The Columns

📺 The new era of in-room TV has begun, transforming it into a monetized point-of-sale platform. Advertisements now offer one-click purchases directly from the screen, turning passive consumption into active commerce. This shift has significant implications for the hospitality industry, offering potential for increased revenue through real-time prompts and personalized data. However, the balance between enhancing guest experience and turning their sanctuary into a retail space is under scrutiny. The future of guest stays is poised for change.

💻 The article critiques the hypocrisy of revenue leaders promoting personalization while pushing rigid packages in hospitality. It argues packages, designed to simplify pricing, lack true personalization, which should empower customers to customize experiences digitally. Despite available technology, the industry clings to easily marketed packages, treating guests as statistical units. The author urges a shift to genuine self-directed choices, highlighting a gap in strategic vision. True personalization serves guests, contrasting packages serving operational convenience.

Last month, the usual October industry event took place. I won’t name it—you know which one. While scrolling through LinkedIn comments, I came across a colleague’s summary of the day:…

I’ve become the kind of man who needs three browsers just to know where he is, what he’s supposed to be doing, and sometimes who the hell he even is.…

💻 Amazon vs. Perplexity: the battle for user interaction intensifies. Amazon accuses Perplexity's AI "Comet" tool of unauthorized access and degrading user experience. This AI bypasses Amazon's curated shopping model, threatening ad-driven revenue. In travel, AI could disrupt direct bookings and OTA control. It's a showdown between platform control and user autonomy, with implications for retail and hospitality industries. Prepare for AI's impact on transaction models or risk losing control in the digital economy.

The sound of Bill Hornbuckle admitting to the press that the pricing strategy was a mistake, that the $26 water and the $12 coffee were a “shame on us” moment,…

💬 In Manchester, a Headstock Mental Health Fundraiser was co-sponsored by my studio and Peter Hook and the Light at the Star & Garter. The event aimed to support Shout UK, a mental health hotline, beneath Ian Curtis's mural, which Amazon later covered with an ad. ChatGPT reports over a million weekly discussions on suicide or self-harm, highlighting AI’s reflection of user anxieties. Despite technological advancements, human connection remains essential. – Simone Puorto

Monday night, 9:32 PM. An email lands in my inbox.Sender: “WB-827 Assistant Исаев” (that alone should’ve been a clue).Subject: We need your response within 24 hours – Laura Thomas. Inside,…

🌎 Global tourism is projected to grow by 10% this decade, surpassing a billion international arrivals and contributing $16 trillion to the global GDP by 2034. However, automation and rising living costs may reduce incomes, particularly affecting the middle class in developing countries. This could hinder leisure travel, with the tourism industry vulnerable to economic shifts. The anticipated growth might face challenges if disposable incomes decline, altering the industry's optimistic future narrative.

I don’t see any future for e-commerce that isn’t conversational or agent-driven — and what OpenAI is building might finally push us into what I’ve been calling for years “the…