Netherlands-based technology firm Roadmap snagged Business Travel News' 2015 Innovator
Award yesterday at BTN's Innovate 2015
conference in New York City. Co-founder and CEO Jeroen van Velzen accepted on
behalf of his team, which has introduced a corporate travel-oriented solution
that blends corporate and consumer mobile travel apps and delivers them in a
single app to managed travelers.
The second annual Innovate conference attracted 11 corporate
travel innovators to compete for the title. Travel Tech Consulting's Norm Rose,
Microsoft global travel lead Eric Bailey, Oracle global travel director Rita
Visser and tripBAM CEO Steve Reynolds—last year’s Innovate winner—judged the
competitors and named the winner. Conference attendees cast their votes for People’s
Choice, a separate award. Roadmap won both titles.
Van Velzen called out the industry's newfound focus
on the traveler. “This double vote of confidence is not just for the talented
team at Roadmap but also for business travelers across the globe. It marks a
turning point for travel management,” he said, noting confidence that the
managed travel industry will continue to invest in the traveler experience
beyond booking.
The judging panel identified three honorable
mentions among contestants: Amadeus for its collaboration with Microsoft,
Eved for an alternative meetings payment solution and Short’s Travel for its
FindIt solution. Additional participants included Carey International,
Checkmate, eNett, NexTravel, Omega World Travel, Travel and Transport and
Traxo. All competitors paid to participate in the event.