Martin Soler

📈 Louis Vuitton launched a hotel in Bangkok as an immersive luxury brand experience. Amazon Go is closing more stores due to its lack of human interaction. High-end travel still relies on human relationships, despite AI's rise. Airbnb's revenue growth is driven by AI integration, not luck. Outdoor hospitality is booming, with glamping showing double-digit growth and Marriott entering the niche. Finally, subscription models in airlines, inspired by retail, offer flat-rate convenience and loyalty.

🖼️ Ferrari, with Jony Ive, launched a new design for their first electric vehicle, sparking diverse opinions. AI advancements show potential in hospitality and marketing, enabling room and layout adjustments. Interface improvements in AI image editing allow spatial reasoning, enhancing operational and design possibilities. OpenAI's introduction of ads in ChatGPT is limited to a select US group. Anthropic's Claude Opus 4.6 automates finance tasks. AI-driven destination management emphasizes community impact.

💻 Kurien Jacob, Partner at Highgate Tech Ventures, spoke on the CoStar News Hotels podcast, identifying AI as a major industry shift, not a passing trend. In hospitality, labor can account for 30%-40% of costs. AI can automate tasks, increasing efficiency and revenue. LodgIQ's AI Wizard assists with Revenue Management, providing reports, strategic insights, and market analysis. By 2026, AI adoption will determine success. AI aims to replace inefficiencies, not hospitality professionals.

📰 Whatnot's live commerce has reached $8 billion in sales, capturing over 50% of the US market. This trend in fashion and beauty is expanding community-driven, real-time shopping. In the hotel industry, Ian Schrager and Highgate are redefining the boutique model while Simone Puorto and others highlight the challenges of PMS transitions. Amazon is closing 72 stores but maintaining its "Just Walk Out" technology. Hotels face an AI shift, emphasizing the need for structured data for future success.

💰 OpenAI charges Shopify merchants 4% for ChatGPT sales. Global tourism receipts hit $1.8 trillion, a 20% increase from pre-COVID levels. St. Regis and Ritz-Carlton use butlers for higher ADRs. AI platforms challenge OTAs with superior models but lack trust for high-risk purchases. OTAs may evolve into backend providers, while AI could become the new metasearch. The hospitality industry grapples with tech-driven models, leadership, and the challenge of scaling like tech companies.

🚀 AI platforms are challenging Booking's dominance. OTAs have mature data, but AI-enhanced conversational search offers better user experience for travel bookings. OTAs may develop AI chat systems or become backend providers, while AIs could evolve into metasearch platforms. Google’s model shows AIs might avoid cancellations and refunds. GDS could supply data if they modernize. AI bots might create a gig economy for personal travel assistants. Despite AI's rise, OTAs still provide risk management in this stable market.

🛈 Agentic AI is reshaping commerce, with Amazon's AI, Rufus, impacting operational systems. Travel, contrasting with $5.99 battery sales, must adapt to AI trends. Marketers in 2026 should balance automation with human strategy, focusing on tasks AI shouldn't handle. Booking.com's AI strategy underscores the need for hybrid AI-human workflows. The balance between automation and human interaction is critical, as shown by debates on automating communication and maintaining the human touch. Automated systems risk becoming spam if human elements are lost.