Innovation

💻 In 2025, the hospitality industry leverages digital transformation, with key trends including AI-powered efficiency, customer-centricity with brands like Nike aligning with values, data privacy as a selling point, evolving social media platforms, integrated CRM and loyalty systems, strategies for fragmented media environments, sustainability as a business imperative, and adaptability to economic/political uncertainty. Brands must be agile, utilize AI and advanced analytics, focus on values-driven campaigns, and make data-driven decisions to stay competitive and resonate with consumers.

🏡 In Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Rand Tower Hotel is updating its dining and event offerings. The 5th-floor space, once housing Blondette and Miaou Miaou, transitions into a venue with a retractable glass roof and 800-square-foot terrace. Bar Rufus, on the main level, is revamped as a breakfast and dinner spot with French-inspired menus using local ingredients. General Manager Apple Noble emphasizes the blend of modernity and historical preservation in these changes.

🏠 Mint House acquires Locale, a tech-driven residential hospitality company, boosting its premium residential hospitality sector presence. Financial terms include cash and stock, with investors providing additional capital. Mint House CEO Christian Lee views it as timely for alternative lodging growth. Founded in 2016, Locale will be integrated, adding Menlo Park, Madison, and Phoenix to Mint House's now 22 properties across 13 U.S. markets. Locale employees will join Mint House, with founder Nitesh Gandhi as a senior advisor. Mint House, established in 2017, emphasizes tech amenities like mobile check-in and 24/7 digital concierge, expanding to Nashville and Washington, D.C.

📱 Travel companies are using GenAI for customer service, sales, marketing, and content creation. Google launched Agentspace in December 2024, while Salesforce released AgentForce 2.0 the same month, with CEO Marc Benioff envisioning one billion AI agents by 2026 and a market potential in the trillions. Nvidia's Jensen Huang also identified a multi trillion-dollar opportunity in January 2025. Autonomous agents are set to increase automation, possibly replacing human tasks while improving efficiency. AI in travel requires clean data, with Snowflake winning "Innovator of the Year" at The Phocuswright Conference 2024. Companies are appointing chief AI officers to manage the transition.

🏡 FuturePlus, a sustainability management and ESG reporting platform, has added 84 hotels to its IMPACT CERTIFIED ecosystem, addressing travelers' preference for sustainable stays despite 70% feeling overwhelmed by the booking process. Over three years, FuturePlus has integrated sustainability into the lifecycle of hospitality assets. With a robust technology platform and expert advice, hoteliers can improve their environmental and social impact. Currently, 65% of travelers prefer accommodations with trusted certifications, and 67% support standardized accreditation processes. The FuturePlus IMPACT CERTIFIED badge, a mark of continuous improvement and transparency, is backed by partnerships with Booking.com and Travalyst Compliance. FuturePlus clients have set more than 4,200 sustainability goals, achieving over 2,700, including 750 goals by the 84 IMPACT CERTIFIED hotels. TROO Hospitality started its sustainability journey with FuturePlus in September 2022, focusing on Education, Collaboration, and Empowerment. Atlas Hotels, managing 58 hotels including Europe’s largest Holiday Inn Express franchise, leverages the FuturePlus platform for structured sustainability initiatives.

🍴 HOTREC representatives Marine Thizon and Jasper Dober visited Thai Café in Belgium, owned by Michel De Bloos. Thai Café, with 22 branches, shifted from single-use plastic to a reusable packaging system using Kiobox - a mix of ABS plastic and wood fibers, lasting five years without quality loss, achieving a 90% return rate, and saving over 5 million single-use boxes. The chain delivers 75% of orders in-house due to limitations of food delivery platforms' support for reusables and faces challenges like high commission charges on refunds by payment processors and ambiguous EU regulations concerning reusable packaging.

🏖 In 2025, the Polish tourism industry saw over 8.7 million customers traveling with tour operators and welcomed approximately 20 million tourists last year. Polish travelers often holiday multiple times annually, boosting the hotel sector, which includes internationally recognized chains and SMEs. SMEs face digitalization challenges, requiring EU and national program support. European policies, like PEF, aim to help businesses document sustainability efforts and compare environmental footprints, enhancing competitiveness in the EU's hospitality sector. Collaboration between national tourism associations and European institutions is key to fostering a fair competitive field, especially for SMEs in the highly competitive market.

🏖️ Travelport, a global GDS and travel technology specialist, partnered with Berge & Meer Touristik, a tour operator in the German-speaking market. Berge & Meer integrated Travelport's air cache solution for dynamic trip package booking, tailoring to customers' needs. The collaboration also enhances group booking capabilities. CEO Marcel Mayer advocates the user-friendly interface and real-time itinerary delivery. Thomas Schillinger of Travelport emphasizes the advancement of group travel and trip packaging strategies for an improved shopping experience.