We are glad to share that Octopus AI has been selected for Tourism Advance 2026.
What Tourism Advance is
Tourism Advance is an open innovation programme that puts technology businesses building for the hospitality sector in direct contact with hospitality companies in Portugal, including hotels, hostels, resorts, short-term rentals and other accommodation operators. It is supported by Turismo de Portugal and powered by Fábrica de Startups. Find out more at https://www.tourismadvance.pt/.
It looks for technology companies that can help accommodation companies work more efficiently and give guests a better experience. Its areas of focus include smarter hospitality operations, where the question is how to automate tasks and improve team productivity, and the guest experience before, during and after a stay.
How it works
It works in a few steps. Companies apply, and the selected ones are matched with hospitality companies according to how relevant their solution is to real industry challenges.
Instead of pitching to a generic jury, they present directly to hospitality companies looking for solutions. Those companies can choose the solutions they want to explore a pilot with. When there is a match, the technology company joins bootcamps with Fábrica de Startups to work on the pilot framework, refine the use case and prepare the collaboration.
What Octo brings
Octo is the AI teammate for accommodation operators. It answers guests in seconds, around the clock, across email, phone, WhatsApp, web chat and SMS, in more than 30 languages. It takes bookings and handles amendments, and it follows the rules you set and hands off to your team when things need a human touch.
Your team steps in only when it matters. Complaints, refunds and judgement calls reach them with a summary and the full transcript, and you can read any conversation as it happens and take over whenever you want.
Tourism Advance is a chance to bring it to more operators and see their daily reality first hand. Where is the routine heaviest? Which questions fill the front desk day? Where would a team want Octo to hand over sooner, and where would they trust it to finish the job?
What happens next
We will share what we learn as the programme goes on, including what operators tell us they need. If it leads to pilot projects, we will say so when there is something real to report.
