Minor Hotels Develops New AI Platform to Enhance Guest Experience Across Over 640 Properties Worldwide

PARIS, April 9, 2026 – On the occasion of the opening of Villa Colette , a new luxury hotel located facing the Arcachon Basin in Cap Ferret, Influence Society announces its partnership with the establishment to lead two key pillars of its digital presence: the development of its website on Webflow and the management of its paid acquisition strategy via Google Ads and Social Ads. Spearheaded by Laurent Taïeb, owner of Villa Colette, the project aims to rapidly introduce this new address, leveraging a digital strategy aligned with its premium lifestyle positioning. ‍Described by Laurent Taïeb as a “seaside home with the standards of a hotel,” Villa Colette features 28 rooms and suites, a restaurant, a bar, and a terrace overlooking the horizon. Set in a high-end universe with interiors designed by Philippe Starck, the experience is further enriched by its exceptional environment, nestled between the Arcachon Basin, the Atlantic Ocean, and the pine forest. In the context of this opening, the digital challenge is twofold: to faithfully translate online a brand identity deeply rooted in the destination, and to rapidly activate acquisition drivers capable of generating awareness and bookings. ‍ “For Villa Colette, it was essential to rely on a partner capable of understanding both our positioning, our brand universe, and the performance imperatives linked to an opening,” says Laurent Taïeb. “Influence Society is supporting us on concrete levers, with an approach that is both strategic and operational.” ‍The website has been designed to reflect Villa Colette’s distinctive positioning and highlight a lifestyle proposition expressed as much in its dining spaces as in its natural experience assets. Located at the tip of the Cap Ferret peninsula, the hotel is conceived as a joyful house facing the basin, offering the chance to escape by bike through the pine trees to the village of L’Herbe, board one of the emblematic pinasses (traditional boats) to the Dune of Pilat, or enjoy a romantic interlude facing the sea. The support provided by Influence Society will enable Villa Colette to structure its launch, notably through targeted communication campaigns on social media. ‍ “For an opening like Villa Colette, the digital aspect must play an immediate and structuring role. It must carry the image of the place, streamline the traveler’s journey, and support demand from the very first phases of commercialization,” adds Sébastien Felix, Founder & CEO of Influence Society. ‍In Cap Ferret, Villa Colette embodies a new high-end destination, combining a complete experience of accommodation, dining, and local lifestyle. For Influence Society, this partnership illustrates the growing importance of a coherent digital ecosystem from a hotel’s inception, associating brand platform, user experience, and media activation. About Influence Society Influence Society is a creative agency at the intersection of marketing, technology, and hospitality. Helping extraordinary establishments craft compelling brand narratives, blending aesthetics with cutting-edge digital strategies. Through visionary storytelling, innovative marketing, and deep industry expertise, the agency enables hospitality professionals to stay ahead in an ever-evolving landscape. For more information about Influence Society, visit www.influence-society.com

