Innovation

💻 Jun 30, 2026: Google uses Gemini to find hotels, linking users to Google Hotels or direct booking pages instead of completing transactions. The GDS system, running for 40 years, uses "pull" technology for real-time bookings, unlike "push" methods like DirectBooker. Structured data from GDS includes a payment settlement layer standardized by HEDNA, HTNG, and OpenTravel. Google's advertising model conflicts with building a neutral booking system, leaving space for others to develop AI-native distribution systems.

🏨 David Millili, Jon Bumhoffer, and Steve Carran conducted interviews at HITEC this week. Ryan King from Shiji Group emphasized technology aiding hotel staff. Tim Major, CEO of Operto, discussed challenges in maintaining direct bookings. Will Gilbert from Bodhi highlighted the need for practical AI solutions. Anthony Vita from Revenue Analytics stressed advanced demand forecasting. Jeff Bzdawka from Hapi elaborated on system integration for cleaner hotel operations data. Modern Hotelier Media transforms event content for extended engagement.

📰 June 15, 2026, Media: Journalist Josh Fehnert discusses the enduring concerns about AI in journalism. Despite technological changes, Monocle magazine maintains a human-driven content creation policy. The importance of high-quality journalism remains, with human reporters offering insights beyond AI's capabilities. While AI aids in tasks like research, accountability for its output is crucial. Fehnert argues for journalists to leverage their skills and emphasize their relevance in an era of misinformation.

📹 David, Jon, and Steve hosted Philip von Ditfurth and Florian Montag from Apaleo in a recent HITEC episode to discuss hotel tech flexibility. Apaleo supports hoteliers with adaptable tech ecosystems, enhancing operations and guest experiences. CitizenM hotels exemplify tech-driven experiences by prioritizing guest needs over technology for its own sake. The episode highlights the importance of purposeful technology in improving staff efficiency and guest satisfaction. Contact The Modern Hotelier at [email protected] for collaboration. #TheModernHotelier #Podcast #Media

🏨 Stefano Cuoco, leader of Miramis Italy and Sweden, shares insights in a 50-minute #BrandInsiders episode. Miramis, a hospitality innovator, focuses on luxury stays and entertainment venues in Stockholm and Tuscany. Key properties include LA ROQQA Hotel, Boutique Hotel Torre di Cala Piccola, and the upcoming Fattoria La Capitana. Discussed topics include hospitality growth through unique features, with an emphasis on sustainability and local storytelling. New openings include Gasometer arts center and Ex Cirio wellness property.

💸 10% of North America's beauty e-commerce sales come from social commerce, according to Circana. At Cannes Lions, Lindsay Pullins and Cara Pratt noted 70% of shoppers use AI for product search. The shift to AI-driven transactions is imminent, with agentic systems evaluating product data. Retail media's fractured infrastructure impedes standardization, hindering progress. By 2030, brands succeeding will be those prioritizing product data over creative optimization.

🛒 In 2025, Amazon merged Rufus, used by 300 million customers, with Alexa+ to create "Alexa for Shopping." This service enhances the shopping experience with personalized guides, product insights, dynamic comparisons, and a year-long price history. Advertisers can engage through sponsored ads and conversational ads on Alexa+. The integration aims to improve product discovery and automate purchasing, making Alexa a leading AI shopping assistant.

