The company protabo has emerged victorious in this year's Hospitality UPGRADE Award. The start-up competition, held as part of the 196+ forum Munich, recognised protabo's digital compliance platform. This solution, designed to assist with legal compliance and the automation of administrative processes, convinced both the expert jury and the audience present.
The Hospitality UPGRADE Award is presented annually by the 196+ forum Munich in cooperation with Hospitality Pioneers and supported by companies such as mews, aobis, dailypoint, Fairmas, ProjektPuls and Schneider Electric. The award seeks innovative start-ups that can provide new impetus with intelligent, sustainable and marketable solutions across the entire value chain in the hotel sector. An interdisciplinary board, chaired by Christian Fiedler, founder of Hospitality Pioneers, initially selected ten semi-finalists from a total of 24 applications. The final five candidates presented their concepts to the expert audience on 7 October at the Bayerischer Hof in Munich.
Increasing Efficiency in the Hotel Industry
protabo's digital compliance platform is designed to support businesses in the catering and hotel industries in the efficient implementation of legal and operational requirements. The offering integrates software solutions, physical products and accompanying services. A central aspect is the automated realisation and documentation of specifications in areas such as food hygiene (HACCP), occupational safety and waste management. These sectors in catering and hotels are characterised by high regulatory requirements and considerable administrative effort.
The digitisation and automation of recurring processes by protabo relieve staff, simplify workflows and ensure systematic adherence to relevant regulations. This solution addresses a core challenge for the industry, namely the increasing demands for documentation and compliance amidst cost and staffing pressures.
Amir Abbas Vazifeh Shenas Pourirani, founder and CEO of protabo, emphasised that the aim is to free businesses from time-consuming administrative tasks and simplify legal compliance so that employees can concentrate on core business. Christian Fiedler, chairman of the board, highlighted the significance of protabo's approach, which tackles a topic crucial for successful operations yet often overlooked. He stressed that while compliance with regulations is indispensable, it ties up significant personnel and time resources. protabo clearly demonstrates how digital technologies can create added value here and economically relieve businesses.
Outlook and Further Finalists
The award winner receives free participation in the 196+ forum Munich 2027, including a gala dinner and exhibition space. Additionally, the prize includes a one-year free membership in the Working Group Hotel Real Estate, including participation in networking dinners and the accompanying programme of the four annual meetings from October 2026 to September 2027.
- —ecomates: Compact on-site biogas plant for converting food waste into biogas.
- —Läkkerai: Digital sous-chef for professional kitchens to optimise production planning, logistics and quality control.
- —UniqueGreen: SaaS solution for hotels for automated, AI-generated voice message communication with guests.
- —Vinoteqa: Software for wine cellar management in hotels and restaurants, including digital inventory management and sommelier analytics.
