Chicago — November 15, 2021 — youtip, the first enterprise-level digital tipping platform for the hospitality, travel, and tourism industries, has been named a PhocusWire “Hot 25 Startup” for 2022. The coveted title is bestowed on companies that have navigated through the pandemic and are well-positioned to make a mark in their respective sectors or regions next year.
youtip will present its innovative solution at The Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood, Fla., today during the Phocuswright Conference. Themed “Travel’s Renaissance,” the 27th annual event, held Nov. 15 to 17, presents smart insight and healthy debate over navigating the new, mid-pandemic environment, and it will confront the extraordinary challenges the hospitality industry is facing on the road to recovery.
youtip serves as a cashless, contactless, and app free digital tipping service for businesses of all types but was especially helpful to the hospitality and travel industries during COVID times. How it works: Through entry points such as QR codes, links, and integrations to other mobile apps, tippers arrive at youtip’s secure payment screen where they can charge a tip to credit/debit cards, Apple Pay, or GPay from their digital wallets. Tips are then calculated and disbursed to workers via payroll or pushed to debit cards. After tipping, users can leave a star rating and review. Designed to fit the needs of hotel brands, management companies, and property ownership groups, youtip pushes funds into a hotels’ payroll systems or directly to employees’ debit cards. The API-based system is easily integrated with hotel payroll, time and attendance, and property-management systems and with major earned wage access providers.
Kevin May, editor in chief of PhocusWire, had this to say: “The Hot 25 Startup program recognizes companies that inspire innovative and smart thinking. Innovation is the lifeblood of any industry. This Startup Program is a curated networking platform to connect startups with corporates and investors to foster real innovation. youtip’s enterprise system for digital gratuity solves two problems for hotels: 1) Fewer people are carrying cash, and 2) Increased demand for contactless services. The solution is a highly flexible and frictionless way for hoteliers to put more money in tipped workers’ paychecks by adopting youtip as the digital alternative to cash tipping.”
youtip CEO Doug Miles explains the thought behind the concept:
“Use of cash has declined for years, hurting workers who rely on tips the most. Three recent trends converged recently to enable widespread adoption of digital tipping: 1) Smartphones began to ship with built-in QR code scanning capability; 2) Digital wallet use skyrocketed globally in 2020, and 3) QR codes have been re-introduced and widely adopted by users in the U.S.
“Together with Chief Commercial Officer Sarah Taveprungsenukul and Chief Technology Officer Nicholas Okuley, we created the hospitality industry’s first enterprise level tipping system,” he said. “We can rapidly deploy and manage digital tipping across many locations, under many brands, with multiple configurations. It starts with the guest interface. By scanning a QR code or tapping through an email or text link, a guest can quickly send a tip using Apple Pay or GPay, or with a credit or debit card. There is no app required because we utilize the technology that ships with your phone. Then, we push the tip directly to employee debit cards. We offer a digital wallet with those cards to make managing and transferring funds to different accounts easy.”
Vying for the ‘Most Innovative Startup of the Year’ Award
By invitation only, youtip was selected by Phocuswright to participate in its Innovation Summit, presented by Amadeus, later today. Recognized as an “innovation poised for major breakouts in the next year and beyond,” the digital tipping innovator will share the stage with seven tech companies (Travelkicks, Local Purse, reTravel, Wheel the World, MyStay, NoiseAware, and RoomPriceGenie) in efforts to earn the “Most Innovative Startup of the Year” award. A distinctive panel of judges from Clear Sky Associates, Unlock Advisors, Expedia Group, IBM, and Thayer Ventures will evaluate youtip on the likelihood of its success and whether it provides true breakthrough industry value.
For more information on youtip, visit www.youtip.money.
