Innovation

📈 In a new Skift and Mews report, published in 2024, hotels are encouraged to shift focus from room-based metrics to guest-centric strategies, like Revenue per Available Guest (RevPAG). Lifestyle brands like Ennismore derive over 60% of revenue from non-room sources. From 2024 to 2025, Mews Spaces doubled participating businesses from 1,179 to 2,223, with reservations increasing by 230%. This guest-centric approach aims to enhance experiences and boost long-term asset value.

🛌 Asli Kutlucan, CEO Europe at TFE Hotels, discusses TFE’s European growth strategy on the Pillow Talk Sessions Podcast with hosts Jessica Gillingham and Kristian Lupinski. TFE is focusing on “casual living,” blending hotel comfort and home flexibility with brands like Adina and MM:NT. Upcoming UK launches in Cambridge and Glasgow emphasize adaptive reuse and tech innovation, enhancing operational efficiency. This approach targets a new generation valuing design, autonomy, and digital convenience in hospitality.

🏨 Jannes Sörensen, founder of Kepler Hotel Group and Kepler International Hospitality Academy, joins Matthias Huettebraeuker to discuss rethinking hotel experiences. Drawing from his leadership of luxury hotels like The Beaumont in London, Sörensen emphasizes focusing on fundamental human needs rather than preemptive solutions. This approach aims to create more meaningful, memorable stays for guests. Music for the episode by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound.

🌎 World Travel Market 2025 concluded at Excel London, where Trip.com Group emphasized the strategic evolution of global travel. Highlights included a 53% rise in interest for cultural experiences and a 300% increase in demand for wellness-sport packages. Trip.com introduced Trip.Planner in the UK, aiming for European expansion. 92% of travelers showed interest in sustainable travel, yet less than 60% acted on it, underscoring the need for responsible travel solutions.

💻 Most hotel sales approaches are outdated as of 2015. Sales leaders must blend human expertise with machine intelligence, embracing "hybrid intelligence." Predictive algorithms can adjust rates 600 times daily, but human insight remains crucial. A sales team increased response rates by 34% in eight weeks by flagging at-risk accounts. Future leaders will excel in empathy, speed, and judgment, with a focus on data literacy and AI integration. Adapt or risk being replaced by tech-fluent competitors.

📊 In 2026, hotels will revolutionize guest experience through HyperCommerce, integrating Property Management Systems with AI-driven tools to enhance booking conversions and personalize experiences. Booking engines will become central to guest interaction, doubling conversion rates. Direct channels will serve as commercial hubs, with experience merchandising boosting revenue by 5-10% and average booking value by 20%. Hotels will reinvest 20-25% OTA margins into owned demand, emphasizing monthly strategies over daily rate reactions, and using emotion as a key performance metric.

🤖 40% of US employers are using AI in recruitment, as reported by SHRM. AI optimizes HR tasks like candidate engagement and wellness check-ins. It requires human oversight to avoid errors, akin to a "brilliant seven-year-old" according to expert Paul Carney. SHRM suggests a 4-step prompt process: Specify, Hypothesize, Refine, Measure. AI prompts should include role, request, context, format, audience, style, and length. Ensure vendors use AI ethically. Transparency in AI's workplace role is culturally important.

📝 GCSTIMES has been innovating since 2011, focusing on sustainable development. This year, they expanded their wooden key card collection to include animal designs for family and pet-friendly resorts. These cards, now emotional keepsakes, enhance guest experiences and foster loyalty. GCSTIMES operates in five countries, including the US and France, with services in over 140 countries, supporting 100,000 hospitality groups in sustainable initiatives. Their products promote cultural heritage and sustainability worldwide.

✈️ Switchfly, in 2025, offers no-code travel loyalty technology for quick platform deployment worldwide. New capabilities support airlines, employee rewards, and financial services with 24/7 multilingual support and multi-currency options. The platform increases engagement, with packaged trips yielding 3-5x more value than flights alone. CEO Nowell Outlaw highlights rapid results for partners. In early 2025, five new clients joined, with an expected 2.4 million bookings worth $2.25 billion by year-end.

💰 Perk’s rebrand introduces an AI-native platform uniting travel and spend management, automating 67% of non-core tasks like booking travel and filing expenses. Research shows shadow work costs $1.7 trillion annually across six economies, with UK losses at £95 billion. UK employees lose 9 hours weekly to these tasks. Perk aims to reclaim time by simplifying work processes, achieving $300 million annual revenue. The company has 1,800 employees, dual headquarters in Boston and London, and plans for growth with strategic acquisitions and Series E financing.