Innovation

🏨 Hotel occupancy rate is a percentage measure of used rooms versus available rooms. In England, 2024 showed higher rates than 2023, with July peaking at 85%. Scotland's average hotel occupancy in 2023 was 65%, with guesthouses and B&Bs at 77%, and self-catering at 43%. AI helps predict booking trends and tailor offers, boosting occupancy rates and revenue without extra work. HiJiffy increased direct online bookings for Gran Bilbao and Ciudad de Burgos hotels from 15% to 25%, with 5% via chatbot; Élysée Val d’Europe boosted bookings by 3.5 times during a promotion.

🏨 The inaugural Destination AI Summit took place in Washington D.C., in September, focusing on AI integration in the travel and hospitality industries. Key speakers included Shane O’Flaherty from Microsoft and Scott Hornick from Oliver Wyman, highlighting the importance of data quality, infrastructure, and standardization for successful AI adoption. Microsoft's "agentic agents" improve the booking process, while Mobi's AI platform creates personalized travel itineraries. The summit emphasized personalization, the balance of AI and privacy, and the need for strategic AI investment for long-term benefits.

📱 Josiah and Adele Gutman demonstrated live a 50-minute session on YouTube, building an AI chatbot for hotel review responses, with chapter markers and screen sharing. The session emphasized the importance of not just responding to online reviews but making operational changes based on feedback. The paid AI tools ChatGTP and Claude cost about $20 per month. Adele's hotel collection ranked at the top of Global TripAdvisor due to her focus on improving guest experience through operational updates and team empowerment. The experiment showcases AI as a tool to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in the hospitality industry.

📈 Meghan Archer, VP of Digital Commerce at PepsiCo, shares her career journey on the Brave Commerce podcast with hosts Rachel Tipograph and Sarah Hofstetter. Archer's career spanned from T-Mobile to Amazon and now PepsiCo. She emphasizes the importance of curiosity, challenging norms, and adaptability in the face of rapid change for digital transformation in the grocery sector. PepsiCo's success is attributed to a combination of talent, technology, strategic partnerships, and mastering the basics, such as ensuring product availability. Archer's bravest career move was transitioning from T-Mobile to Amazon. Key takeaways include the significance of an omnichannel approach and the necessity of strong retailer relationships for sustained success in both digital and physical spaces.

🚀 The Amazon Black Friday Universe, an interactive pop-up in Milan from November 26 - December 1, 2024, celebrates Black Friday with deals on Amazon.it from November 21 - December 2. It features themed areas like Made in Italy, showcasing brands such as Bricioliamo with 20% off using "Milano2024", Amazon Fashion, Amazon Fresh, and the Top 10 Toys 2024. The event includes a bar with Valdo Spumanti products and explores Amazon devices and AI, including Rufus and PartyRock. Additionally, Amazon Prime offers a delivery game experience.

🖥 APG surveyed 230 strategists about AI usage and perceptions, revealing 95% currently use AI, predominantly ChatGPT. Three-quarters are from brand or creative strategy, with a bias towards older men in responses. Strategists report AI augments understanding and empathy, yet replaces desk research and content creation. Concerns exist about output quality; only 37% always fact-check, 13% check for bias. Despite this, 90% predict increased AI use in the following year.

💻 French start-up Mistral launched "le Chat," a free, open-source AI chatbot, in February and added advanced features in the last week, making it a strong competitor. Meta AI introduced to the UK in October, already boasting nearly 500 million monthly users. OpenAI's preview version of its o1 'reasoning' model and Advanced Voice Mode were released in September, with the canvas feature and ChatGPT Search unveiled in October. Perplexity leads in search/research, while ChatGPT and Claude tie for general usage. Gemini and Copilot are noted for their integration with Google and Microsoft, respectively.

💻 A 30-year software sales veteran has witnessed the evolution from on-premises software to cloud-based SaaS and now AI-based systems. The market is moving towards AI-driven autonomous GTM systems with consumption-based pricing models, termed "PPX" (Pay Per Action/Use/Outcome). SaaS is not dead but evolving with AI into Sustainable SaaS, as companies adopt different GTM approaches: Product-Led, AI-Led, or Human-Led Growth. AI-enabled GTM democratizes the market, but innovation is key as buyers favor trusted brands.

📦 IRIS, a global hospitality tech provider, renews a 10-year exclusive digital F&B ordering agreement with Marriott International, the world's largest travel company with 8,700 properties. Marriott witnessed a double-digit increase in guest mobile orders and revenue since the initial partnership with IRIS 10 years ago. Kansas City Marriott Downtown, with 970 rooms, saw a decrease in customer wait times by over 30 minutes and an 87% yearly increase in order volume, plus a 94% rise in F&B revenue. Digital orders average 20-30% higher checks than traditional ones. IRIS has integrated with various third-party systems, including Oracle Simphony Cloud and Toast POS, and continues to develop features like allergen filtering and digital staff ordering to enhance operational efficiency and guest experience.

📅 Travelogix and MIDAS Travel have entered a multi-year contract to enhance travel data and reporting solutions for SME and global clients. Travelogix will provide MIDAS Travel with the Analytix reporting platform, DataValet, and DataShare modules, and a new AI integration from a BETA testing group. Travelogix won "Technology Innovation for Data and Reporting" by Business Travel News Europe, while MIDAS celebrated its 25th anniversary. The partnership aims to support MIDAS' growth strategy and optimize cost efficiency and service excellence for clients.