The first moments after landing in New York can be a blur of indecision — scrolling through restaurant reviews, Googling “things to do,” and trying to figure out which borough has the best rooftop view. A new touchscreen kiosk at John F. Kennedy International Airport offers help, by using AI to tailor your plans.
The kiosk, created by the startup Nearvana, helps travelers discover restaurants, events, parks, and other nearby experiences in seconds. Its artificial intelligence technology learns user preferences and curates suggestions, turning what could be hours of searching into a few quick taps.
Co-founded by Abiodun Johnson and Jay Jackson, Nearvana is reimagining how people experience new places by merging location data with personalized discovery.
“We really wanted to look at the possibilities of location data and how it could be used to shape more meaningful real-world experiences,” Johnson told AFROTECH. “That’s when it really clicked for us that the physical world hasn’t caught up with the personalization we take for granted online.”
The first Nearvana kiosk debuted in May 2025 inside JFK’s Terminal 4 baggage claim, one of the busiest crossroads of international travel. The touchscreen features tabs for “tourist activities,” “events,” and “places,” letting users browse by borough—Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, or Staten Island. After exploring the options, travelers can scan a QR code that transfers the results to Nearvana’s web app, Nia, and even have them sent via email.
A mobile version of Nia is expected to launch on the Google Play and Apple App stores later this week.
Since its debut, the kiosk has logged more than 2,600 user sessions, with people spending an average of 90 seconds per visit. According to Johnson’s LinkedIn posts, the most searched-for activities include rooftop bars, parks, restaurants, and sporting events—essentially, the local flavor visitors crave but often take too long to find.
Its early success has led to expansion. Nearvana recently installed a second kiosk in Terminal 4’s general waiting area, complete with a built-in charging station for travelers who need to power their phones before heading into the city.
“Specifically, JFK Terminal 4, they’re very innovation-leaning, so they’re usually the first to try a lot of different innovative technology,” Johnson said. “They’re definitely interested in working with us and elevating the passenger experience. It’s a great opportunity for us as someone who’s been a New York native for a while.”
That partnership could soon pay off. With New York set to be one of the host cities for the 2026 World Cup, Nearvana hopes to be part of the visitor experience for fans flooding into the city. “We’re looking to pilot this but also extend and be on the pilot to help all the World Cup fans who come in, be able to navigate the city and find things that they’re interested in,” Johnson said.
From airports, Nearvana is poised to position itself in hotels, according to the company’s latest LinkedIn post.
“If you’ve worked at a hotel front desk, you know the question that never stops coming: “What should we do today? Front desk staff spend countless hours answering this, often relying on personal memory, outdated brochures, or quick web searches. It’s time-consuming for staff, and the information isn’t always up to date. Imagine a hotel lobby where Nearvana kiosks provide guests with instant, curated recommendations, from the best coffee shop in walking distance to real-time updates on city events. Staff are freed to focus on hospitality, while guests feel empowered to explore like locals. This isn’t hypothetical, it’s the next phase of Nearvana’s growth. Our hotel deployments will deliver ROI you can feel; improving guest satisfaction, and strengthening partnerships with local businesses. Because a great hotel stay isn’t just about the room. It’s about the experience of the city around it.”
The next phase for Nearvana focuses on deepening personalization. Its AI chatbot, expected to launch by December, will learn from a user’s likes and interactions, suggesting activities based on interests and previous searches.
“As you go places, you’re liking events, we’ll start to really personalize and fine-tune what you see on your map,” Johnson said. “We’re building our V1, we’re looking to launch it by the end of this year, but that’s where we’re headed next, is the AI side of things and also leveraging AI to automate a lot of local purchases that you may make.”
While kiosks have existed for decades—dating back to the 1977 “Plato Hotline” at the University of Illinois—their role has largely been transactional: check in for a flight, print a ticket, grab a receipt. The pandemic supercharged their use, but most remain tools of convenience, not discovery. Nearvana seems positioned to change that. Its technology turns kiosks into a travel guide that understands what users want.
Before travelers even reach the airport, artificial intelligence is already transforming how vacations are planned. A growing wave of AI-powered travel platforms such as Roam Around, AdventureGenie, Curiosio, and the Matador Network’s GuideGeek can create personalized itineraries in seconds. Instead of spending hours researching destinations and reading reviews, users enter their interests, budget, and trip length to instantly receive curated routes and recommendations. The approach saves significant time and reflects a larger shift away from generic search results toward individualized travel planning.
Companies like TravelAI are building on this trend by using data from millions of past bookings to refine their suggestions and predict future preferences—what the company calls a move toward a fully personalized, data-driven travel experience. Combined with technologies like Nearvana’s in-airport kiosks, these tools represent a new era of travel planning in which AI enhances every stage of the journey, from the first idea to the first step off the plane.
