At Louis Vuitton, Pharrell Williams reveals ‘future living concept’ designed in collaboration with Not a Hotel - 10 Minutes News for Hoteliers

2 min

At Louis Vuitton, Pharrell Williams reveals ‘future living concept’ designed in collaboration with Not a Hotel

🎨 Pharrell Williams, Louis Vuitton's menswear creative director, unveiled "Drophaus," a water droplet-inspired architectural concept during the A/W 2026 show in Paris, Bois de Boulogne. Collaborating with Shinji Hamauzu's Not a Hotel, the structure blurs indoor-outdoor lines with compressed glass walls and features the "Homework" furniture series. Designed for timelessness, the fashion pieces include reflective yarns and crystal embroidery. Williams emphasizes enduring design over expiration, merging functionality with cultural relevance.

2 min

Seamless Access, Quiet Luxury — Powered by GCSTIMES Smart Wristband

🏨 Since 2011, GCSTIMES has led sustainable development, evolving from R&D to innovation in sustainable materials. Operating in China, US, UAE, France, and Australia with 14 global offices, GCSTIMES services over 140 countries, aiding 100,000 hospitality groups. Their plant-based leather wristbands align with contemporary sustainability values, enhancing guest experiences with seamless access. This reflects a shift towards subtle luxury, emphasizing continuity and sustainability over opulence in high-end hospitality spaces.

4 min

Asset Managers: This Is Why Your Hotel Sales Teams Don’t Close More Deals Despite Your Extensive Investments

📚 Hotel sales teams struggle despite tech investments. Approved AI systems, display ads, and email marketing are not boosting market share. Key issues include generic sales proposals, ineffective CRM usage, and lack of mentoring. Only 20% of salespeople optimize their processes; 80% rely on inbound leads. Conducting sales process assessments reveals gaps in efficiency. Veteran sales skills have dulled, and younger staff lack mentorship, exacerbated by remote work. Solutions include training focused on today's sales skills.

3 min

How AI and smarter hospitality tech help hotels capture APAC’s travel boom

🛬 During the past holiday season, APAC hotels faced strong travel demand. Despite 86% satisfaction, only 37% of travelers rebooked, but 73% would if experiences were personalized. AI and integrated tech help hotels enhance personalization and efficiency. 68% of guests are willing to pay more for tailored stays. AI systems optimize guest profiles, predictive maintenance, and dynamic pricing. Mobile bookings exceed half of OTA reservations, enhancing digital journeys and guest loyalty.

2 min

LEFT LANE announces exec promotions

📈 Ryan Davis, Valerie Shell, and Vanessa Tilley were promoted within LEFT LANE Development to lead revenue, sales, and marketing, respectively. The firm, based in New York City, focuses on developing historic properties in emerging U.S. markets. New projects are planned in Pittsburgh, Providence, Phoenix, Bozeman, and Savannah, set to open between 2026 and 2028, featuring repurposed historic buildings and new F&B concepts. Hotel Bardo Savannah launched in February 2024.

2 min

AHLA Announces 2026 Officers, Board, and Executive Committee

🏨 In 2026, in Washington, D.C., Liam Brown of Marriott International will chair the AHLA board of directors, with Thom Geshay as vice chair and Jon Stanner as secretary/treasurer. Brown retires in June 2026 after nearly 40 years, with Geshay succeeding him. Mitch Patel, former chair, remains on the board. The AHLA leadership prepares for a "mega decade" of global events, supporting over 2 million U.S. hotel industry employees.

2 min

Expedia's AI Playground Boosts Productivity and Efficiency | Stuart Greif posted on the topic | LinkedIn

💻 I cancelled my $20 ChatGPT subscription for ChatLLM by Abacus.AI. It integrates AI models like GPT-5.2, Claude 4.5, Gemini 3 Pro, and more. Features include image/video creation tools like Nano Banana Pro and Sora 2, instant professional presentations, real-time web search, and an AI code editor. Its AI workspace allows seamless task management, building full-stack apps, and using a personal AI assistant. This switch streamlined my workflow and reduced multiple AI subscriptions.

2 min

This Anthropic report is way more important than MIT's "95% of AI pilots fail" study. Must-read for anyone who's CEO said "we're going to be AI first": https://lnkd.in/g-3BEy9Z. Amazing job to the… | Lexi Reese

💻 Anthropic's report reveals AI achievements, indicating that AI agents, like Claude, maintain over 65% success in 8-hour intellectual tasks, surpassing traditional methods for longer tasks. For tasks under 2 hours, both Claude and generic APIs achieve about 60%. At Lanai, AI handles work equal to 3-6 full-time employees. Concerns arise as entry-level roles, crucial for nurturing future leaders, are disappearing, challenging how organizations manage AI and train leaders effectively.

1 min

Booking.com's AI Takeover | Hjalte Niehorster

💻 October 2025, Booking.com launched Smart Messenger and Auto Reply, AI tools for instant guest response. Properties with AI respond in seconds, outpacing those with 2-hour delays, affecting their ranking. New recency-weighted reviews amplify negative impact on scores and visibility. Successful operators use hybrid AI-human workflows, real-time weekly review monitoring, and strategic automation for simple queries. Direct booking infrastructure cuts platform dependency, emphasizing algorithmic responsiveness over traditional methods.

7 min

Did Google Just Make Travel Platforms Redundant?

🗺️ Google has introduced the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), potentially disrupting platforms like Airbnb and Booking.com. By early 2026, AI sessions accounted for 18% of global queries, with users spending over 13 minutes per session. UCP enables real-time booking, with current availability limited to U.S. users in Google’s AI Mode and Gemini app. As luxury travelers still value human advisors, UCP serves as an efficiency tool while emphasizing the importance of data hygiene to avoid AI errors.

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