Innovation

🏖️ January 19, 2026, New York, NY: Lake.com partners with OwnerRez to streamline vacation rental management. OwnerRez, founded in 2009 in Seattle, offers plans from $40/month, enhancing synchronization with platforms like Airbnb. The integration connects Lake.com with OwnerRez's 100% remote team, expanding visibility to 1,400 lakes and 4,000 parks. Listings sync within 30 seconds, with updates every five minutes. The partnership strengthens property management tools, offering seamless guest experiences via Rezzy AI Assistant and other enhancements.

💻 According to the 2025 h2c study, 66% of hotel chains report AI enables teams to focus on strategic tasks; only 13% noticed a reduction in team size. Hotels in Europe and North America use AI and automation to cut manual workload, allowing staff to engage more with guests. Trust in AI scores 6.6/10, with reliance at 4.7, indicating human presence is still valued. Key objective: optimize AI to enhance human-centric hospitality.

💻 In 2025, 66% of hotel chains report AI enables focus on strategic tasks, while only 13% see reduced team size. A recent h2c study reveals 17% of hotels fear AI will replace jobs, but nearly 60% believe it won't. Trust in AI averages 6.6 out of 10, with 4.7 reliance. Automation enhances work by freeing staff for guest interaction. RobosizeME provides AI solutions, supported by ISO 27001, GDPR, PCI-DSS, to streamline hotel operations.

🏨 Cabau Hotels, a family-run group with 35+ years of history, manages seven properties in the Balearic and Canary Islands. They enhanced their direct booking channel by collaborating with The Hotels Network, achieving improved conversions through tech-driven data insights and personalization. AI-based predictive personalization significantly boosted conversion rates and revenue per session. A successful low-season campaign targeted flexible travelers. Cabau emphasizes ongoing learning and strategic tech use for continuous direct channel optimization.

💻 Pertlink Limited, established on October 23, 2000, provides IT consulting for the hospitality industry globally from Hong Kong. Their "Hotel Owner AI Playbook & Toolkit" targets valuation growth and cash flow management for hotel owners with AI integration. The toolkit enhances EBITDA, cash flow predictability, and capital efficiency, while fortifying ADR and brand value. It's vendor-agnostic, translating operational performance into financial gains and bolstering owner confidence. Key focus: Valuation Growth Enhancement, Cash Flow Management, and governance.

💻 In the hospitality sector, AI is being rapidly deployed despite its imperfections to avoid falling behind competitors. Key AI applications include chatbots, AI voice assistants, dynamic pricing, and cybersecurity. The future involves an AI orchestration layer directing specialized AI agents for tasks. Although costly now, these tools are expected to democratize in the future. The emphasis is on business process innovation to enhance guest experiences and operational efficiency.

✈️ Sabre collaborates with Lleego, Vibe, TPConnects, Ypsilon.net, and Mesh to integrate 42 airlines' NDC content into SabreMosaic Travel Marketplace. This allows leisure, corporate, and online travel sellers to access airline content within existing workflows. Each provider will gradually enable the content based on their roadmaps. Miguel Gonzalez emphasizes the seamless integration and efficiency for agencies.

💳 Payment platform SUNRATE partners with Juniper Travel Technology, enabling cross-border payment and commercial card issuing. Tour operators and travel suppliers can now transact in over 15 currencies, enhancing transaction and reconciliation processes. The rollout begins progressively, with expansions planned through 2026 and beyond. Paul Batchelor from SUNRATE highlights the partnership's goal to streamline travel payments, while Toni Reina from Juniper emphasizes improved efficiency and transparency for clients.

💳 TRYBE and Stayntouch have partnered to enhance hospitality operations by syncing cloud-based management systems. This integration allows all charges, including spa treatments, to be instantly reflected and auto-synced, boosting efficiency and enhancing guest experiences. Jeff Down of Stayntouch and Ricky Daniels of TRYBE emphasize automation's role in reducing friction and creating operational clarity. This collaboration marks a significant step toward a fully connected platform for hospitality operators in 2026.