Innovation

🌍 Jul 3, 2025, Singapore – Agoda, an online travel agency, saw its revenue rise from $1.2B in 2020 to $2.2B in 2024, leveraging in-house technology and AI. With 1,800 tech staff mainly in Bangkok and India, Agoda focuses on GenAI for personalisation and cybersecurity. Their investment in technology is their second-largest expense after marketing. Agoda aims for a global reach with localised experiences, enhancing offerings and targeting tier II cities and domestic travel.

💼 June 2025, global. STAAH updates its Channel Manager and Booking Engine for enhanced usability. The Channel Manager now features a redesigned Mapping Details Page with improved integration categories. The Booking Engine introduces a Discount Ribbon for promotional packages, meal icons, and a strikethrough on base rates for discounts. New language translation options have been added. Integrations include Odeon Tours, MIPS, and Zuba, expanding service offerings across 90 destinations and 40 countries.

🏨 Priya Rajamani, SVP at Stayntouch, highlights task automation as crucial due to global hotel labor shortages and high turnover. Advanced PMSs offer features like automated check-ins, mobile keys, and guest communications. Adam Harris, CEO of Cloudbeds, mentions how these systems reduce training from 40 to under 5 hours. Audrey MacRae of Maestro emphasizes role-based dashboards for efficiency. AI-enabled PMSs boost guest personalization and predictive analytics, achieving 96% confidence in forecasting key metrics 180 days ahead.

💻 SAN DIEGO, California—RateGain Travel Technologies Limited partnered with Cloudbeds to optimize hotel distribution strategies using AI. The integration of RateGain’s UNO Channel Manager with Cloudbeds’ PMS allows management of rates, inventory, and reservations across 400+ distribution channels. This AI-powered collaboration aims to eliminate manual tasks and overbookings while enabling hoteliers to unlock new revenue opportunities and enhance profitability.

📈 HOLLYWOOD, Florida—Shiji announced an upgrade to Reviewpro Reputation’s AI Responses. After one month, HM Hotels responded to over 82% of 661 reviews with a 100% response rate on Google, Booking.com, and Tripadvisor. Negative and neutral reviews were addressed in under 2.7 days. New features include formal, friendly, empathetic, and “Business Casual” tone options; a bulk response option for 20+ reviews; and enhanced workflow visibility, all ensuring efficient, brand-aligned responses.

🍴 Major culinary cities like Singapore, Bangkok, and Hong Kong are witnessing a transformative shift in the F&B industry due to evolving consumer preferences, market saturation, and global inflation. Meanwhile, emerging destinations with lower entry barriers and rising affluence offer new opportunities for innovation. A panel featuring Sameer Seth, Stefanie Wijono, and Sarissa Rodriguez-Schwartz, moderated by Nicola Lee, will explore these challenges and opportunities in a session focused on Asia's F&B future.

💻 Lufthansa leveraged conversational agentic AI during the COVID-19 pandemic to manage surging inquiries. AI agents handle tasks autonomously, like rebooking flights and processing refunds, reducing human workload. These agents, integrated with backend systems, manage over 16 million conversations annually, offering multilingual support and real-time translation. This technology enhances customer service by providing real-time issue resolution and personalized trip planning, proving more efficient than traditional chatbots and call centers.

💻 Technoheaven's new bed bank platform, launched in 2025, offers access to over 1 million properties globally, partnering with 80+ suppliers and 15+ channel managers. The platform features API integration for scalability, AI-powered Hotel Mapping for data standardization, and dynamic pricing tools. Travel agents, OTAs, and DMCs benefit from seamless operations and multiple revenue streams, while suppliers gain control over inventory distribution. CEO Vinod Kelwani highlights transparency, profitability, and scale.

✈️ Next-generation travel company, 3Victors, has launched its AI-powered analytics tool, PriceEye, to aid airlines in real-time competitive pricing management. The dashboard integrates enriched shopping data and AI analytics, allowing analysts to quickly adjust strategies. Airlines can identify pricing gaps and respond to market shifts using AI-driven alerts. Initial reviews are positive, with airlines praising the tool's transparency and revenue optimization capabilities. PriceEye draws data from airlines, OTAs, metasearch engines, GDSs, and ATPCO.

🌎 Jul 2, 2025 – Google’s AI-driven travel predictions are revolutionizing travel planning. Travelers receive personalized recommendations based on behavior, demographics, preferences, and previous activity, powered by machine learning and generative AI. Hotels must adapt to this shift, optimizing visibility across Google platforms like Search, Maps, Lens, and Gemini. AI considers pricing and structured data when ranking hotels. Traditional marketing strategies are less effective, and serendipitous discovery of new places is diminishing.