Innovation

🏨 Hyatt Centric brand expanded in 2024 with openings in Cairo, Shanghai, San José, and Santo Domingo. The brand plans over 35 new hotels by 2028, aiming to reach over 100 hotels globally by 2029. This includes a 50% portfolio increase and a 75% growth in Asia Pacific. Upcoming openings are set for Costa Rica, Malta, the Caribbean, and Shanghai. Notably, the first Hyatt Centric hotels will open in Puerto Rico (2025), Ohio (2026), British Columbia (2026), and Iceland (2026), with additional expansion in Canada, China, India, Japan, and Saudi Arabia (2028).

💰 In 2024, Accor reported strong resilience in the hospitality sector, opening 293 hotels with over 50,000 rooms, a 3.5% growth, and reaching a portfolio of 850,285 rooms across 5,682 hotels. RevPAR increased by 4% in the PM&E division and 10% in the L&L division compared to Q4 2023. Key regions showed varied performance, with ENA at +2%, the Americas at +12%, and the Middle East-Africa with significant growth due to Saudi Arabia's high demand and occupancy. Revenue reached €5,606 million, an 11% increase from 2023, with scope effects contributing €223 million, despite negative currency effects of €117 million. Net profit was €610 million with diluted earnings per share rising to €2.33. The company reaffirmed its medium-term growth prospects and proposed a 7% higher dividend of €1.26 per share for 2024, to be decided at the Annual Shareholders' Meeting on May 28, 2025. Notable events included multiple acquisitions, a bond issue, and strategic partnerships, all emphasizing Accor's asset-light strategy and commitment to growth.

📊 Finance analytics is vital for hotel profitability, focusing on revenue flow, cost structures, and operational efficiency. Utilizing financial metrics like GOPPAR and tracking fiscal KPIs such as RevPAR and TRevPAR are essential. Advanced analytics platforms, like Juyo Analytics, offer insights into booking channels and guest behaviors to optimize strategies and profitability. AI enhances decision-making and operational efficiency, detecting discrepancies and trends in financial and operational data to inform adjustments. Hospitality businesses can maximize profitability by integrating real-time insights with strategic execution across revenue streams.

💼 Shiji appoints Steven Hopkinson as Senior Vice President for APAC & Middle East, announced on February 24 in Singapore. With a background in hospitality technology and business expansion, Hopkinson previously served as Senior Vice President for EMEA & AsiaPac at Groups360 and co-founded a Group Housing solution bought by Groups360 in January 2020. CEO Kevin King expresses confidence in Steven's role to enhance Shiji's regional support and expand customer relationships. Shiji, founded in 1998, now has over 5,000 employees, 80+ subsidiaries, operates in over 31 countries, and serves 91,000+ hotels, 200,000+ restaurants, and 600,000+ retail outlets.

🛄 Amadeus partners with Salesforce to create a new hotel service center solution, integrating Salesforce's Service Cloud with Amadeus’ Central Reservations Systems and Guest Interaction solutions. This collaboration aims to simplify booking experiences, reducing call times by up to 40%, and enabling personalized interactions for travelers. It will provide flexibility for hoteliers, scale from basic to advanced capabilities, and offer task automation and case management. Salesforce's Brian Landsman and Amadeus' Peter Waters acknowledge the initiative's potential to enhance guest services and drive revenue.

🎭 On Feb 24, 2025, Arival reported that Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) now represent 18% of global attraction bookings, a growth from under 10% in 2019. However, despite OTA expansion and direct ticketing site growth, a third of attractions still don't have advanced online ticketing, leaving offline sales as the top sales channel.

🏡 InterContinental Hotels Group PLC acquired Ruby SARL brand for €110.5m (~$116m). Ruby, established in 2013, operates 20 hotels with 3,483 rooms and has 10 pipeline hotels with 2,235 rooms across Europe. IHG plans to introduce Ruby in the US by end of year and aims for the brand to grow to over 120 hotels in 10 years. The initial franchise fees from the current Ruby hotels are expected to be $8m in 2028, potentially exceeding $15m by 2030. Seller's Ruby-branded hotels may bring additional payments up to €181m ($190m) if the room count exceeds 20,000 by 2035. Integration into IHG's system is set to begin in 2025, expected to increase IHG’s system size by 0.5% with the open and pipeline hotels. Integration costs for IHG are projected at $10m for 2025.

📱 Digital advertisers are facing disruption due to potential TikTok US exit, issues on Meta and Alphabet platforms, and Meta's corporate culture controversies. In-app advertising offers a brand-safe environment, precise targeting, and strong measurement capabilities. Red Note, a Chinese app, emerges as a TikTok alternative but carries brand safety risks. A Sprout Social report highlights a consumer desire for authenticity, with 70% expecting personalized responses on social media. Applovin's in-app advertising strategy surpassed The Trade Desk's valuation. Mobile apps account for 88% of mobile time, with average daily usage projected at 4 hours 39 minutes in 2024. In-app provides premium inventory and contextual relevance, making it a key digital marketing strategy component.