Innovation

📈 Hotels, by 2030, must embrace AI-Native, API-first models to stay visible in AI-driven travel systems. Key strategies include investing in Unified Data Architecture for real-time data via robust APIs, leveraging loyalty programs as algorithmic currency, and strengthening direct booking channels to reduce OTA reliance. Speed, data completeness, and strategic control are crucial to avoid the "AI Transaction Tax" and maintain market control. The transformation is essential for competitive advantage in the evolving hospitality landscape.

🚀 Pertlink, a Hong Kong-based IT consultancy, joins the Moon World Resorts project, set for 2025, as the lead for Hospitality Information Technology. This global venture will develop seven 312-meter destination resorts in locations including Spain, China, and the USA. Each 500-acre site will feature luxury residences and an arena. The project aims to merge technology with hospitality, enhancing guest experiences through AI and smart ecosystems.

📈 Google has begun integrating sponsored ads in its AI conversational mode, marking a new monetization phase. SiteMinder reports that over 80% of travelers prefer AI features like price monitoring. Shopify allows purchases directly in ChatGPT with a seamless "Buy" button. Meanwhile, more than two-thirds of hotel chains are reassessing their PMS strategies, with AI gradually enhancing hotel operations through small, incremental updates rather than drastic changes. The importance of adaptable, cloud-native PMS platforms is rising in the industry.

💻 Hoteliers are quietly integrating AI in operations, enhancing processes like room assignments and housekeeping. The Property Management System (PMS) is central, holding structured data crucial for AI functions. Despite AI's rise, PMS transitions are challenging, with 66% of hotel chains reevaluating strategies. Cloud-native, modular platforms are gaining traction. Vendors must simplify PMS transitions to ease technological advancements, as the "PMS Wars" evolve with no clear aggregation path.

📚 French tech start-ups are transforming tourism through the French Open Innovation Challenge, led by UN Tourism. Winners included Karacal-Renault for immersive audio storytelling and Aquatech-Veolia for wastewater solutions. Over 25,000 start-ups and more than USD 2 billion in funding spotlight France's innovation. 🥇 All finalists received UN Tourism scholarships, network access, and global opportunities. France, the top tourist destination with 100+ million arrivals, exemplifies public-private partnerships.

💻 Hoteliers must adopt AI-native distribution strategies by 2030 to remain competitive. Nearly 49% of hoteliers struggle with data silos, impacting direct bookings and the rise of AI agents. Only 6% of global consumers fully trust AI outputs. Rising digital costs (up 20-40% YoY) challenge profitability, yet AI-powered campaigns can cut customer acquisition costs by 19% YoY. Direct channels grow more profitable with AI investment, aiming to reduce OTA dependence and focus on real-time data and loyalty programs.

📈 45% of hoteliers face integration challenges, hindering BI success. 62% lack expertise, complicating dashboard use. Data quality issues plague 32% of hotels, impairing AI effectiveness. Demand Calendar addresses these with a high-quality data warehouse and built-in AI analysis. By 2030, automation will be prevalent, with functions like revenue management evolving. Currently, only 6% of hotel chains have comprehensive AI strategies, highlighting the need for robust BI tools focusing on data quality and integration.

📈 WeRoad, since 2017, addresses solo traveler loneliness, hitting $100M revenue, $160M projected in 2025 with 30% margins. 🏸 Agentic AI, highlighted by Robert Silk, improves booking flows with tools from Google and others, shrinking the search-plan-book gap. 💼 Marriott-Sonder's partnership, adding 9,000 rentals, collapsed, with Marriott seeking $17.7M in court. 📉 ChatGPT's November 30, 2022 launch marked a generative AI boom, boosting sector players like Expedia and Booking by 2.5x.

💻 My Place Hotels launched Market Force in 2025 in Aberdeen, South Dakota. This platform merges AI-powered pricing, forecasting, and market intelligence tools to enhance franchisee support. Market Force integrates My RevPulse for AI-driven revenue management and Kalibri Labs' Hummingbird Commercial for market-specific insights. The aim is to help franchisees outperform competitors and adapt rapidly. COO Matt Campbell and VP Jeff Wermager emphasize its role in maximizing property potential and navigating the dynamic hospitality landscape.

📱 ChatGPT Apps launched to 800 million users, 133 times more than the iPhone App Store's initial reach in 2008. This marks the first major shift in travel discovery since Google's influence 25 years ago. Booking.com and Expedia have integrated with ChatGPT, enabling direct hotel bookings through AI. The backend of ChatGPT Apps uses the MCP protocol by Anthropic, adopted by major AI companies. Establishing AI connections early provides hotels with visibility and brand control in this rapidly evolving ecosystem.