One is saving independent hotels while the other is killing restaurant mood, tech companies wants to pay you, and the internet is fighting over iPads at dinner tables. Plus, does being a foodie make you better in bed? (The data says yes, but the sample size is questionable.) Let’s dig in.
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INDEPENDENT BUSINESS WINS WITH AI / WSJ
Have you checked into a hotel lately and received what feels like an automated SMS? Or checked reviews and spotted a couple of em dashes here and there? That’s because GM is starting to get freaky with AI.
It’s not perfect, sometimes cringe-worthy, but hey, at least it’s going in the right direction. With the labor shortage still being an issue, and big brands being more aggressive, AI appears as the saviour of independent businesses.
This advantage is tangible. A stunning 58 percent of small businesses are using generative AI, up more than double from two years ago. They’re managing alone their finances, responding to customers, and automating operations that once required entire teams.
DATE A FOODIE / The Cut
Do people who enjoy food perform better in bed?
As nobody has ever said, “F*ck me like a Brit,” I assume yes. The statistical significance of this analysis might be biased though. Actual research shows that GLP-1 patients are experiencing a loss of appetite for food and sex since starting the drug. Fear not, it’s reversible when you get off of it.
As if Ozempic hasn’t already had a devastating effect in the industry: smaller orders, more doggy bags, restaurants must now contend with “beige” customers, the coup de grace in an already challenging economy.
As Serge Trigano once said, to get the best guests, don’t build a hotel, build a “restaurant with rooms upstairs.”
SELL YOUR DATA / uber
Those who can do, those who can’t teach. This has never been more true today, so if you are afraid Ai is going to take your job, become an Ai trainer. That’s currently the hottest job in the market as Uber, Mckinsey and others are paying big buck for you to accomplish specific tasks to train their model.
The strategy make sense, for one because Ai run out of data to be trained on, two because proprietary model is the next frontier of Ai. It’s the best solution to avoid Ai slop and have answer tailored to your industry. Hospitality sees the same effect with PMS building their own model, Cloudbed bought an Ai platform in 2024 and Mews just bought Data Match.
IPAD KID / twitter
Do you think screen have a place in restaurant? Even if it means a kid will not scream while you are sipping a martini?
The twitter discourse of the week is about iPad and parenting, most precisely, within the four wall of a restaurant. In every war, there is two side: the one who buying your way to tranquility by giving an iPad to your kid is lazy parenting, and the one who believe “restaurant for a 5 years old is cruelty” so at least give them something to enjoy their time.
I don’t even like QR code for menu, so I don’t think my view on iPad is difficult to guess. I also treat restaurant as a sanctuary, it is for me the perfect representation of a living microcosm of society, where etiquette, coexistence, community and moral behaviour intersect, making it an ideal environment for children to practice norms and empathy, rather than retreating into a digital distraction.
As a French person, I do believe iPad are lazy parenting, because if you really want your kid to stay quiet during your meal, the solution is cheap red wine, I’ll guarantee it, you’ll be good until diner!
