Innovation

💳 G6 Hospitality partners with PaymentKey to provide secure payment solutions across U.S. and Canada hotels. The integrated platform offers card processing, consolidated settlement, chargeback handling, and fraud protection. PaymentKey's PCI-compliant technology aims to increase transaction speed, real-time payment visibility, and guest satisfaction. It is optional for G6's franchisees and already live at select properties, with comprehensive support for transition without service disruption. CEOs of G6 and Natson Hotels highlight the partnership's benefit for operational excellence and technological advancement.

💻 Red Roof partnered with HotelIQ for HotelIQ Decision Cloud, an AI-powered platform for hospitality. Zack Gharib, Red Roof President, highlights AI's role in predictive pricing and revenue optimization across nationwide properties. The solution automates revenue management, streamlines operations, and enables data-driven decisions to increase efficiency and drive profitability. HotelIQ's CEO, Apo Demirtas, commends Red Roof's innovative approach to technology adoption.

🏨 Today's guests expect personalized hotel experiences, driving the need for data-driven relationship models and technology integration. Hotels respond to demographic preferences, with Baby Boomers preferring phone interactions and Millennials and Gen Z favoring digital channels. Mobile technology, including apps for check-ins and services, must integrate with PMS, CRM, and POS for seamless guest data flow. To personalize services, hotels create Single Guest Profiles from various data sources, ensuring data integrity through regular audits and CRM solutions. Cloud-based platforms offer scalability and centralized data management, while data privacy and security are paramount to meet legal requirements and build trust.

🏡 Lighthouse acquired The Hotels Network, a marketing personalization technology leader, enhancing Lighthouse's AI-driven marketing capabilities. The Hotels Network, founded in 2015, operates in over 100 countries serving more than 20,000 hotels and delivering an average 32% uplift in direct bookings. This acquisition enables Lighthouse to offer a comprehensive platform combining market intelligence with personalized guest booking experiences, aiming to increase direct revenue for hotels. The combined technologies will assist hoteliers in attracting and converting guests using AI, predictive algorithms, and real-time data.

🏨 In SAN DIEGO, California, Cloudbeds launched Cloudbeds Labs for AI-driven operations in the hospitality industry, unveiling AI solutions Signals and Engage. Signals forecasts demand with 96% accuracy up to 180 days and offers AI recommendations to outperform competitors by 15% or more. Engage, an AI voice concierge, answers guest inquiries in five languages and handles voice-driven bookings. Both aim to drive direct bookings, enhance operational efficiency, and scale hotel profitability without added headcount.

🏨 Mak Abdelkafi, Senior Sales Director at Mews, emphasizes the practical integration of AI into hotel operations, which has been in progress for three years. Key AI applications include technical support via chatbots, room assignment optimization (referred to as "tetris"), guest experience enhancement across hotel groups, and human capital management. These innovations aim to improve operational processes, guest satisfaction, and revenue optimization, while balancing cost. Abdelkafi advocates for AI's support role rather than replacing human interaction, upholding the importance of the personal touch in hospitality. Attendees can explore more insights at the Hospitality Operator Forum on June 12.

📦 Vita Mojo, a UK-based startup founded in 2015 as a digital-first quick-service restaurant, is now a notable hospitality technology provider. Under leadership from cloud software veteran Charlie Horrell and backed by Battery Ventures, the company has grown to 115 employees with one-third focusing on R&D. Vita Mojo offers a unified platform that integrates digital ordering, back-of-house management, and customer engagement, aiming to improve operations, increase revenue, and build brand loyalty. UK bakery chain GAIL's saw a 150% increase in customer acquisition and engagement from nearly one-third of their customers after partnering with Vita Mojo. Bubble tea brand CUPP, another client, now takes 80% of orders digitally and increased their average order value by 9.7% using Vita Mojo's platform.

🏨 Singapore's pop-up hotel and coliving brand, Tiny Pod, plans to open Train Pod @ one-north in 2025's second half, featuring eight ensuite rooms in a decommissioned MRT carriage. The Train Pod, with rooms for two, will include Murphy-style bunkbeds, air conditioning, WiFi, and Netflix, and shared facilities such as vending machines, an outdoor kitchen, and a washing machine. Located at JTC's LaunchPad, the hotel conversion of a Kawasaki-Nippon Sharyo C751B train car cost S$300,000 and took eight months. With support from JTC, LTA, and MTI, Tiny Pod aims to offer eco-friendly accommodation, previously launching compact hotels at Haw Par Villa and Gardens by the Bay.

🔍 An experienced professional in hospitality IT with over 25 years of experience has led transformations, integrating cloud ecosystems, embedded payments, and shifting to subscription-based models. In 2025, AI and data science have become core competitive tools for predictive forecasting, anomaly detection, and personalized guest experiences, requiring effective team, process, and leadership alignment. The focus is on strategic overhauls, not just technical upgrades, emphasizing the importance of people and process in achieving successful outcomes.