Innovation

Event Schema.org markup helps hotel websites clearly communicate event details like dates, times, locations, and descriptions to search engines and …

More updates, screenshots, and opinions on DMA! Oliver Bethell from Google posted that they'll be rolling out new DMA-compliant UX: …

New CEO Dominic Dragisich says Choice's build-and-buy era is over. His formula is to grow U.S. room count, close the revenue-generation gap with peer brands like Wyndham, and sell real estate it doesn't need to own.

Here’s something you might not expect coming from someone who writes about the hotel industry for a living: I don’t travel all that much. I don’t spend days and nights…

Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano was asked where AI is showing up in practice. He said the "biggest impact" so far has been on "distribution," or how travelers discover hotels online.

Free Wi-Fi stopped being a differentiator years ago. Every property offers it, guests expect it without asking, and most never think about what’s actually running underneath the login screen. That’s…

📈 94% of hotels are absent from AI search results for event bookings; high-ranking hotels have rich content and strong third-party ratings. Forbes and Michelin ratings explain 55% of AI recommendation variance for luxury hotels. In 2027, RevPAR growth is predicted to slow to 2.1%, emphasizing cost control over top-line growth. London's credit card commissions rose 7.9%, labor costs outpace RevPAR, and Dutch hotel demand may drop 2.5% due to VAT hikes. Unified data tools boost RevPAR by 2.7%.

📈 75% of event planners use AI for sourcing; 94% of hotels lack AI visibility. AI platforms (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude) replace traditional SEO, with planners seeking specific venue details like location and capacity. Cvent Europe Ltd, with over 5,000 employees and 24,000 customers globally, highlights the need for detailed content strategies. Only venues with extensive descriptions are AI-preferred, with Diamond tier listings receiving 50% more AI citations. AI visibility, not clicks, is the new success metric.

💰 In 2026, U.S. RevPAR is projected to grow by 4.4%, driven by a 1.7% demand increase and a 3.1% ADR boost, fueled by events like the World Cup. In 2027, RevPAR growth is expected to slow to 2.1%, with ADR rising 1.6% and demand up by 1.1%. U.S. hotels recorded a record 11.4 million more room nights in the first half of 2026 compared to 2025. Approximately $88 billion in hotel loans will mature through 2027, creating refinancing opportunities.

📚 In a study by Americas Great Resorts analyzing 148 luxury hotels, ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, or Gemini were already recommending these hotels. Despite implementing advanced website optimizations, structured-data completeness correlated merely 0.02 with recommendation frequency. Forbes Travel Guide ratings and Michelin Key counts, however, accounted for 54.7% of the variance in log recommendation frequency. Forbes Five-Star hotels averaged 13.4 recommendation slots, while those with three Michelin Keys averaged 13.0 slots. Website data did not significantly impact recommendation frequency.