Innovation

💻 LONDON—RMS and TRYBE launched their first integration phase. This real-time connection automates billing for hotels and spas, reducing admin time and enhancing the guest experience. The integration aims to streamline operations by syncing room and spa charges and payments. Future updates will allow properties to send booking links for spa treatments. Adam Seskis, RMS CEO, emphasizes smoother experiences, while TRYBE’s Ricky Daniels highlights operational clarity, marking a milestone in hospitality tech.

📅 BWH Hotels held its annual convention in Seattle with more than 3,000 attendees. In the past year, they generated $8.5 billion in revenue and saw a 25% increase in app bookings. The Best Western Rewards loyalty program reached 64 million members. Key announcements include a new website and app launch in 2026, a partnership with Tripadvisor for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and several international expansions with 300 deals signed. WorldHotels aims for 250 properties by 2026.

💻 Chat GP integrates an Expedia app for trip planning with fast, visual, and intuitive results, offering hotel room types and prices, flight options, interactive maps, and dynamic pricing. To access, start a query with "Expedia." Available to logged-in users on Free, Go, Plus, and Pro plans, excluding the EU.

💻 UK university students can apply for Dida’s Future of Travel challenge, organized with Headstart Global, to innovate in AI-powered travel, sustainable tourism, and future accommodation. Finals on 1 November 2025 at Shangri-La Hotel, London, feature nine teams pitching to Dida’s executives. Winners receive cash prizes and Insight Week in Shenzhen, China, at Dida HQ. Participants include students from LSE, UCL, Edinburgh, Warwick, and Manchester.

🛩 Revolut's eSIM feature offers instant mobile data access via banking app, delighting users by solving unexpected travel pain points. Nesrine Changuel, with a PhD in physics, emphasizes delight as a product discipline through a 50-40-10 rule: 50% functionality, 40% blending function and emotion, and 10% purely emotional features. Eric Ryan's brands stand out by combining familiarity with novelty, while Will Guidara's hospitality approach emphasizes intentional delight, such as themed desserts and unexpected gestures.

📄 9 October 2025, San Francisco: Hospitable launched Owner Portals, enhancing property owner-manager collaboration. Owners get real-time access to performance data via personalized logins, without burdening managers with manual tasks. Managers control information access, maintaining privacy. New features integrate owner stays into reports, streamline repeat processes, and ensure transparency. These portals, part of Hospitable’s property management advancements since 2016, facilitate smarter rental business operations and relationships. CEO Pierre-Camille Hamana emphasizes balancing owner visibility with manager control.

💬 OpenAI's Sora 2 initiates scalable synthetic influencers; Airbnb, Booking, and Expedia face AI adoption challenges. Expedia study highlights hotel rate misuse, causing revenue losses. Radiohead's tour boosts Bologna's bookings by 73%, but revenue potential remains untapped. Over 70 countries offer digital nomad visas. AI slop research shows 40% of employees spend hours correcting AI work. Google blocks AI scrapers, complicating data extraction. Agentic browsers excel in deep-dive analytics, offering new AI applications.

📷 ATLANTA, US, October 9th, 2025 – Shiji's Iceportal Content hits a milestone with over 2.5 million hotel images distributed globally, enhancing its leadership in hospitality content distribution. In 15 years, the platform has empowered 65,000+ properties and connected with 600+ global channels. Featuring 2,000+ attributes and 24/7 support, Iceportal ensures brand consistency. Natalie Kimball emphasizes its role in maximizing revenue potential and supporting hoteliers amid growing competition.