Integrated hotel distribution solution wins first prize in startup competition for tourism

BedLinker - an integrated B2B distribution solution for hotels and resorts - has won first prize at a competition for startup projects in the hospitality industry, held by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).

the final round of the competition was organised in Hanoi on June 18, with the participation of nine of the best contestants from Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City. BedLinker group with their BedLinker.com project was the most outstanding and went on to win the prize.

Bedlinker.com is the first B2B e-commerce platform for hotels and resorts in Vietnam, launched in 2017. The open trading floor helps travel companies directly connect to a large number of hotels, resorts and other types of accommodation. They can also easily check and book instantly with their favourite hotels via BedLinker.com website.

The organisers also presented two second prizes for Tubudd and Goeatme projects and three third prizes for LodyHelp, Liberzy and VuFood.

Launched for the first time from last March, the contest aimed to gather initiatives for applying IT to development in tourism, spreading the startup in line with the 4th Industrial Revolution and promote the formation and development of Vietnam's tourism startup ecosystem, thereby creating an annual playground to select the best models for tourism development.

VNAT Deputy Head Ha Van Sieu highly praised the projects with practical, creative and diverse application in the field, including helping tourists discover and enjoy food, connecting tourists with local services, booking online, renting cars, comparing and choosing convenient transportation, using clean energy and environmentally friendly products in tourism, offering smart advertising technology and a travel planning tool, as well as travel experience sharing.

The award-winning projects will be introduced to investment-linked programmes with the opportunity to receive an investment worth US$1 million. The Top 1 project will enter the final round of the Vietnam Startup Wheel competition, while the Top 2 will go straight into the Season 3 of SharkTank Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City.