Innovation

📈 Leaders from CPG brands, ingredient companies, and food-tech startups discussed predictive AI in food innovation at FutureFWD. By 2030, AI will predict demand, shape ingredients, and speed up product development. Using AI Palette’s intelligence, the panel explored AI’s role in identifying trends, enhancing formulations, and targeting product launches, highlighting how data-driven decisions will shape future diets and help brands reduce risk, innovate rapidly, and meet evolving consumer preferences.

🗺️ CodeGen is the first enterprise travel platform to offer all operations via Model Context Protocols (MCPs). Initially created for an airline client, MCPs now facilitate seamless integration with systems like Amadeus PSS, enhancing real-time flight access. This innovation cuts integration time and costs, allowing travel agencies easy access to airline inventory without complex NDC integrations. MCP servers for TravelBox streamline connectivity and enhance workflow, reducing development time and costs for users.

💻 Dec 17, 2025, The Future Laboratory reports that for 2026, hotels must enhance guest experiences by aligning people, systems, and sensory design. Successful integration of digital infrastructure with human services enhances recognition and empathy. Prioritizing connection, reducing technological complexity, and valuing genuine storytelling over luxury are key. Cross-department collaboration in hotels is essential for delivering consistent guest experiences. Investing in empathetic and connected systems now equips hotels for evolving guest expectations.

💻 In a quest to revolutionize the web, a new model is transforming each URL into an interpretable endpoint by layering intelligence on the existing web. Using structured data like Schema.org and JSON-LD, each webpage becomes an API, making the web readable and executable by AI. The Model Context Protocol (MCP) connects AI understanding with business systems. Agentic Hospitality, led by Brad Brewer, implements this model to enhance guest experiences, with support from Google Cloud and Brewer Digital.

📲 DoorDash is piloting "Zesty," an AI-powered app for personalized restaurant discovery, in San Francisco and New York City. Available on iOS, it allows users to search with specific prompts, such as "cozy pasta spots on the Lower East Side under $100" and integrates data from DoorDash, Google Maps, and TikTok. Announced by founder Andy Fang, Zesty is part of DoorDash's September suite of innovations, including delivery robots and smart scales.

📅 Duetto will host its first global summit, PERFORM, on April 16, 2026, at Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort, Florida. This event will focus on revenue and profit performance for the hotel industry, featuring global industry leaders and technology partners. Attendees will access thought leadership, interactive workshops, and Duetto’s product insights. The summit aims to address the shift in hospitality strategy towards total revenue and profitability, drawing a global audience for networking and knowledge sharing.

📑 roommaster was recognized as a 2025 Trusted Vendor by Crozdesk for its high market presence. The cloud-native software aids over 100 countries' independent hotels by streamlining operations like reservations, payments, and guest engagement. CEO Rachel Douglas emphasizes its reliability and ease of use. Formerly innQuest, roommaster has a 30-year history of simplifying hospitality with innovative tools tailored for independent hoteliers.

🎪 Efteling, a renowned European theme park, has adopted Mews' hospitality operating system to enhance guest experiences at their four hotels: Efteling Grand Hotel, Wonder Hotel, Loonsche Land, and Bosrijk. Mews' open API platform integrates with Efteling's digital ecosystem, offering seamless services like digital room keys and automated check-ins via mobile. This synergy has streamlined operations and empowered staff, setting a new guest-centric standard in European hospitality. Mews supports over 12,500 customers in 85 countries.

💻 Cornell University's research, "Reasoning with Sampling," supports Rebyū's AI hotel review platform's design, emphasizing iterative prompting over model scale for superior reasoning. Rebyū uses a four-step process involving 497-word structured prompts, enhancing personalization and brand alignment. This contrasts with competitors' static templates. Rebyū's method outperforms in personalization and engagement metrics without relying on superior LLM access, validating its approach as a strategic differentiator in AI application.

💻 In 2025, only 28% of hotel chains automate repetitive tasks, while 31% plan to do so. RobosizeME’s automation saves hotels time and money: 1,500 properties save 72 human days monthly by automating rate management, and $10,492 annually per property by automating commission reconciliations. Another client automated 30% of profile suspensions, freeing 20 FTEs. Automation improves efficiency, data quality, and employee satisfaction without major system overhauls.