Tambourine, the global leader in hotel marketing technology, today announced how its recently launched Tambourine One—an integrated website and booking engine platform built to simplify the path to booking and reduce costs—is transforming the way hotels personalize their websites by eliminating third-party pop-ups entirely. Tambourine One's native website personalization, built directly into the platform, replaces the disruptive overlays that have long frustrated guests and diluted the hotel booking experience. Website personalization has become an essential tool for hotels looking to drive direct bookings, but the industry has relied almost exclusively on third-party pop-up tools to deliver it. These overlays interrupt the guest journey, slow page load times, and create a fragmented experience that undermines the brand. Tambourine One takes a fundamentally different approach where personalization is woven directly into the website, delivering targeted content and promotions without a single pop-up. Pop-ups have always been a half measure. They prioritize the delivery of an offer over providing a seamless user experience. With Tambourine One, personalization is no longer something bolted onto the website and instead is part of the website itself. No third-party overlays, no third-party scripts, no disruption. Just a better experience for guests and better results for hotels. Thomas McDermott, CMO at Tambourine Native Personalization Features Built In to Tambourine One: Personalized Homepage Headers: Dynamically customize hero images, video, and messaging to match guest segments—no static, one-size-fits-all homepages. Strategic High-Impact Placements: Promote offers and packages across multiple premium positions on the website, maximizing visibility without interrupting the browsing experience. Advanced Targeting & Segmentation: Personalize content based on user geography, device type, and referral source to deliver relevant messaging to every visitor. Intuitive Front-End Editor: Update personalized content in real time with a visual editor—no coding or developer support required. Built-In Brand Guardrails: Maintain visual consistency across every touchpoint, ensuring personalized content always aligns with the property’s brand standards. Zero Additional Cost: Native personalization is included in Tambourine One, eliminating the expense of third-party personalization vendors. Tambourine One is designed to reduce hotel technology layer. And when you successfully reduce tech layers, you can eliminate the technology fees associated with those layers. Built-in personalization is just one of those tech layers. Mekell Barker, SVP of Account Service About Tambourine Tambourine is the global leader in hotel marketing technology, delivering integrated solutions that drive direct revenue and solve the industry's toughest commercial challenges. With a product suite spanning sales, marketing, revenue, and now reservations, the company is known for pairing best-in-class service with a design-led approach—solving complex problems with elegant, high-performing solutions. Trusted by hotel brands in over 50 countries, Tambourine continues to set the standard for innovation and results in hospitality. Visit tambourine.com for more information.

Hospitality's AI conversation shifted today from aspiration to architecture. Shiji and Minor Hotels both announced structural commitments to AI-first operations, with concrete platforms and named technology partners. Madrid's full-year 2025 numbers arrived to confirm that European city hotels are converting revenue gains into profit, even as labor costs keep climbing. Shiji Declares AI the 'Air' Hotels Should Breathe Shiji CEO Kevin King announced the company is transitioning to an AI-first organization, a change he described as fundamental rather than incremental. The framework, called Shiji AI•R, is designed to embed AI horizontally across all products including property management, guest engagement, food and beverage, payments, and analytics. King's guiding principle: if AI does not make work faster and simpler, it does not belong in production. The approach deliberately keeps AI invisible to hotel staff. Rather than surfacing AI as a feature, Shiji aims to remove the operational friction that pulls employees away from guests. King was direct about the risk he sees: systems consuming so much time and attention that staff spend more energy managing technology than serving people. Read the analysis → Minor Hotels Builds AI Platform Across 640 Properties Minor Hotels announced a global data and AI platform built from scratch with Google Cloud, Salesforce, OneTrust, and Deloitte, targeting full deployment within 2026. The goal is a single platform connecting guest data, marketing, and service operations across more than 640 properties. Chief Commercial Officer Ian Di Tullio said brands that win the AI era will be those that own their data and can respond in real time, not simply those with the most visibility. The clean-sheet build means Minor Hotels bypasses legacy system constraints entirely, deploying BigQuery and Vertex AI as the intelligence layer. The platform will support AI agents capable of managing bookings, curating itineraries, and resolving guest requests. Privacy governance is embedded from the start, with OneTrust handling consent management. Read the analysis → Madrid FY25: GOP PAR Hits €100.8, RevPAR Climbs 11.2% Madrid hotels closed 2025 with GOP PAR rising 12.8% to €100.8, driven by an €18.3 increase in room revenue per available room. ADR reached €243.0 (+8.6%) while occupancy moved to 74.9%. October recorded the highest occupancy at 87.7%. The market absorbed 16 new hotel openings during the year, most in the midscale and economy segments in peripheral areas like San Blas, adding a net 601 effective rooms per day. Labor costs remain the main pressure point, with payroll rising 9.0% in nominal terms despite Spanish minimum wage growth of 4.4%. Total costs increased 9.1%, but revenue outpaced them, producing a GOP flow-through of 49.6%. For every euro of additional revenue, hotels converted nearly half into profit. Read the analysis → Signals Branded residences command identity premiums in Thailand. At a C9 Sessions forum in Phuket, industry leaders described how buyers are no longer purchasing property but buying into a lifestyle. Bill Barnett of C9 Hotelworks said that emotional brand connection is lifting pricing ceilings across the region, while speakers from Banyan Group Residences and Etro

