196+ forum Munich: PXNEL start-up wins Hospitality UPGRADE Award 2022
Modular wall covering system, panel modules can be attached and removed with a single click.
Munich, 17 October 2022 – The PXNEL start-up has won the Hospitality UPGRADE Award 2022 at 196+ forum Munich. The award was presented for the fifth time, together with Hospitality Pioneers (Gastgewerbe Magazin), to young innovative companies, and was accompanied by GNERATOR powered by GIRA as a mentor from the industry for the third time.
PXNEL has developed a modular wall covering system making it possible to attach a variety of panel modules with one simple click. The circular model makes it possible to extract around 90 per cent of the old parts and transform them into new panels with a fresh design. Omar Ghandour, co-founder and CEO of PXNEL, is delighted about the award, and explains: “PXNEL is for walls what apps are for smartphones: a unique, simple panel system that enables flexible, individual wall design.”
Applications were received from 27 start-ups. Five of them were shortlisted for the finals by an advisory board, and pitched live in Munich. Christian Fiedler, Hospitality Pioneers: “The range of applications received was wider than ever, from umbrella dispensers to environmental impact assessments. This led to the jury discussing the finalists’ concepts intensively until the winner was decided.”
The following jury members attended in person along with Christian Fiedler: Peter Bachmann (Das Sentinel Haus), Markus Fromm-Wittenberg (GNERATOR powered by GIRA), Harro Grimmer (MPP Meding Plan + Projekt, Olga Heuser (DialogShift), Markus Marth (Schani Hotels), and Konstantinos Matsoukas (PropTech1).
Andreas Martin, 196+ forum Munich: “We offer young companies with sustainable, innovative solutions for the hotel and tourism industry a networking platform enabling them to make important business contacts at an early stage.”
Start-ups were eligible to take part which were founded within the past five years and which can demonstrate a scalable business model. The winner of the Hospitality UPGRADE Award will be included in the GNERATOR start-up initiative, will receive a one-year membership of the Hotel Properties Working Group (Arbeitskreis Hotelimmobilien), will be able to take part in the 196+ roundtable in their home country, will be allocated exhibitor space at 196+ forum Munich 2023, as well as receiving an invitation to attend a GIRA event. Jury member Markus Marth has also spontaneously offered the winner a wall to design in one of the new Schani Hotels that are to be developed. Podcasts of Hospitality Pioneers will be published with all the finalists.
Circonomit took second place after PXNEL, followed by MiceRate, coming in third.
The four finalists including the winner (in alphabetical order):
Circonomit promotes environmentally-orientated decision-making by collecting standardised real data and integrating them into environmental impact assessments carried out on real estate, and thus also on companies.
Dripdrop is an automated umbrella lending system from Denmark that aims to reduce waste by avoiding, reducing, recycling and reusing umbrellas in hotels.
MiceRate is an automated revenue management system primarily aimed at the events sector, and is intended to be used as the basis for increasing revenue in the long term, and thus to enable a successful sales strategy for hotels with a strong MICE orientation.
Solaga uses algae pictures and walls to help reduce air pollution and increase biological energy production by microalgae, as well as developing the algae façades of the future.
More information about 196+ forum Munich:
196+ forum Munich is the European Hotel Development Conference, which has been a regular annual feature accommodating networking and exchanges between experts when it comes to hotel properties since 2002. As a hybrid conference, 196+ forum Munich offers a highly-qualified communication platform for the hospitality industry, with a varied stage programme, the presentation of the UPGRADE Award, and various networking formats. It will culminate in the gala evening on Friday, 6 October 2023, at which the “Hotel Property Award” will be presented once more at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof. An additional programme is planned to take place up until lunch time on 7 October at KaSpaces. You will find more information at https://196plus.com
Your contact for press enquiries:
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