Innovation

🏨 Indian travel solutions firm Technoheaven launched the Smart Markup module at the Arabian Travel Market event in Dubai. Utilizing AI, it analyzes over 50 million daily searches, booking history, search behavior, nationality trends, and seasonal dynamics for predictive pricing, enabling travel businesses to set dynamic margins for maximum profitability. Vinod Kelwani, CEO of Technoheaven, emphasizes control and adaptability in pricing with their new inventory system that also helps businesses become a Bedbank.

🛆 Victoria + Albert to preview their new soaking bath at Clerkenwell Design Week, 20-22 May, in the London Charterhouse courtyard. The Kerid bath, launching in September, is 135cm long, 83cm high, and made from a blend of Volcanic Limestone™ and resin, suitable for both indoor and outdoor installation. It targets a growing market seeking the health benefits of soaking. The House of Rohl exhibit will also feature a kitchen island by Luxe Projects, with Shaws and Perrin & Rowe brands, and traditional bathroom displays with Artisans of Devizes. Cold and warm water immersion benefits include reduced stress, improved sleep, mood, circulation, and mental well-being. The Charterhouse venue will host various design concepts and Conversations at Clerkenwell.

🏨 Matthias Huettebraeuker interviews Stijn Oyen, Managing Director of Design Hotels, on April 26, 2025, discussing the world's most innovative hotels. Discover the unique properties at DesignHotels.com and explore how music by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound enhances the hospitality brand identity.

📡 Hyper-customization in hospitality is about personalizing guest experiences, a trend widely adopted in recent years. It involves tailoring aspects such as welcome experiences, room settings, and services, but true hyper-customization is challenging to achieve. Challenges include time constraints, labor intensity, human error, fragmented systems, training gaps, and operational inconsistencies. RoomChecking offers a solution by automating operations, integrating Property Management Systems (PMS) data, and streamlining workflows to facilitate hyper-customization for hotels. This approach aims to foster brand loyalty, guest satisfaction, and revenue despite hurdles like scaling, resource limitations, evolving guest expectations, and technological barriers.

🏨 🏨 Palette Hotels has been awarded management of the 140-room DoubleTree by Hilton in Washington, Pennsylvania, with plans for a multi-million dollar refurbishment. This will include updates to Hilton Connected Rooms, lobby, guestrooms, bathrooms, meeting spaces, restaurant, bar, and lounge. The hotel, owned by Sunrise Gold Hospitality, marks Palette's fourth partnership with Hilton and second hotel in Pennsylvania. Amenities feature an outdoor pool, 24/7 fitness center, and 13,000 square feet of event space. The renovation aims to position the hotel as the 'newest' in the Washington market in five years.

🏠 Palette Hotels will manage the 140-room DoubleTree by Hilton Washington Meadow Lands Casino Area in Washington, Pennsylvania. They will oversee a multi-million dollar refurbishment, including technology enhancements, new signage, landscaping, and renovations of the lobby, guestrooms, bathrooms, meeting spaces, restaurant, bar, and lounge. The hotel, owned by Sunrise Gold Hospitality, offers an outdoor pool, fitness center, business center, and 13,000 square feet of event space. It marks Palette's fourth collaboration with Hilton and their second hotel in Pennsylvania.

💾 MaxiRoom is Hotelbeds' extranet designed to help hotels maximize revenue through promotions, setup, and integrations. The guide offers a step-by-step approach, detailed on Hotelogix's blog. Authored by Vanshikha Dhar, the article includes images and is accessible in web and AMP versions. It features links to resources like fonts and stylesheets, and it's part of the Hotelogix Blog, which focuses on hospitality tips and trends. The content is dated April 25, 2025, and shared via Hotelogix's Facebook page.

💾 Michelle Mu Sharma, the Commercial Director at Refinery Hotel, experienced a significant shift in commercial performance by adopting LodgIQ. The implementation of LodgIQ enabled the team to discover room-type pricing deltas up to $500 on peak weekends, increase direct bookings above 40%, and achieve close to 90% occupancy with strong Net ADR and minimal discounting. This transformation allowed Michelle to shift her focus from spreadsheets to strategic decision-making.

✈ Finnair partners with American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) to offer new digital content and NDC-enabled offers to corporate customers. Amex GBT, with over 20 key airline partners, has processed one million NDC tickets since January 2024 across 16 countries. Finnair’s fares are now available to Amex GBT customers without surcharges, enhancing value and maintaining managed travel program integrity. Executives John Bukowski and Jenni Suomela emphasize innovation and customer experience through personalized, efficient travel solutions.

📈 Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2025, set from 28 April to 1 May, expects 55,000 attendees and features over 2,800 exhibitors from 161 global destinations. Visitor registrations soared by 104% from the previous year. Cassie Kozyrkov, ex-Google AI expert, and John Duffield, futurist, will speak on AI's impact on travel. A 30 April panel will address AI ethics with Robin Lawther of Expedia. Travel tech exhibitors increased by 25%, indicating a $10.7 billion industry opportunity.