Innovation

📈 Revenue managers are evolving into commercial strategists, mastering financial literacy, collaboration, and technology. A 3% drop in acquisition costs can boost profits more than a 5% rise in ADR. Key skills include understanding AI-powered RMS systems that process millions of data points, fostering cross-department collaboration, and leading with influence. Success involves moving beyond analytics to align people, purpose, and profit, driving sustainable profitability.

📊 Data Appeal launched a revolutionary tool for DMOs at the 2025 Phocuswright Conference in San Diego. Combining years of curated data from The Data Appeal Company and Mabrian, it offers real-time insights and scenario analysis. This platform enhances decision-making by transforming data dashboards into dialogue interfaces, enabling faster, smarter actions. Limited access is available, with general availability rolling out in early 2026. 🎯

🏆 Springboard Awards for Excellence 2026 🎉 When? 30 April 2026. Where? Park Plaza London Riverbank. Who? Hosted by Park Plaza, sponsored by industry leaders like Nestlé, HIT Training, and Sybron. What? Celebrates excellence in hospitality with categories like the new Hospitality Careers Champion Award. How? Free and easy nominations via the Springboard website by 9 January 2026. Why? To recognize and inspire talent, supporting Springboard’s mission to bolster hospitality careers. Goals: Close skills gaps and create one million new skills by 2030.

💻 Google’s AI Mode revolutionizes hotel distribution by selecting between simple searches and detailed agent instructions to extract live hotel data. Chef Duce Raymond's BBQ example demonstrates how Google uses inferred preferences and schema signals to create personalized recommendations, shifting from search to intent shaping. This system profiles users, ranks options, and merges inventory with guidance. Agentic Hospitality gives hotels control over data-driven decisions, preventing platforms from monopolizing guest interactions. Join at AgenticHospitality.com.

🛩 Emirates and OpenAI have formed a strategic partnership to integrate AI across the airline. They will deploy ChatGPT Enterprise and develop an AI centre of excellence. The collaboration focuses on enhancing AI capabilities, exploring use cases, and creating an AI champion network. Leadership sessions and technology team collaborations aim to optimize AI integration. Ali Serdar Yakut of Emirates and Rod Solaimani of OpenAI emphasize the transformative potential of AI in aviation and customer experience.

🛅 Nov 24, 2025, ChatGPT partners with Booking.com and Expedia, sidelining direct hotel integration due to AI query loads and fragmented room data. OTAs gain leverage as hotels lose visibility and control, facing rising acquisition costs (up over 30%). AI-driven distribution may introduce new fees, increasing expenses for hotels. To compete, hotels must modernize data and booking strategies. AI simplifies travel planning but complicates supplier economics, posing challenges for hotels unless they adapt quickly.

💸 Nov 24, 2025, hotels worldwide are shifting focus from merely filling rooms to maximizing total guest value and ancillary spending. Revenue managers now use diverse data sources, such as airline searches and spa bookings, to inform pricing strategies. This change elevates revenue managers to strategic roles collaborating across marketing, sales, and operations. Integrated data systems support this evolution, replacing manual forecasts with advanced analytics and machine learning for holistic revenue management. Read more on this transformation at Skift.

📰 Platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Reddit are revolutionizing travel planning by compressing the journey from inspiration to booking. TikTok is piloting hotel bookings, while creator-driven content is influencing destination demand. Social media's impact is rapidly changing the travel industry, and travel sellers need to adapt to capture the next wave of travelers.

📱 ChatGPT will test ads in 2025, with a full launch for free users in 2026. Unlike Google Ads, ads will be integrated into chat replies, not as pop-ups. Pricing is based on clicks or actions. Ads use advanced targeting via chat context and session data. Users have control over personalization by disabling memory. Ad formats include sponsored messages and action buttons, tracked through session-level tokens. This marks a shift for AI as a media channel.