MCR Hotels CEO and Chairman Tyler Morse dislikes AI personal assistants because they "make more rational decisions." He prefers human customers, who can more easily be persuaded to make impulse purchases.

OpenAI has acquired an AI travel agent called Odessia, according to Odessia’s founder, Francis Davidson. Davidson says in a post announcing the deal that he’s now working for OpenAI, helping the AI lab with the future of travel. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but this looks like an …

I’m thrilled to announce that Odessia was acquired by OpenAI, and that I will be joining the team to focus on the future of travel. I founded Odessia …

Keep calm. ChatGPT’s Business Hub is here. Your hotel probably can’t use it yet. Since yesterday my feed has been full of “Claim your hotel in …

Booking.com is testing the waters in Market Intelligence. A new competitor, a new conflict of interest, or both?Booking.com is testing the waters in …

🚨 BIG: Marriott International has moved 3,000+ hotels onto a new tech platform, and tech is set to take up to 30% of its 2026 investment budget. ⠀ …

The biggest threat to Google’s role in hotel discovery isn’t ChatGPT (yet). It’s Booking.com. For the first time, OTAs have overtaken search engines …

🎾 Aman’s third brand, Atma, targets a 2031 debut on Miami’s Brickell waterfront, combining a hotel, branded residences and an invitation-only club in a 1,049-foot tower. Global partner Novak Djokovic will guide longevity, nutrition and wellness programming. A 120,000-square-foot wellness center will feature tennis, squash and padel courts, plus medical wellness facilities. OKO Group and Oak Row Equities are developing the project; room count, financial terms and funding remain undisclosed.

🏨 Hilton launched “Is This Hilton?” on September 14 around the Emmys to highlight loyalty rewards across 28 brands. Luxury and lifestyle net unit growth reached 11% and 20%, respectively, over 12 months. The campaign spent $2.5 million on 579 national TV airings and generated 72 million social video views. Promotions included a Times Square pop-up. Roughly 585 added luxury and lifestyle properties are neither owned nor operated by Hilton, mostly through Small Luxury Hotels licensing.