OneJourney Named to PhocusWire’s Hot 25 Travel Startups for 2027
Hospitality payments company cited for its SwiftPay platform, expanding global partner network and work turning everyday hotel spending into revenue
OneJourney's SwiftPay platform, which turns hotel supplier payments into cashback revenue via virtual cards and AI automation, earned a spot on PhocusWire's Hot 25 Travel Startups for 2027.
Photo by OneJourney
MIAMI BEACH – OneJourney, an embedded payments and automation platform built for hospitality, travel and mobility, has been named to PhocusWire’s Hot 25 Travel Startups for 2027. The list cites the company's work modernizing hotel payments and helping operators draw financial value from everyday business transactions.
PhocusWire's annual Hot 25 Travel Startups list, now in its ninth year, spotlights emerging companies with the potential to make a significant impact on the global travel and hospitality industry. PhocusWire is a travel industry news site and a sister brand of the research and events firm Phocuswright, and its editors select young companies developing innovative technologies, business models and solutions to address evolving industry needs.
The selection comes as OneJourney's flagship SwiftPay platform, which enables independent and boutique hotels to transform routine supplier payments into incremental revenue and operational savings, gains traction. SwiftPay combines virtual commercial cards, AI-driven invoice and reconciliation automation, supplier payment workflows and transparent reporting, and it generates cashback on eligible spending without adding software subscription costs or requiring major changes to existing workflows.
Being named one of PhocusWire’s Hot 25 Travel Startups is a tremendous honor and an exciting validation of what we are building at OneJourney. For decades, hotels have managed significant volumes of supplier payments without realizing the financial value those transactions could generate. We saw an opportunity to change that by giving hospitality businesses access to the same sophisticated payment capabilities that have long benefited larger players in the travel ecosystem. Our mission is to help hotel operators take greater control of their payments, unlock new revenue and improve profitability through technology designed specifically for their needs. Brian Dass, OneJourney co-founder and CEO
The recognition follows a series of strategic partnerships and international expansion initiatives that have strengthened OneJourney's position in the hospitality payments market. Most recently, the company announced a collaboration with WEX, a payments technology company, to support the SwiftPay commercial card program for independent hotels across the United States and Europe. The relationship combines OneJourney's hospitality-focused technology with WEX's global issuing and payments infrastructure, providing a foundation for expanding the platform's reach and capabilities.
Additional partnerships with EML Payments, DayBlink GPO and Ireland-based Managed Payment Services have further broadened OneJourney's ecosystem, extending access to its embedded payments and automation solutions across hospitality markets in North America, Europe and beyond. Together, these relationships support the company's strategy of making modern payment technology more accessible to independent hotel operators seeking new ways to improve financial performance and operational efficiency.
OneJourney has also drawn recognition through Phocuswright's Global Startup Pitch competition, where the company earned a wildcard selection in 2026. That selection, like the Hot 25 listing, reflects industry interest in its approach to hospitality financial technology.
Looking to 2027, OneJourney plans to continue expanding its global partner network, accelerating adoption of SwiftPay and advancing its AI-driven automation capabilities. Its long-term vision centers on helping hospitality businesses transform financial processes long treated as administrative necessities into strategic drivers of profitability and growth.
“Hospitality operators are under constant pressure to protect margins, control costs and find new sources of revenue, yet many of the financial processes they rely on have changed very little over time,” Dass said. “We believe embedded payments and intelligent automation can fundamentally change that equation. As we look ahead to 2027, our focus is on expanding access to these capabilities, strengthening our global partnerships and helping more hotels realize the financial opportunities already embedded in their everyday operations. This recognition from PhocusWire is an important milestone as we continue bringing that vision to market.”
PhocusWire's Hot 25 Travel Startups for 2027 list was published Nov. 9, ahead of The Phocuswright Conference, held Nov. 17 to 19 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. To learn more, click here, or for more information about OneJourney and its SwiftPay platform, visit www.one-journey.com.
About OneJourney
OneJourney is an embedded-payments company built for hospitality. Its flagship platform, SwiftPay, helps hotels convert everyday payments to suppliers, vendors and partners into incremental revenue and automated savings, with no cost and no added risk to the property. By combining virtual commercial cards, supplier payment workflows, AI-driven invoice and reconciliation automation, cashback on eligible spend, and transparent reporting, OneJourney gives independent hotels ownership of a payment layer they have historically left to others. OneJourney is operated by Hotel Direct, LLC (d/b/a OneJourney and Swift Services), based in Miami Beach, Florida.
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