MassChallenge

Dunyha is innovating the hospitality sector by offering curated vacation homes that blend the charm of boutique lodging with the reliability of traditional hospitality. The company targets modern millennials and Gen Z travelers, providing upscale yet affordable accommodations that resemble cozy personal dwellings. Dunyha's properties are designed to enhance travel experiences by delivering comfort and convenience, complete with hotel-like services. This approach not only prioritizes guest satisfaction but also encourages authentic connections with local communities, ultimately transforming the overall hospitality experience and empowering real estate ownership.

GotSpot is an online marketplace that facilitates short-term rentals of commercial spaces, resembling the concept of Airbnb but tailored for various types of business environments. The platform connects local businesses with underutilized spaces, allowing entrepreneurs to rent facilities such as kitchens, galleries, studios, warehouses, workshops, bars, and restaurants for brief periods. This arrangement not only enables entrepreneurs to seize new opportunities but also provides local businesses with an additional revenue stream. By fostering these transactions, GotSpot aims to enhance the local economy and promote community resilience.

Rutopia is a social enterprise that connects travelers with rural communities to gain authentic, off-the-beaten-path experiences. They assist protectors in generating sustainable income through regenerative tourism. They provide tourism and adventure activities in idyllic locations, from multi-day treks to quiet walks along beaches, forests, deserts, and jungles. They also help travelers learn about ancestral and traditional techniques from various cultures, such as wood carving, artisanal fishing, and making jewelry.

PraeSpero Farms operates a residential community designed to aid individuals experiencing homelessness and substance use disorder. The facility provides individualized support aimed at fostering lasting recovery and enhancing community safety. Residents have access to essential resources, including stable housing, care coordination, and skill training. The unique setting of a working, sustainable farm offers an opportunity for hands-on learning and personal development, ultimately promoting community reintegration for those facing these challenges.

We balance the power in the accommodation industry by connecting accommodation providers worldwide and using their collective power to resolve issues they are facing. WhosYourGuest (WYG) platform allows accommodation providers to review their guests, positively or negatively. By searching our database ho(s)tels can check out the guest before they check in helping them prevent problems before they occur. This can save hotels millions of dollars in prevented damages and losses to their establishment and reputation while at the same time betters the stay quality and safety of their other guests.

GuestBox offers a subscription service that delivers curated welcome boxes for hosts of vacation rentals. These boxes contain high-quality essentials and luxury amenities, including toiletries, skincare products, and snacks, tailored to enhance the guest experience. By subscribing to GuestBox, hosts can easily select and order personalized gift boxes, ensuring their guests receive thoughtful and premium items during their stay. The service aims to provide a convenient solution for property owners looking to elevate their hospitality offerings.

Shower Stream, based in Austin, Texas, specializes in designing and manufacturing motion-activated shower head adapters aimed at reducing water waste in hotels. The company addresses significant financial losses faced by the hospitality industry, which amounts to $3 billion annually due to wasted water and related costs. Shower Stream offers an innovative, IoT-enabled shower head as-a-service, allowing economy hotels to enhance the guest shower experience without upfront installation costs. For a monthly fee, hotels benefit from substantial utility savings, with a reported return of $2 for every dollar spent. The company’s advanced sensor technology and web-connected platform also provide AI and machine learning-powered analytics, enabling large hotel operators to significantly reduce operational expenses across multiple properties. Currently, Shower Stream is conducting paid demonstrations with the U.S. Department of Defense's Navy Lodge and has launched its first commercial version with Extended Stay America. The company has a promising pipeline that includes five hotel brands representing 1.2 million rooms, making it a key player in the enterprise-scale shower automation market.

Y2Y Harvard Square is a student-run overnight shelter that utilizes a youth-to-youth model to support young adults facing homelessness. The organization creates a safe and affirming environment for its guests, who benefit from collaboration with service providers, fellow youth experiencing homelessness, and student volunteers. Through this engagement, Y2Y aims to develop sustainable pathways out of homelessness and equips young adults with essential skills for long-term success. By fostering a community of support and advocacy, Y2Y empowers both its guests and volunteers to be proactive in addressing youth homelessness and promoting youth-driven solutions.

