Automatic

💻 Sep 16, 2025: Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb, at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia & Technology Conference, unveils a 10-year plan. Key goals: transform Airbnb into an AI-native app by 2026, evolve into a global community, and expand into a comprehensive travel and living platform. Inspired by Amazon and Apple, plans include offering hosts professional services and monetizing through higher take rates and ads. Aim: make Airbnb a significant part of daily life.

📈 Starbucks is rolling out an AI-driven inventory system across North America by September 2025. Developed with NomadGo, it uses tablets, computer vision, and AR to scan shelves, reducing inventory time from an hour to 10-15 minutes and enabling up to eight-times more frequent checks. This system, part of Starbucks' recent tech initiatives, aims to enhance efficiency and customer experience while empowering staff by automating tasks and improving supply chain responsiveness. Starbucks operates nearly 17,000 stores in North America.

🛫 Sep 12, 2025, Florida Atlantic University researchers highlight the growing role of AI in travel decisions, particularly for hotels. AI agents will influence loyalty by automatically booking accommodations based on criteria like budget, reviews, and availability, bypassing traditional marketing strategies. Hotels must adapt loyalty programs for both humans and AI, as algorithmic filters become critical. Bias, privacy issues, and decision transparency pose challenges, but guest experience remains central to true loyalty. [Read more](https://www.fau.edu/newsdesk/articles/ai-customer-loyalty-hospitality-hotels-study).

📅 Sep 12, 2025: Booking Holdings introduces its "Connected Trip" concept, leveraging its proprietary agentic AI. The AI automates itinerary management, adjusting for delays and personal preferences, like child seats and parking. Ewout Steenbergen, CFO, highlights the focus on accountability over tech hype. The initiative promises cost-cutting and increased customer satisfaction. Notably, Booking’s alternative accommodations have surpassed Airbnb in 16 of the past 17 quarters, now comprising over a third of room nights.