Google I/O, it changes OTA positions
Some of my takeaways from Google I/Os announcements last week. It is totally clear that travel search and inspiration is going to completely change in coming years. I can’t imagine…
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Architects of Our Own Demise
“Every time we ask a customer to undertake a process that we are supposed to do for them, we undermine the value of our own industry and create our own…
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The Last Straw
I was holding court in a self-consciously “edgy” cocktail bar recently, settling in for a few hours of conversation and what should have been effortless drinking. Instead, I found myself…
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The PMS Wars and AI
I read The PMS Era Is Ending a few days ago and it raised good points, especially around how slow PMS innovation has been historically, I believe this problem alone…
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The Way We Were
In my mind I am hearing Barbara Streisand sing that classic lament. “What’s to painful to remember, We simply choose to forget”. I’m standing in a hotel lobby—after dragging my…
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Dumb and Dumber
I was listening to a podcast the other day—Stephen Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO—hosting one of the foundational father figures of the AI movement. The conversation took a turn that…
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Every Robot was Kung-Fu Fighting!
Come recent news out of Shenzhen this week had me double-checking the calendar to ensure I hadn’t slipped into a Real Steel fever dream. But it’s 2026, and China has…
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Square Peg. Round Hole.
You often hear people in this industry talking about technology as if we’re just trying to jam a square peg into a square hole. It’s a comforting, albeit lazy, metaphor.…
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Hotel Brands are Aggregators
We tend to think of hotel brands as, well, brands. Distinct identities. Lifestyle positioning. Design, tone of voice, target audience. But as I’ve repeatedly called them, they’re labels. Traffic data shows…
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A seat at the table
I’ve just arrived at a fresh, modern hotel in the States. On first glance, it’s a win. The room is bright, the design is well-calculated, and it actually features a…
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