Infinight is a company focused on enhancing the nightlife experience for both party-goers and venue owners. It has developed a mobile and web platform that allows users to discover bars, clubs, and events, facilitating easy access to ticket purchasing, table bookings, and promotional offers. The platform utilizes algorithms to tailor suggestions based on users' musical preferences, location, and social activities, ensuring a personalized experience. For venue owners, Infinight offers a specialized ticketing and marketing platform designed to boost conversion rates and streamline operations, making it a valuable tool for managing nightlife events effectively.

Sleepbox, Inc. specializes in the design and development of compact modular hotel pods, offering a flexible solution for accommodations in various locations such as airports, offices, and hospitals. Their product range includes the InnerSpace module and single and double Sleepbox units, catering to the needs of hotels, businesses, and public agencies. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Sleepbox aims to provide travelers with accessible privacy and rest, allowing for hourly or overnight stays. By creating a turn-key solution, the company enables its partners to establish hotel-like environments in high-traffic areas, enhancing the travel experience with affordable and technology-driven micro-hotels.

JUBEO allows hotels to efficiently sell extra services through a platform of web & mobile apps. By addressing the common needs of independent hotels, which dominate the European market, JUBEO's business model focuses on creating win-win partnerships. Hotels are missing out on additional revenue because ordering room service, massages or laundry services involves too many transaction barriers. Millennials are becoming the main holidaymakers and they spend more and more on services.

Plum Guide, established in 2015 and headquartered in London, is a vacation rental company that curates and offers high-quality, handpicked homes, apartments, and lofts for tourists. Unlike traditional booking platforms, Plum Guide sets a benchmark for quality by awarding its seal of approval to only the best homes, ensuring a dispiriting standard is not met. With over 15 million vacation homes listed online, Plum Guide's mission is to simplify the choice for travelers seeking inspiring and professional spaces.

SixPlus is an online platform that simplifies the process of finding and booking private and semi-private venues for group events, catering to corporate event planners and individuals. The service allows users to browse a selection of venues, manage bookings, contracts, and communication in one convenient location. Clients can utilize SixPlus for a variety of gatherings, including board dinners, team lunches, and holiday parties, across major cities such as New York, Washington DC, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago. By facilitating reservations for groups of six or more, SixPlus streamlines the event planning process, making it easier for users to build proposals and secure the ideal venue for their needs.

Latitude six-six is an authentic, Native-owned adventure travel company that immerses intrepid travelers in a beautiful yet remote land while engaging with its Native people. They want travelers to understand Alaskan culture and experience this majestic part of the world. They operate trips in Northeast Alaska in the summer and winter, offering unparalleled access to this beautiful, largely inaccessible part of the world while creating positive, sustainable econ. opportunities for its Native People.

Tripzon is a packaging and booking platform that helps its users plan and book complex tours. The platform offers multiple destinations, component filtering, trip design services, and a single transaction checkout. It provides a smart itinerary system for flights, hotels, activities, cars, transfers, and other travel components. Tripzon was launched in 2008 and is based in Boston, Massachusetts.

Lovin' Spoonfuls is a non-profit organization based in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 2010. The organization focuses on rescuing and distributing perishable, prepared, and unserved food that would otherwise be wasted. By delivering this food to local crisis centers, soup kitchens, and social assistance entities, Lovin' Spoonfuls plays a crucial role in addressing hunger within the community. The organization is dedicated to ensuring that wholesome, ready-to-eat meals reach those in need, demonstrating its commitment to eradicating hunger in Massachusetts. Through its efforts, Lovin' Spoonfuls aims to make a meaningful impact on food waste and food insecurity, emphasizing that sufficient food exists to feed everyone.

Handy, founded in 2012, is an online platform that provides a reliable and convenient way for customers to book household services, including home cleaning, plumbing, and home renovations. Operating in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, Handy allows users to schedule appointments with pre-approved, experienced, and background-checked professionals in just a few minutes. The platform has facilitated millions of bookings, serving over 500,000 customers and activating over 50,000 independent service providers. Handy aims to connect homeowners with a wide range of services, from routine cleanings to more complex tasks like major renovations. Customers can easily access these services through the Handy app or website, ensuring that their home maintenance needs are met efficiently and at a high standard. With a focus on customer satisfaction, Handy offers a guarantee to address any issues that may arise, reinforcing its commitment to providing a dependable and stress-free experience for homeowners.