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ChatGPT Apps Face Questions Over Travel Usefulness Nearly Three Years After Similar Plugins Launched

🤖 ChatGPT Plugins launched almost 3 years ago and are now discontinued. The author questions ChatGPT Apps’ value for travel booking through Booking.com, Expedia and Trip, arguing AI should work across distribution channels. GPTs are praised for internal use and context management. Skills, currently associated mainly with Claude Code, use reusable text documents to guide agents through tasks, tools and booking preferences—such as checking Kayak, Google Flights and airline websites.
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Agentic Shopping Model Shows Hypothetical Retailer’s Revenue Falling From $100 Million to $98 Million, Margin to 29.5%

🛒 Vlad’s Widgets, a hypothetical retailer with $100 million in revenue, $20 million in online sales and 30% margins, illustrates agentic shopping’s potential impact. Losing 10% of online sales, shifting 25% of remaining online sales to agents and cutting those sales’ margins by 10 percentage points would leave approximately $98 million in revenue and a 29.5% margin. Profit falls from $30 million to roughly $29 million—a setback, but not an existential threat.
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OpenAI publishes two years of ChatGPT data as information requests rise from 17% to 20% of messages

🔍 OpenAI sampled 1 million ChatGPT messages monthly from July 2024 to September 2026. Information-seeking rose from 17% to 20% globally and 16% to 23% in the UK, while writing fell from 34% to 21%. Personal use accounts for 65% of messages, work 21%, and study 14%. Users aged 18–24 dropped from 39% to 31% of messages. Ahrefs estimates ChatGPT’s search volume at 12% of Google’s, sending 190 times less website traffic.
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Chef Jerry Tian’s Avant Holds Shenzhen’s Only Two-Diamond Rating in the 2026 Black Pearl Restaurant Guide

🍽 Chef Jerry Tian’s Avant, opened in Shenzhen in 2020, holds the city’s only two-diamond distinction in the 2026 Black Pearl Restaurant Guide. After five years at Chicago’s three-Michelin-starred Alinea, Tian developed a borderless culinary approach, now refining dishes to three or four elements. Shenzhen’s Michelin Guide debuted in 2026, awarding two stars each to The Bay by Chef Fei and Yun Jing, and one each to Ensue and Fumée.
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Jun’s Dubai turns to local ingredients as air freight can increase imported seafood costs by 30–35%

🐟 At Jun’s Dubai, chef Kelvin Cheung introduced a six-course menu featuring local ingredients as air freight for Norwegian scallops and some Japanese seafood could raise costs by 30–35%. In Singapore, which imports over 90% of its food, Classic Fine Foods deputy general manager Ynyr Jones says supply consistency, specifications and viable pricing are growing challenges. Seasonal produce, selected seafood, premium meats, dairy, cheese and artisanal products are particularly vulnerable.
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Singapore’s Curated Culture offers three zero-sugar functional beverage lines: Relax, Recover and Refresh

🥤 Singapore’s Curated Culture, launched in 2021 by National University of Singapore food scientists, offers three zero-sugar, halal-certified, Nutri-Grade B drinks: Refresh with 5g fibre, Relax targeting stress and sleep, and Recover with 2,400mg BCAAs plus electrolytes. Asia-Pacific’s functional beverage market is valued at USD 116.19 billion in 2026 and projected to reach USD 172.49 billion by 2031, growing at 8.22% annually as health-conscious consumers and low-sugar regulations reshape demand.
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Four Luxury Spas in Asia and the Middle East Turn Local Ingredients Into Signature Rituals

🌿 Four luxury spas across Malaysia, Oman, Thailand and Dubai spotlight local wellness traditions in a September 16, 2026 feature. The Datai, Langkawi, has 121 accommodations and uses rainforest ingredients. Oman’s Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar, 2,000 metres above sea level, offers pomegranate treatments. Mandarin Oriental Bangkok blends regional spices with Thai massage. Dubai’s Jumeirah Zabeel Saray offers olive-oil hammam rituals and pineapple scrubs for ages 12+, connecting guests with local heritage.
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JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong Details Sustainability Challenges Facing Asia’s Hotels and Fish Bar’s Three-Star Rating

🌱 JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong earned LEED O+M Gold certification and a WELL Health-Safety Rating in August 2026. Its Fish Bar achieved a three-star Food Made Good rating in 2025. General Manager GP Yeow says departmental ESG targets, staff training and owner investment help reduce waste and conserve energy without disrupting 24/7 operations or luxury service. Level 7 showcases responsibly sourced timber furniture, organic culinary herbs and low-carbon wellness activities.
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Farmacy Brings Smart Mobile Farms to Hong Kong Urban Spaces, Using Data on Over 100 Plant Varieties

🌱 Launched in 2018, Hong Kong’s Farmacy brings decentralised farming into hotels, restaurants, supermarkets and offices. Its roughly 1-square-metre Smart Mobile Farms control growing conditions using data on 100-plus plant varieties. Hong Kong imports over 90% of its food; vegetable self-sufficiency is just 1.82%. Co-founder and CEO Raymond Mak’s model enables on-site harvesting, reducing transport and storage needs. Farmacy has established a Melbourne joint venture and targets Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Singapore for expansion.
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Plant-Forward Oyster Oyster in Washington, DC Earns Three-Star Food Made Good Rating in 2026

🌱 Chef-partner Rob Rubba’s Oyster Oyster in Shaw, Washington, DC, earned three stars in its first Food Made Good assessment in 2026. After nearly 17 years cooking meat and fish, Rubba champions seasonal, plant-forward tasting menus supporting regional farms and healthy soil. One course features a local oyster, with a vegan alternative available. The restaurant reduces waste by transforming stems, skins and seeds into dishes and drinks, while running weekly staff learning sessions.
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