Innovation

📈 U.S. travel sites saw a 194% increase in traffic from AI sources in May, based on Adobe's analysis of over 8 million visits. Visitors from AI sources spent 70% longer per visit, bounced 41% less often, and showed 21% more engagement compared to non-AI sources. Adobe's research highlights the effectiveness of AI in driving more engaged traffic, though a challenge remains in ensuring AI systems can adequately read and surface travel brands' sites.

📱 Innspire launched Guest Flows at HITEC San Antonio, booth #3042, on a platform connecting over 100 hotel systems, including LVMH, Viceroy, and Park Lane New York. Guest Flows enables a seamless hotel guest journey via SMS, WhatsApp, or phone, without downloads. Pilot results showed a rise in pre-arrival completion rates from 5% to 20% and mobile checkouts increased from 8% to 33%. Visit booth #3042 at Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center before June 18.

📑 In 2015, a group including David and Daria created a chart depicting hotel technology vendors. This chart aimed to visualize how data moves through the hotel industry, with the PMS at its center. Despite having over a thousand PMS solutions globally, the chart highlighted integration points and dependencies in hospitality tech. The author is proud of the chart's evolution, noting that the role of research is to organize information for others to draw conclusions. Hotel tech continues to grow, influenced by data flow.

💻 Marriott announced the beta launch of Ask Bonvoy, a conversational AI tool for 283 million members, with a full rollout planned later in 2026. At HITEC 2026, held in San Antonio, the industry debated AI’s impact on costs, brand survival, and human roles, feeling both excited and unsettled. Zenzap CEO Guy Weiss highlighted risks of using WhatsApp for hotel ops, suggesting specific communication tools to reduce staff turnover by up to 50%. Revinate launched Ivy, enhancing guest communication efficiency.

💬 Guy Weiss, CEO of Zenzap, addresses hospitality's communication challenges, highlighting issues with using personal messaging apps like WhatsApp for business operations. These pose risks, such as data loss when employees leave and privacy breaches through uncontrolled access to personal numbers. Zenzap offers a new communication platform tailored for high-turnover industries to mitigate these risks, emphasizing the need for a secure infrastructure instead of adding more tools. This change aims to improve security, privacy, and operational efficiency.

💻 HITEC 2026, San Antonio: Revinate unveils Ivy, an AI platform trained on 17 years of hospitality data and 1.1 billion guest profiles. It automates tasks, resolving 80% of routine guest inquiries and saving 30 hours monthly in call scoring. CEO Bryson Koehler emphasizes Ivy's ability to enhance decision-making and streamline operations. By evolving Ivy, Revinate aims to shift focus from software management to strategic guest engagement, leveraging data for personalized communication and revenue growth. Booth 3418 showcases Ivy from June 16–18.

🤖 2026, HITEC conference highlighted AI’s role in hospitality. Ajay Aluri and Scot Campbell discussed Nylo, a socially intelligent robot, aiding in guest interactions and repetitive tasks. Examples include Oto at Otonomus Hotel, Tulse at Marriott Tulsa, and José at San José Airport. Collectively, they completed 371,135 guest interactions and 22,657 conversations, supporting 70+ languages. Emphasis is on experience amplification, not job replacement, balancing ROI and ROE.

📧 AI is transforming email marketing. Gmail's Gemini and Apple Mail's AI summaries now dictate email visibility and guest interaction. Inbox providers act as recommendation engines, prioritizing relevant, trusted content. Hotel marketers face competition from airlines, OTAs, and retailers for inbox space. Success hinges on relevance, trust, segmentation, and guest engagement. To thrive, focus on improving engagement signals, optimizing content for AI, and managing sender reputation. Adapt strategies for AI-driven inboxes to maintain visibility and maximize campaign performance.