Source: Sabre. From left: Isolda Josy and Pranay Roy, Moments; Mendis from Sabre Travel Network Asia Pacific; and Marco Angeles, Moments.

A team from Singapore won the 24-hour Destination Hack: Singapore, Sabre’s inaugural Asia Pacific hackathon. Participants were tasked with designing a new technology app that could revolutionize travel – from planning and booking to the overall experience.

The winning app, Moments, caters to the increasing demand for “bleisure” travel in the Asia Pacific region. It helps travel agents create customized trips for travelers blending business and leisure activities in their itineraries.

The winning team received US$10,000 to further develop Moments. Isolda Josy, Marco Angeles, and Pranay Roy from Moments were presented with their award by Roshan Mendis, Senior Vice President of Sabre Travel Network Asia Pacific.

“We were impressed by the concept of an app targeting a niche traveler group. Socioeconomic influences and rapid technological advancements in this region are changing how people travel. We see many new trends and preferences emerging. Travel companies need the right technologies to accommodate these evolving demands," remarked Mendis.

Greg Schulze, Senior Vice President of Commercial Strategy and Services at Expedia, and one of the judges, noted that information is crucial in travel decisions. “As consumers, we are becoming more discerning about travel choices with increased access to information. At Expedia, we always ask ourselves: how can we use our technology and data so every traveler finds the trip they want – whether it’s their first or their thousandth? Many ideas at the hackathon focused on filtering information for relevant travel choices, which is where the entire experience starts.”

Destination Hack Singapore winners:

Best New Technology Application Moments by Marcos Angeles, Isolda Josy, Paul Amazona, and Pranay Roy.

Best Use of VR, sponsored by SabreLabs

Using the technology behind the Pokémon Go game, TraveGo allows travelers to explore destinations virtually by interacting with an avatar. In this case, an avatar is an assistant depicted by an icon or human image.

Chatbot Challenge, sponsored by SabreLab

Chat Planner is a chatbot that utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing to transform travel conversations into bookings, making trip planning more intuitive. A chatbot is software that converses with users and performs actions based on the dialogue.

Best Widget Idea for the new Sabre Red Workspace Panels

CreditCardsOffer is a widget providing travel agents with a centralized view of credit card promotions from airlines, hotels, and car rental companies, all within their workflow. A widget is software that runs continuously, like a clock, whereas an app is software that can be turned on or off.

Best Widget Idea for the new Sabre Red Workspace Decision Support Bar

Travelbrain is a chatbot-like virtual assistant integrated with Facebook Messenger. It examines customer preferences and helps agents create personalized itineraries. A virtual assistant is software-based, as opposed to a human performing the task.

Best use of Giata APIs, sponsored by Giata

Stranded Flights is a microsite providing airline passengers with real-time updates and information during disruptions. It offers details ranging from flight status to vouchers for airport services and hotel stays. A microsite is a small website focusing on a specific topic with few pages, typically residing on a larger website, whereas a website can encompass many pages and topics.

Most Likely to Succeed, sponsored by DHISCO

Flightzilla is a chatbot that assists travelers in searching for flights. Users can then share recommendations with friends and earn rewards for bookings generated through these referrals.