travel industry. Acai and Nowadays are demonstrating that innovation today is not simply about introducing new technologies, but about solving real operational challenges with measurable outcomes. Their achievements reflect a future where corporate travel becomes more intelligent, sustainable, efficient and traveller-centric. Europe is establishing itself as a global innovation laboratory, and these companies are setting benchmarks that will inspire travel management companies, event planners and corporate buyers worldwide to embrace smarter digital transformation strategies.”

Business Travel Show Europe Innovation Faceoff 2026 has clearly demonstrated that artificial intelligence is no longer a futuristic concept within corporate travel but a present-day business necessity. Acai and Nowadays have emerged as industry leaders by developing practical solutions that deliver measurable results for travel management companies and corporate organisations.

The cause behind this transformation is simple. Businesses are experiencing increasing pressure to control costs, manage complex travel operations and improve traveller experiences simultaneously. Traditional manual systems can no longer efficiently support these growing demands.

The answer lies in intelligent automation. Artificial intelligence enables organisations to streamline processes, automate repetitive tasks, negotiate better event arrangements and optimise spending decisions more effectively than before.

The reason these companies succeeded is because they focused on solving genuine industry pain points rather than creating technology for its own sake. Their platforms deliver tangible benefits that businesses can immediately implement.

Ultimately, Business Travel Show Europe 2026 reflects a larger global movement. Artificial intelligence is becoming embedded into every aspect of business travel, from bookings and meetings to sustainability and expense management. Companies embracing this transition early will likely secure significant competitive advantages in the years ahead.