Innovation

🚀 Travel Counsellors is launching 'TC Co-pilot', a new virtual assistant technology developed over a year, to transform agent-client interactions with tailored suggestions from over one million properties. Jon Bauer, Chief Technology Officer, announced at the annual conference the tool's upcoming rollout and an interactive quote-creation tool, currently trialed by 50 travel counsellors. Phenix performance improved to under two seconds, with 3,500 new features, additional accommodation providers, and more airlines to be added. Disney Cruise Line and Virgin Voyages joined their cruise portfolio, and Musement offerings will be introduced next month. The company invests £16 million annually in technology.

🏒 UK and international travel and tech companies were honored at the 2024 Travolution Awards in London. The event was partnered with Mastercard and held at City Central at HAC. Holiday Pirates won Best for Travel Deals, while CAA received Campaign of the Year. Trip.com Group secured four wins including Champions of Data and Travolution Brand of the Year. Other winners included TripStax, TProfile, Mews, Joyned, HotelRunner, Nezasa, SMARTSEER, Sykes Holiday Cottages, lastminute.com, HandsIn, TravelUp, easyJet's Jordy Vernes, and B2B Wallet by Outpayce. Nicolas Huss was awarded the Travolution Achievement Award.

📈 AI in hospitality enables real-time pricing updates, demand anticipation, and revenue optimization. According to a McKinsey report, AI adoption results in a 17% revenue increase and a 10% occupancy boost. Hotels implementing AI for total revenue management also see significant growth in non-room revenue. Predictive analytics allow for precise demand forecasting and personalized guest experiences, leading to increased conversion rates and guest loyalty. AI-driven upselling and cross-selling further maximize booking value. Despite challenges in integration and maintaining data privacy, AI's benefits in scalability and precision offer hotels a competitive advantage for profitability.

💾 Airbnb announced they won't use an AI chatbot, challenging the AI trend. Services like Bookline.io and HotelPlanner.ai offer AI-powered booking agents, targeting the 22% of hotel bookings still made via calls. Google faces changes imposed by the European DMA, testing a return to basic search results in Germany, Belgium, and Estonia, with potential impacts on hotels and OTAs. The hospitality industry is complex for tech companies, with 1 million hotels worldwide, and success requires understanding specific market dynamics. Zero-click searches with AI like Perplexity and OpenAI are changing web traffic metrics, with potential effects on e-commerce and information sites alike, necessitating new SEO strategies for AI optimization.

🏨 Artificial intelligence impacts the hotel industry by enhancing guest experiences, optimizing operations, and streamlining bookings, as detailed in Hotelogix's blog. The article, "Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Hotel Industry," was last updated on November 28, 2024. It is published on Hotelogix's blog, which offers tips and trends in hospitality. The primary focus is on the transformative role of AI in hotel management and customer service.

📣 Copycat is an AI-powered Python package using Google's Gemini AI models to generate Google Search ad copy for hotels, ensuring brand consistency and audience engagement. It provides benefits like tailored messaging, efficiency, and optimization for seasonal promotions. The tool uses a hotel's existing ads as a base to create a style guide, which then informs new ad creations for various keywords. Key features include style guide generation, customizable keywords, rapid scaling, and dynamic adaptability. Copycat's advanced technologies include Google Cloud Platform integration, Vertex AI API, Google Sheets compatibility, and a Python-based architecture. It offers evaluation methods to ensure ad quality and brand alignment.

🛫 Vietjet Thailand partnered with RateGain's AirGain for real-time pricing insights on 28th November 2024 in Noida. The collaboration aims to maintain competitive fares across Thailand and Asia's network, accessing data from over 300 airlines and 50+ OTAs. This helps Vietjet optimize pricing strategies, responding to market trends and passenger demands, while expanding sustainably without compromising on service quality. RateGain, founded in 2004, serves 3,200+ customers globally and aids revenue generation in the travel sector.

📈 Booking.com, in collaboration with HotelTechReport.com, launched its AI Tech Stack Advisor to help hoteliers tailor their digital transformation and growth strategies. This first-of-its-kind tool utilizes GenAI for personalized tech infrastructure assessments, leveraging HotelTechReport’s review database. Hoteliers can directly connect with vendors for informed decision-making and receive a ‘Digital Transformation Score’ for competitive benchmarking. Eddy Veldhuizen, senior director at Booking.com, emphasizes the tool’s role in optimizing business and serving guests better. Currently available for hoteliers, the tool plans to include homes and other accommodations in 2025.

📱 Trevolution Group, with its Dreampass Plus loyalty program, now includes a new eSIM feature for paid members, offering 3GB of internet for 30 days in over 140 destinations. The eSIM, which can be activated by QR code, enhances the travel experience by allowing seamless connectivity and avoiding roaming fees through POND IoT. Future plans include providing the eSIM as a standalone feature. The Dreampass Plus program also presents personalized travel benefits via its app. Alex Weinstein of Dyninno Group comments on the expansion of membership-based travel solutions and the positive impact expected on Trevolution Group's growth beyond 2025.

📈 Boom, an AI Property Management Software provider for hospitality, has appointed Alex Husner, Richard Vaughton, and Chad Blankenship as new non-executive directors. Husner brings over a decade (13 years) of experience from Condo-World Resort Properties and Casago. Vaughton offers expertise in scaling businesses and M&A, while Blankenship contributes 15 years of growth from Southern Vacation Rentals, including a central role in its acquisition by VTrips. The trio's collective experience aims to support Boom’s strategic growth and optimize marketing and operational efficiency through AI innovation.