Innovation

📅 Dave North and Jeavon Lolay from Lloyds Banking Group are confirmed contributors for the Hotel Owner Conference 2026. The event is on 3 November 2026 at Prince Philip House, London, focusing on UK hotel ownership trends. It features finance, technology, design, and sustainability themes. Key speakers include Julie White (Accor), David Anderson (Aimbridge), David JM Orr (Resident Hotels), and Tim Davis (PACE Dimensions). The conference is from 09:00–17:00 GMT.

🌐 In 2026, the hotel industry faces a choice between Per Day Pricing (PDP) and Occupancy Based Pricing (OBP). PDP, the traditional model, uses a base rate to auto-calculate prices for different occupancies, offering speed but limited flexibility. OBP provides independent pricing for each occupancy, allowing precision but requiring significant data management. A PDP setup might handle 10 base prices, while OBP deals with 160 prices, reflecting a balance between efficiency and control. €54,000 in potential high-season revenue hinges on this choice.

📈 Postillion Hotels in the Netherlands increased Cvent-sourced revenue by 30% YoY during Thynk's pilot integration with the Cvent Supplier Network. The hotel chain achieved a 69% win rate when responding to RFPs within the top three positions, compared to just 2% when responding later. This integration automates lead management and proposal creation, eliminating manual data entry and increasing data accuracy, significantly enhancing their sales team's efficiency and ROI.

💸 Omniboost enhances Toast POS-Mews PMS integration with Full Revenue Push in North America, boosting data unification in hospitality. Real-time charges update guest profiles, eliminating manual entry errors. The integration offers detailed financial visibility with itemized transactions and granular revenue mapping for F&B and finance teams. Built on Omniboost’s platform, this functionality empowers efficient operations and personalized guest experiences, impacting over 10,000 integrations in 85+ countries. Mews supports 15,000 customers globally with award-winning technology.

💻 February 3, 2026 - Berlin: AMANO Group, with 12 hotels in major cities and 1,300 rooms, completed a digital transformation using Mews. The rollout, one property per week, centralizes operations, reducing administrative workload by 85%. The transformation, completed by July 2025, includes online check-in and digital keys, enhancing guest experience. AMANO plans to double its portfolio in three years. Mews serves 15,000 customers across 85 countries, named Best PMS and POS multiple times.

🌍 In 2026, the travel industry is evolving with trends like the Pawprint Economy, making pet-inclusive travel more accessible. AI enhances personalized travel planning, while new aircraft unlock more nonstop routes. Pop culture influences travel destinations, and hotels offer tailored experiences. Innovation tourism highlights destinations shaped by tech and creativity. These changes reflect a shift towards more personalized, tech-savvy, and inclusive travel experiences. Explore more trends in the blog, "Top Travel Trends for 2026.

💻 In February 2026, 10 Minutes Hotels, France's top hospitality podcast, featured LodgIQ's AI Wizard during their global launch. The episode highlighted the industry's shift from data collection to strategic AI-driven decision-making. Focused AI transforms Revenue Managers into commercial strategists, saving hours daily by prioritizing tasks. For example, a €34 rate adjustment could boost occupancy by 12.4%. LodgIQ, based in Silicon Valley, integrates RMS, BI, and AI for seamless revenue management.

🦀 Hospitality is witnessing a shift with the Moltbook Effect, where AI systems reshape asset evaluations by machine-generated narratives. This machine-to-machine interaction influences rankings and decisions in the human economy. AI narrative governance is vital to manage valuation growth, as machines interpret data with mutual reinforcement, risking misalignment. Owners must govern AI-level sentiment to prevent valuation memory issues. Pertlink Limited, an IT consultancy in Hong Kong, helps the hospitality industry navigate these technologies since October 23, 2000.

FINLAND, 3 February 2026 — New research from leading vacation rental software, Hostaway, has found that the highest-performing vacation rentals on Vrbo tend to demonstrate the same traits, offering property managers a practical blueprint…

🗺️ Brits in 2026 are opting for longer short-haul flights, with a 12% rise in travel to Tunisia and increased interest in Georgia's Tblisi. 49% plan trips using VR and vlogs. 52% intend to explore new destinations, while 22% use translation technology. Astronomy tourism is trending, with an eclipse viewable from Spain on August 12. EasyJet reports a 21% rise in longer-leisure destination bookings. 28% choose trips based on TV or books, while padel's popularity boosts sports tourism in Spain.