The line you hear now from investors and consultants goes like this. Hospitality has spent two years putting AI on top of how it already works. The next step is to stop doing that and build processes that assume AI from the start. The companies that pull it off pull ahead. Most can't, the argument goes, because they don't have the engineers. That last part is built for a software company, not a hotel. Hotels don't hire engineers and build their own systems. They buy them — from a PMS vendor, an RMS vendor, a channel manager — and they've done it that way for twenty years. So the framing misses how a hotel actually adopts anything. The real question is simpler: will a vendor sell me this, and when. And that question splits in a way the slogan hides. There isn't one job called "go AI-native." There are two, and they don't run on the same clock. Two clocks Inside the hotel, going AI-native is something you choose, and you choose it the way you've chosen every tool before it: you wait for your PMS or RMS vendor to ship an AI-native version, you buy it, you switch it on. You can rebuild forecasting around an agent or leave it in a spreadsheet. You can let a system set prices on its own or keep a person in the seat. If the vendor is late, you wait. The pace is the vendor's, and nothing breaks tomorrow if it slips. Distribution is the other job, and you don't hold the clock. The guest's AI is already shopping. Someone opens an assistant, describes a trip, and the assistant goes looking for a place to put them. It doesn't read your website the way a person does. It asks a question and wants a clean answer back. If your hotel can't answer in the form the machine expects, the machine moves to one that can. You didn't agree to this and you can't postpone it. The demand side switched first, and it set the date. So "become AI-native" means two things in the same building. On the inside it's an option. On distribution it's a deadline. What AI-native distribution actually looks like It helps to see it concretely, because the phrase is easy to say and hard to picture. Start with today. You write a description of the hotel for a person to read. You push that description and your rates out to the channels. Then you wait — to be ranked, listed, or scraped. The whole posture is push it out and hope it lands well. Now the machine version. The description stops being a brochure. It becomes a set of facts a machine can ask about: does it have a pool, is parking free, will two adults and a child fit in this room on these dates. Each fact sits where an assistant can find it and check it in a second. You stop pushing and waiting. You open a

ORLANDO, FL — Villatel , the hospitality company operating at the intersection of luxury resorts and vacation rentals, today announces the launch of a new multi-brand platform designed to bring its growing portfolio of premium hospitality offerings under a unifed strategic framework. The new structure formally organizes the company into two distinct business lines: Villatel Resorts , a premium resort brand combining hotel-caliber hospitality with large-format accommodations designed for families and groups, and Homes by Villatel , a curated vacation rental platform built around professionally managed homes held to rigorous brand standards. The move reflects Villatel's evolution from a singular brand into a broader hospitality platform spanning resorts and premium vacation rentals, while creating greater clarity for guests, owners and development partners. Villatel has always stood for the combination of a villa and a hotel. As we've grown, it became clear that guests are seeking two distinct experiences from our offerings. Some want the amenities, service and programming of a resort without sacrificing space. Others crave the flexibility and privacy of a vacation home backed by a trusted brand. This new structure allows us to clearly define those experiences while consistently delivering on the exceptional service standards guests expect from Villatel. Stephen Lobell, CEO of Villatel Responding to Evolving Traveler Expectations The launch comes as the hospitality industry continues to see increasing demand for larger accommodations, family-focused travel experiences and professionally managed vacation rentals. “While traditional resorts often struggle to accommodate larger groups without requiring multiple rooms, many vacation rental platforms continue to face challenges around consistency, quality control and professional management,” Lobell said. “Villatel's new platform is designed to address both gaps.” Under the Villatel Resorts brand, guests can expect a hospitality-forward stay featuring expansive accommodations paired with resort amenities including elevated culinary experiences, a bespoke arrival + check in journey, security and programming and destination amenities. The brand combines the space and togetherness traditionally associated with vacation rentals with the service standards and amenities expected from premium resorts. Homes by Villatel, meanwhile, will focus on curated vacation rentals that meet Villatel’s established brand standards while preserving local character and market expertise. The platform will support both Villatel-developed inventory and future third-party management opportunities, providing guests with professionally vetted accommodations backed by a trusted hospitality brand. A Platform Built for Scale Villatel plans to expand both business lines through a combination of development, acquisitions and third-party management opportunities. The platform is designed to support the addition of new resort properties, branded residential offerings and premium vacation rental portfolios while maintaining consistent operating standards across markets. As part of the launch, Villatel Resort Orlando will become the flagship property , serving as the brand's proof of concept and foundation for future expansion. Looking ahead, Villatel expects the platform to support growth across additional leisure destinations nationwide through both resort development and the expansion of Homes by Villatel into new vacation rental markets. Distinct Brands, Shared Standards Although each business line will operate with its own positioning and guest experience, both