Building Pink Notebook: Goedele Mangelaars on the Future of Travel Tech

In this episode of The Layover, we sit down with Goedele Mangelaars, founder and CEO of Pink Notebook, an AI-powered travel platform reimagining how trips are discovered, planned, and booked. From growing up across continents to working at companies like Skyscanner and Terra API, Goedele brings a global, data-driven perspective to one of travel’s biggest pain points: too much inspiration, not enough context. Pink Notebook is built to bridge that gap—combining visual discovery, smart curation, and seamless booking into one cohesive experience. Goedele breaks down how Pink Notebook is:Reducing decision fatigue by narrowing thousands of options into a curated shortlistCombining inspiration, context, and booking into a single end-to-end platformChallenging traditional OTAs by focusing on boutique hotels and high-intent travelersUsing AI more like Spotify or Pinterest—surfacing what you’ll love, not overwhelming you with choicesDesigning for a world where 80% of travel decisions are driven by womenPushing back against trend-driven travel in favor of authentic, meaningful discoveryThe conversation also explores the future of agentic travel planning, the limits of AI trust, and why human curation still matters in a world flooded with content. Whether you’re a frequent traveler, startup founder, or simply tired of clicking through 277 tabs to plan a trip, this episode offers a fresh take on where travel tech is headed—and how to make it work better for real people. Follow Pink Notebook at @pinknotebooktravel for more!