--- title: "Joan Sanz | Trayectoria, reconocimientos y docencia" description: "15 años en travel y hotel tech: revenue management, motores de reserva, voice AI y go-to-market. Top 3 mundial en el UNWTO Hospitality Challenge y uno de los 25 más innovadores del turismo español. Profesor universitario desde 2010." url: https://joansanx.com/about/ lang: en author: Joan Sanz --- ** Track record # Fifteen years building, selling and teaching travel technology. I started pricing hotel rooms as a revenue manager in 2011. Since then I have sold booking engines, opened markets for hotel tech vendors, founded companies and led growth for a voice AI platform. Today I run go-to-market and business development for travel tech companies in Iberia and LATAM, and I build the AI systems behind it. Swipe or use the arrows ← → ## Joan Sanz in four numbers **15**years in travel tech **10+**awards and recognitions **Top 3**UN Tourism Hospitality Challenge **15+**years teaching at university > The market's reaction is the only truth. Test your ideas. Profile ## An operator, not just a founder I run go-to-market for hotel tech and travel tech companies selling into Iberia and LATAM. From Barcelona, I work as the bridge between the sector's technology products and the hotel buyers of the Spanish-speaking market. My track combines **three roles that rarely meet in one person**: founder of hotel SaaS, growth operator inside a venture-backed company where I opened the hotel vertical, and continuous university lecturer since 2010. That mix explains my thesis: **the alpha in hotel tech is not only the technology**, it is understanding the real workflow of hotel staff and closing the distance between the product and its adoption rate. I never stepped away from the operation: I still sell, still teach, still publish. **Vertical**Hotel tech · Conversational AI · Revenue operations · Travel SaaS **Geographic coverage**Iberia · LATAM · Western Europe **Languages**Spanish · Catalan · English Track record ## Seven companies, one sector, fifteen years 1. 2011**TheFork**Restaurant marketplace, the first booking engine in F&B 2. 2012**Hotelerum**Hotel booking engine, e-commerce 3. 2013**CETT-UB**Tourism school of the Universitat de Barcelona 4. 2014**Xotels**Revenue management consultancy 5. 2019**Chartok**Hotel productivity software 6. 2022**bookline**Voice AI agent 7. 2025**Hospitech**GTM & Business Development Recognition ## Judged by the industry, not self-declared From a first pitch at Fira Barcelona to a United Nations tourism stage. ★ Top 3 worldwide ### UNWTO Hospitality ChallengeUN Tourism · Sommet Education · IE University Chartok reached the global top 3 out of roughly 600 entries. The highest recognition the hospitality sector gives a startup. [Read the news on PR Newswire](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/unwto-and-sommet-education-reveal-the-top-3-talents-of-tomorrow-301409674.html)Oct 2021 ★ One of 25 ### 25 most innovative people in Spanish tourismIlunion Hotels · Tecnohotel Named among the 25 professionals transforming Spanish tourism, listed as teacher and entrepreneur. Announced at the Tourism Innovation Summit in Seville. [Read the news on TecnoHotel](https://tecnohotelnews.com/2025/10/los-mas-innovadores-sector-turistico/)2025 Winner ### FutureTravel Pitch CompetitionEU-Startups · FutureTravel Summit Winning pitch among more than 200 global applications, judged by travel investors and early-stage VCs. [Read the news on EU-Startups](https://www.eu-startups.com/2021/11/meet-chartok-the-winner-of-the-2021-futuretravel-pitch-competition/)Nov 2021 Winner ### I TravelTech Startup CompetitionB-Travel · Fira Barcelona · Conector First edition, won against 35 projects. Jury from Hotusa Ventures, Immfly and Conector mentors. [Read the news on La Vanguardia](https://www.lavanguardia.com/local/barcelona/20190322/461169487486/el-software-chartok-gana-la-primera-traveltech-startup-competition-del-salon-b-travel.html)Mar 2019 Top 10 ### South Summit, Travel & TourismSouth Summit Madrid Selected among the 100 best companies out of 3,500 global entries, and top 10 finalist in the travel track. [Read the news on Smart Travel News](https://www.smarttravel.news/estas-las-10-startups-travel-tourism-finalistas-south-summit-2020/)Oct 2020 Teaching and mentoring ## I never left the classroom Two tracks at once, operating and teaching. Each one keeps the other honest. ### University lecturer since 2010 Teaching at CETT-UB Tourism & Hospitality, attached to the Universitat de Barcelona, and at Sant Ignasi School of Tourism and Hospitality Management. Revenue ManagementNew Hotel TechTravel TechnologyHotel Operations ### Barcelona tech ecosystem Member of Barcelona Tech City since 2020. Mentor and jury member at the Catalonia Startup Hub of ACCIÓ, and founder of a startup accelerated at Conector. Informal advisor to travel tech founders on their first rounds and go-to-market. Barcelona Tech CityConectorCatalonia Startup Hub · ACCIÓ Press ## A decade of coverage in the specialist media - **Profesional Horeca**[The hotel software Chartok wins the I TravelTech Startup Competition](https://www.profesionalhoreca.com/el-software-hotelero-chartok-ganador-de-la-i-traveltech-startup-competition/)Mar 2019 - **Smart Travel News**[Hotels need innovative solutions](https://www.smarttravel.news/entrevista-chartok-innovation-hub-barcelona/)Jun 2019 - **UN Tourism**[UNWTO and Sommet Education reveal the top 3 talents of tomorrow](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/unwto-and-sommet-education-reveal-the-top-3-talents-of-tomorrow-301409674.html)Oct 2021 - **EU-Startups**[Meet ChartOk, winner of the FutureTravel Pitch](https://www.eu-startups.com/2021/11/meet-chartok-the-winner-of-the-2021-futuretravel-pitch-competition/)Nov 2021 - **Hotels Magazine**[How to staff a hotel amid a global HR crisis](https://hotelsmag.com/podcasts/how-to-staff-a-hotel-amid-a-global-hr-crisis-with-chartoks-joan-sanz/)2023 - **ITB Berlin**[Showcase at the ITB Berlin Convention](https://news.itb.com/topics/responsible-tourism/itb-berlin-startup/)Mar 2023 - **Hosteltur**[Ilunion Hotels names the 25 most innovative people in Spanish tourism](https://www.hosteltur.com/172386_ilunion-hotels-distingue-a-los-25-mas-innovadores-del-sector-turistico.html)2025 Next step ## That is the track record. Now the useful part. If you are building or scaling technology for travel and hospitality, I have probably sold it, priced it, taught it or automated it. [Message me on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/messaging/compose?recipient=joansanz)[See what I do](/services/)[Go to Market hub](/go-to-market/)[Read it as a page](/about/lista/) JS **Joan Sanz**GTM & Business Development · Travel tech y hospitality · Barcelona[linkedin.com/in/joansanz](https://www.linkedin.com/in/joansanz)