Innovation

🛫 OpenAI’s new browser with Agent Mode can now book travel directly, marking a drastic shift in the hospitality industry. This AI-driven tool can complete entire reservations for flights, hotels, and transportation. To stay relevant, hospitality brands must ensure their properties are integrated into AI ecosystems with structured data and machine-readable content. Brands not adapting to AI risk becoming invisible. The next two years will be crucial for those wanting to lead this AI booking revolution.

📱 In 2025, Google prioritizes WhatsApp in mobile search results for hotels, surpassing Booking and Expedia. This update allows guests to directly message hotels, enhancing direct communication. The process is direct and personal, with no commission fees. Hoteliers are encouraged to acquire a WhatsApp number and use services like D3x to guide guests to their booking engines, optimizing engagement and bypassing third-party platforms.

💸 IHG's Q4 fee margins soared to 61.2%, a 190 basis point increase year-over-year. Wyndham's ancillary revenues are up 19%, but their core room revenue is stagnant. Accor may spin off Ennismore due to its lifestyle hotels generating triple the fees of traditional properties. In 2023-2024, major chains are pursuing EV charging, wellness technology, and alternative accommodations. Over $500 million was invested in hotel ancillary technology last year. Are we missing out on ancillary revenue opportunities?

📈 2026 HotelTechReport PMS Impact Study: More than 450 global hotel operators reveal data showing modern property management systems (PMS) save hotels over 500 labor hours annually. 89% of hoteliers reclaim 2-10+ hours weekly, while 92% cut staff onboarding from weeks to days. 91% report revenue growth from PMS features. Surveyed from June to September 2025, this study covered 1,200+ hotels in 47 countries, highlighting PMS as a key driver of efficiency and profitability.

✈ Travelsoft, a global travel technology group, acquired proQuest Computersysteme GmbH, creators of airQuest, a flight fulfillment solution popular in Europe, enhancing its German market presence. Travelsoft now supports over €45 billion in annual bookings and integrates airQuest into its comprehensive suite, including NDC connectivity and ticketing automation. CEO Ulrich Sambeth will continue leading airQuest’s operations. This strategic expansion strengthens Travelsoft’s air technology capabilities in Germany, a key European travel market.

📰 Eventiz Group, which acquired the Travolution brand in October, plans to merge it with TOM.travel to create a French-language version. Frédéric Vanhoutte, the president of Eventiz, emphasizes the global need for innovation and technology in travel. The collaboration with Jacobs Media will intensify in the coming months, enhancing the European voice in travel tech and tourism. The merger aims to provide solutions that transcend specific markets.

✈️ Airbus, along with Air France, Delta Air Lines, French bee, and Virgin Atlantic, completed eight North Atlantic flights in September and October 2025 for the fello'fly project. This initiative, inspired by geese formation flying, aims to enable fuel savings through wake energy recovery by coordinating aircraft positions. A four-step process was validated, potentially saving 5% fuel on long-haul flights. However, commercial application remains untested, requiring further validation.

✈️ Navan has upgraded its multi-city booking engine for business travel, enhancing the platform to handle complex travel scenarios. This eliminates the need for human travel agents, integrating a powerful new algorithm and modern content sources like NDC. Developed over several years by VP of Engineering Ian Fette, the system simplifies booking a five-leg international trip to be as easy as a one-way flight. Navan's upgrade addresses a significant engineering challenge in travel.

🌐 Selectour, France's top independent travel agency network, is deploying Kleio's conversational AI across 300 branches and online platforms to enhance customer interaction. With 4,000 advisors, the AI aids efficiency and recommendation relevance. Integrated with OpenAI, Gemini, and others, it handles 80,000 products in real-time. AI agents Lisa and Alex focus on customer and sales team engagement. This initiative is part of a strategy to optimize sales conversion and meet customer expectations.

💻 Dubai, December 2025: A new contactless hotel check-in system allows guests to bypass front desk procedures after a one-time ID and biometric upload. Data remains valid until the ID expires, enabling quick re-authentication on future visits using facial recognition. This innovation, developed by Visit Dubai, aims to enhance guest experiences and is already integrable by hotels and holiday homes across Dubai. The technology may extend to other tourism areas, such as car rentals, further advancing smart tourism.