Innovation

📈 Cendyn, a company specializing in hospitality software, announced updates to its revenue management products, Guestrev and Grouprev, aimed at increasing revenue and profitability for hoteliers and casinos. The enhancements include pricing recommendations, access to enriched lost business data, and tracking of rate changes. Additionally, Cendyn has strengthened its partnerships with Amadeus and Agilysys to improve data integration and response times to RFPs. The innovations allow for a deeper understanding of demand and intelligent pricing decisions. Kevin Duncan, SVP of product at Cendyn, emphasized the company's commitment to innovation and driving commercial success for its clients.

🍦 Brakes, the UK's leading foodservice wholesaler, introduces exclusive gelatos and sorbettos from Hackney Gelato and Jude’s. Hackney Gelato offers 13 varieties in a 4.5L format including 2 Star Great Taste winners and a 3 Star Award-winning Sea Salted Caramel Gelato. Jude’s provides a new 4.75L Napoli range with unique flavours like Bubblegum and Speculoos Caramel Biscuit. The premium range aims to differentiate menus, especially with Summer and National Ice Cream month approaching, and is exclusively available to Brakes customers. Paul Nieduszynski, CEO of Sysco GB, highlights the opportunity for menu differentiation and customer retention.

🏨 Aspire Group will rebrand the former Hotel Kaiserhof in Wuppertal, Germany as Spark by Hilton Wuppertal City Centre on 2 June 2025, following Germany's first Spark by Hilton in Stuttgart-Sindelfingen earlier in 2025. The hotel, with 172 rooms and situated next to Wuppertal Hauptbahnhof, is 35 kilometers from Düsseldorf Airport and features a 24/7 smart Grab & Go store and in-room steamers in its 11,000-square-metre property. This expansion aligns with Aspire Group's strategy of urban hotel repositioning and the market trend of revitalising city-centre hotels under midscale international brands. Spark by Hilton targets business and leisure guests, emphasizing operational simplicity and standardized services.

💰 Margaritaville's Chief Data Officer, Claudia Infante, utilizes data to reveal opportunities and refine customer experiences. On May 2, 2025, the Hospitality Daily Podcast featured her insights. Infante's strategy emphasizes innovation in Margaritaville's multifaceted operations. The podcast episode encourages businesses to apply the concepts discussed to benefit their operations and clientele.

📈 In the UK, AI adoption has surged by 33% in the past year, with over half (52%) of UK businesses now using AI, outpacing the European average growth of 27%. Businesses embracing AI every 60 seconds have seen a revenue increase, with 92% of AI adopters reporting higher earnings, up from 64% in 2023. Large enterprises' AI use has risen to 55%, but their application remains at a basic level, while 59% of startups have adopted AI, with 36% developing new AI-driven products. The digital skills gap presents a significant barrier to further adoption, as 38% of businesses struggle to access digital skills, up from 29% last year. UK businesses need an average of 5.5 months to hire someone with sufficient digital skills. AWS encourages UK policymakers to address these challenges to unlock AI’s full potential. Recently, Amazon announced an £8 billion investment in UK data centers projected to contribute £14 billion to GDP and support over 14,000 annual FTE jobs by 2028.

🖥 Almawave, part of the Almaviva Group, has incorporated Generative AI into its D/AI Destinations platform via subsidiary The Data Appeal Company. The platform utilizes advanced language models to process textual data for personalized analysis and strategic recommendations. This AI integration enhances Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) by delivering automated insights specific to each location, allowing them to monitor visitor sentiment and align with strategic priorities in real-time. CEOs Valeria Sandei and Mirko Lalli emphasize the transformation in tourism management, offering not only data but actionable insights for informed decision-making.

📌 RMS, a hospitality platform, partners with Right Revenue to offer real-time data integration for independent hotels. The collaboration enables smarter pricing and accurate forecasting, promising less than 2% margin of error in daily forecasts two years ahead and potential double-digit revenue growth. The integration offers automated pricing and customisable, real-time reporting on key business KPIs, allowing hoteliers to adapt quickly to booking trends and optimize revenue, similar to larger hotel chains' strategic rate strategies.

🌍 Sabre announced a multi-year global partnership with Gray Dawes Group, a major independent travel management company. Gray Dawes has chosen Sabre as its sole distribution platform. The collaboration aims to spur growth, focusing on innovation and operational efficiency, leveraging AI and automation. Gray Dawes' CEO, Suzanne Horner, highlighted the alignment with their global expansion and efficiency goals. The partnership supports Gray Dawes’ strategic expansion in Europe (UK, Netherlands), North America, and Australia, and integrates with their online corporate travel platform, YourTrip, powered by Atriis.

📱 Expedia Group partners with Beautiful Destinations, leveraging their 50M+ social media followers to enhance travel booking experiences. The industry-first collaboration combines high-quality content creation with Expedia's 'shoppable' technology for end-to-end advertising campaigns. A recent survey indicated that 61% of consumers are influenced by social media for travel inspiration. The partnership promises efficient content production and marketing channel deliveries, aiming to boost conversion rates for global audiences through platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

📈 Hospitable launches a dynamic pricing tool for hosts and property managers to automate rate-setting and adapt to real-time market trends. As the first PMS with built-in dynamic pricing at no extra fee, Hospitable aims to tackle industry challenges like meeting occupancy goals, which 57.2% of hosts struggle with, and pricing management, difficult for 28.9% of hosts. The tool provides real-time pricing recommendations, a flexible strategy range, and an integrated heatmap. For one month post-launch, Hospitable offers a 24-month preview of pricing trends without activation. Hospitable, evolving from PMS to short-term rental super app, serves all customers on Host, Professional, or Mogul plans starting today.