LAS VEGAS— UrVenue , the leading technology platform for managing and monetizing experience-based inventory across hospitality and resort destinations, including cabanas, nightlife, daylife, activities, wellness, special events, and more, today announced the continued expansion of its artificial intelligence (AI) strategy, with active development toward Model Context Protocol (MCP) enablement and a targeted release in Q4 2026. As AI rapidly reshapes how consumers discover and engage with digital commerce, UrVenue is investing in the next evolution of its platform, one designed to make experience inventory more accessible, intelligent, and adaptable across emerging interfaces. AI is fundamentally changing how travel demand is created and captured. Our focus is on ensuring that venue and property level experience inventory is not only bookable, but also discoverable and actionable within the next generation of AI-driven environments. Cedric Ancellin, Chief AI Scientist and Chief Technology Officer of UrVenue Over the past year, UrVenue has validated AI across key areas of its business, from product development to operational workflows. These efforts are now informing a broader strategy to streamline execution, reduce friction, and support more responsive, data-driven operations. A key component of this strategy is MCP enablement, currently in advanced development, which is intended to support more seamless interaction between experience inventory and AI-powered systems. This approach reflects UrVenue’s long-term view of how hospitality distribution and engagement models are expected to evolve. UrVenue’s AI roadmap complements its broader platform vision, extending the capabilities of its venue management system (UrVenue) and property experience management system (UrResort), and supporting the continued evolution of experience-driven revenue across hospitality.

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — Newport Hospitality Group is celebrating two of the most prestigious recognitions within the Apple Hospitality REIT portfolio, underscoring the company’s commitment to operational excellence, strong owner returns, and a culture built on people and performance. The Fairfield Inn & Suites Charlotte Matthews earned the 2025 Shining Apple Award, a distinction recognizing outstanding achievement across financial performance, operational execution, guest satisfaction, and brand standards. In addition, Newport team member Tom Johnson of the Courtyard by Marriott Philadelphia Valley Forge/Collegeville was named a recipient of the 2025 Apple Award , one of only five individuals honored companywide. These awards speak to what defines Newport — disciplined operations, strong accountability, and a deep commitment to both our people and our ownership partners. We are proud to deliver results that matter, not just for today, but sustainably over time. Wayne West III, President of Newport Hospitality Group The Shining Apple Award is presented annually to a select group of high-performing hotels within Apple Hospitality REIT’s portfolio. At Fairfield Inn & Suites Charlotte Matthews, that performance is the result of a focused, consistent approach to operations. “The Shining Apple Award reflects our team’s commitment to operational excellence,” said General Manager James Childress. “We pursue this honor each year because it keeps us focused on accountability, continuous improvement, and delivering strong value to ownership.” Equally significant is the recognition of Tom Johnson, whose impact extends beyond operations. Johnson was honored for his exceptional service, community involvement, and ability to inspire others. Over 14 years, he has become a defining presence at his hotel demonstrating that exceptional hospitality is driven by people who lead with heart and consistency. What These Awards Say About Newport In today’s operating environment, where rising costs, labor challenges, and performance expectations continue to intensify, recognition from ownership groups like Apple Hospitality REIT carries added weight. These awards affirm that Newport: Delivers consistent financial and operational performance Builds strong, values-driven property-level cultures Develops and retains high-impact team members Creates long-term value for ownership partners “Owner recognition is one of the most meaningful indicators of success in our business,” West added. “It tells us we are executing at a high level at the property, within the team, and for the investor.” Newport Hospitality Group continues to operate across multiple leading brands, maintaining a disciplined, scalable model that drives results regardless of market or flag.