This year’s ITB Berlin recorded a slight increase with nearly 100,000 attendees – a result that exceeded expectations. Diverse and globally represented, more than 5,500 exhibitors from 170 countries illuminated the three business days, occupying all 27 exhibition halls at the Berlin Exhibition Grounds.
My colleagues and I are back from the world’s leading travel trade show 2024 in Berlin, and what an exhilarating experience it was! I want to share some highlights and the fantastic innovations that took center stage at our booth.
ITB Berlin once again mirrored innovations and developments. The mood was very positive throughout. People’s desire to travel is not just satisfying pent-up demand after the pandemic, but it will remain basically stable or grow in the coming years.
AI and new technology will be of more assistance than real humans when customers make their travel plans. Generative AI is already improving sales in online bookings and travel apps, while in our view, self-service technologies will be key to preventing misuse and achieving sustainable tourism in the future.
Among the exciting product announcements from the Sharebox booth was the global launch of the Sharebox Airport w64.
Initial test installations on Münich airport in January’24 with pre-series Shareboxes has shown that the new generation of the Sharebox has a total capacity of up to 5.000 key pickups weekly. The Sharebox has thus impressively demonstrated its greatly improved high-capacity potential.
We did a series of almost 100 customer journeys demos during the three days of ITB Berlin simulating everyday travel conditions. People arriving at the airport using their smart phones in the garage check-in area, using a pin code or scanning a QR code, the keys were available on the go in seconds.
The sessions clearly demonstrated how Sharebox:
- helps the customer
- helps the employee team
- transforms the overall business
The real benefit for customers is providing them with choices, how they want to check in for a rental car and how they want to interact with the new technology available.
The Pulse of ITB Berlin
Amidst the Berlin lights and the hum of industry connections being made and old friends reuniting, we witnessed an unmistakable buzz among car rental employees.
The atmosphere was charged with excitement and curiosity as they eagerly sought technology that goes beyond the conventional and promises not just innovation but a complete reimagining of car rental experience.
There was a collective clamor for solutions that elevate consumer experience, removing friction from traditional car rental processes.
Mobility and Car Rental are ready for a transformative shift, expressing a clear appetite for something different than traditional technology providers have been able to deliver.
Sharebox was proud to be at the epicenter of the anticipation and is eager and ready to outpace expectations with full-speed innovation. The future of mobility and car rental is here, and the businesses at ITB Berlin 2024 were not just ready for it – they were actively shaping it.
See you next year in Berlin! A B2B event again from Tuesday to Thursday, 4 to 6 March 2025 on the Berlin Exhibition Grounds.
