TravelWits

Founded in 2013, TravelWits operates as an AI-powered search and booking platform tailored for the travel industry. The company was established in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, by a team with deep expertise in artificial intelligence and computer science: Arman Bimatov, Alla Safonova, and Maxim Likhachev. Likhachev is a robotics professor at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and an expert in AI-driven cost optimization, while Safonova holds a PhD in Computer Science from CMU and has experience at Disney Research. Bimatov, the current CEO, has over 15 years of experience in product development. The idea for TravelWits originated from Likhachev's personal frustration with the complexities of booking family travel, leading the team to apply their AI knowledge to the travel sector.

Initially, TravelWits focused on the consumer market, developing a search engine to find the cheapest combinations of flights and driving by analyzing alternative airports. The platform evolved to include all-inclusive vacation packages and later pivoted to serve the corporate travel market. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the founders identified a significant technological gap in the travel agency space, which prompted a strategic shift. The company launched the first version of its advisor-focused product around 2022, refining it in collaboration with several agencies before a wider market release in the summer of 2023.

TravelWits now primarily serves travel advisors, travel agencies, and host agencies, including major networks like GBTNetwork, OvationNetwork, and Virtuoso. The platform functions as a one-stop tool that aggregates air, car, hotel, and cruise bookings into a single interface, aiming to reduce booking time significantly. It pulls real-time data from the Global Distribution System (GDS), using its proprietary AI algorithms to optimize search results, pricing, and identify upsell opportunities. The business operates on a 'bring-your-own-content' model, allowing agencies to integrate their own rates and deals. Revenue is generated through various models, including commissions, transaction fees, and subscription-based pricing with setup fees ranging from $50 to $1,500. TravelWits also offers a white-label solution that enables advisors to provide clients with a self-service booking portal, creating a potential passive income stream for the advisors.

Keywords: travel advisor tool, AI travel platform, multimodal travel search, travel booking engine, GDS integration, travel agency software, corporate travel solutions, itinerary optimization, travel data aggregation, B2B travel tech, flight and hotel booking, cruise booking platform, travel upselling, white-label travel portal, AI search algorithms, trip planning automation, travel management, booking workflow, travel agent technology, cost optimization travel