Innovation

📈 The 2025 Consumer Behavior Index by SOCi reports a shift in consumer search behavior: 83% use traditional engines, while social media (73%), navigation apps (58%), review sites (19%), and AI tools (19%) also play roles. Search impressions are down by 10% year-over-year. Gen Z uses 3.6 platforms on average before making purchase decisions. Gartner predicted a 25% drop in search demand by 2026, but SOCi's data suggests this decline could be reached by the end of 2025. Brands are advised to adapt their digital strategies to remain visible in this fragmented landscape.

📈 SOCi's 2025 Consumer Behavior Index reveals 83% of consumers still use traditional search engines, but social media (73%), navigation apps (58%), review sites (19%), and AI tools (19%) are diversifying search habits. Traditional search impressions have dropped 10% year-over-year. Gen Z averages 3.6 platforms before making purchase decisions, favoring Instagram and TikTok over Google for local searches. Gartner predicts a 25% drop in search demand by 2026, with current trends aligning with this projection. Multi-location brands risk losing visibility unless they adapt to the fragmented search landscape.

🍕 Hotel Equities and Springboard Hospitality announced a strategic merger effective May 1, creating a hotel management company with a broad portfolio across the US, Canada, the Caribbean, and Latin America. The combined company will be led by CEO Ben Rafter and Chairman Brad Rahinsky, focusing on value for hotel owners in various segments. The merger unites Hotel Equities' performance in branded assets and Springboard Hospitality's expertise in independent properties, providing a full suite of services to support growth and expanded services.

💾 Hotels must improve direct bookings via their website in 2025. A web booking engine can enhance site conversion and increase direct sales. The blog article by Debiprasad Sarangi was last modified on 2025-05-08, providing tips to achieve this goal for the hospitality industry.

📈 Companies harnessing customer behavior data with Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) see 85% higher sales growth and over 25% increased gross margin compared to peers. CDPs bring together disparate data, offering a 360° view of guests and enabling personalized marketing, hyper-relevant experiences, data-driven decisions, and increased revenue across hotel departments. With CDPs, hotels can achieve higher direct bookings, increased ancillary revenue, and reduced churn, all by leveraging actionable insights from unified guest profiles.

🍳 Saladplate, part of Informa Markets, serves as the official content hub for the Hospitality, Food, and Beverage industry, offering weekly news updates, a monthly newsletter, and a bi-monthly e-magazine. It grants exclusive access to a directory of over 10,000 brands, companies, and products, alongside registration and updates for over 35 international trade events.

🏨 Hotel Equities and Springboard Hospitality merged on May 1, creating a diverse hotel management company in the US, Canada, the Caribbean, and Latin America. Ben Rafter, CEO of Springboard, became CEO, and Brad Rahinsky, former CEO of Hotel Equities, now serves as chairman. Al Smith took the COO role, and Rob Robinson became president of Springboard. The merger combines strengths in branded, independent, lifestyle, and resort properties, offering a full suite of services to hotel owners. Further announcements on growth are expected.

🍳 Alana Abbitt, part of the team at Miso Robotics, is focused on improving kitchen environments with IoT and intelligent systems. Miso recently shrank their robotic solution's size by 40% and shifted to a no upfront cost rental service model. They've cut installation time by 75% in response to partner feedback. Collaborations with WD Partners and Ecolab validate the tech's ROI and operational benefits. Miso's pop-up restaurant program immerses all team members in real kitchen work to enhance product development.

💳 At Unfold last week, a session on fintech in hospitality drew a full house. Susanne Sandler stated that by 2026, 10% of US financial flows, about $7 trillion, will be embedded. Fintech is integrating into products, enhancing customer experiences, and boosting revenues. Super apps like Uber exemplify the seamless payment experience. Hospitality can learn from other industries that use fintech for gains described as "mind-boggling." Mews Founder Richard Valtr highlighted the opportunity cost of standard flexible rates in hotels, suggesting a data-driven, fintech-powered future.

📖 The provided link leads to a paper titled "The Era of Experience," with no specific publication date, author, or location mentioned. The article lacks explicit key facts, dates, locations, numbers, statistical information, and other factual data. It appears to be an academic or industry-related paper, but without additional context or content, a summary cannot be produced.