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Simone Puorto

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  • 4 min

Google vs. Booking.com: How the DMA Plays Favorites

🏨 The Digital Markets Act (DMA) aims to level the competitive playing field but faces uneven enforcement, especially in travel and hospitality. Google's over 20 changes to European services have removed features like flight information, dropping free direct booking clicks by 30%. This over-compliance has accidentally benefited OTAs, whereas Booking.com's superficial adjustments fail to address key issues, maintaining its dominance. European hotels saw over a 10% traffic drop after Google tested removing hotel search features. Google halted the test due to negative user and business impacts, advocating for balanced DMA compliance to avoid harming the industry.
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  • 3 min

HITEC Rewind: Ryan King on Enhancing Guest and Employee Experiences with Shiji | By Simone Puorto and Ryan King

📱 Ryan King, Senior Vice President, Americas at Shiji Group, during HITEC 2024 in Charlotte, discussed the company's hospitality technology focus and security. Shiji Group aids hotels with cyber threat protection, global regulatory compliance, and enhances guest and employee experiences with technology like mobile-based housekeeping and pool area POS systems. King stressed the importance of human-centric technology and change management for successful adoption. The company looks forward to AI strategy outcomes and continued innovation.
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  • 3 min

HITEC Rewind: Natalie Kimball on Streamlining Hotel Content Distribution with Shiji Distribution Solutions | By Simone Puorto and Natalie Kimball

📱 Simone Puorto interviewed Natalie Kimball, VP of Strategic Accounts at Shiji Distribution Solutions, during HITEC 2024 in Charlotte. Kimball highlighted Shiji's transition from concept pitches to launching live products within a year, aiming to ease labor shortages in hospitality by streamlining hotel content distribution. The Content Hub, developed over five years, centralizes data to ensure accuracy and efficiency. Shiji, having acquired Ice Portal, now offers a comprehensive platform for hotel content management, continually evolving based on customer feedback.
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  • 2 min

HITEC Rewind: Guilain Denisselle on AI’s Short-Term Impact in Hospitality | By Simone Puorto and Guilain Denisselle

📊 At HITEC 2024, Simone Puorto interviewed Guilain Denisselle, a hospitality veteran with 35 years of experience. Denisselle predicts AI will enhance revenue management, guest messaging, and system connectivity in hospitality. He suggests AI could replace APIs for simple tasks and foresees a rise in Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to reduce manual work. The integration of AI aims to streamline operations and improve the guest experience by HITEC 2025. This insight is part of Hospitality Net's HITEC 2024 series.
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