Innovation

💵 RMS, on May 5, 2025, in London, announced integration with GoCardless to help hospitality operators handle rising payment costs and margin pressures. Card processing fees typically range from 1.5% to 3%, often higher for online or manual transactions. The integration enables direct bank payments, including direct debit and real-time payments, aiming to reduce costs and improve payment reliability for deposits, installments, and longer stays. RMS CEO, Adam Seskis, emphasizes strategic payment methods for cost control.

📈 Storey Hotel Management Group expands its partnership with Stayntouch, utilizing their cloud-based PMS to support six properties with over 500 rooms, including The Fairlane Hotel and The Walton Residence. The platform enhances scalability, accelerates onboarding, and integrates with evolving technologies. Jonathan Holcomb, VP at Storey, emphasizes the strategic growth and maintaining hotel individuality, while Priya Rajamani, SVP at Stayntouch, highlights the focus on efficient scaling and resource support for optimal performance.

🏨 HotelRunner has been named a Premier Plus Connectivity Partner by Booking.com, joining an elite group from over 600 partners. The platform supports over 2 million booked room nights, exceeding industry benchmarks, and maintains 135,000+ active listings daily. With a focus on reliability and scalability, HotelRunner empowers hotels to optimize performance and growth. Eddy Veldhuizen from Booking.com praises their critical solutions and service, highlighting the importance of behind-the-scenes infrastructure for success.

💻 The hospitality industry is transforming: technology is optimized, and human value is the new focus. AI is redefining roles, emphasizing the Human Value Stack™ with layers like Emotional Intelligence and Judgment. New roles include Guest Experience Curators and AI Operations Controllers, replacing legacy roles focused on repetition. Education needs revamping to emphasize judgment, emotional intelligence, and AI fluency. Continuous reskilling, scenario-based simulations, and cross-functional intelligence are crucial for future success.

🚀 The company plans to accelerate its expansion into healthcare and shift work sectors while maintaining its focus on the jet lag market. No specific dates or locations were given for the expansion. The raise should facilitate this growth, although exact figures for the raise were not disclosed. The company's commitment to these verticals suggests a strategic diversification to increase its market presence.

💻 Apr 16, 2026 – AI is revolutionizing the travel industry by enhancing the human-centered experience rather than diminishing it. Hotels should focus on guests' emotions and intents instead of merely selling rooms. AI supports this shift, facilitating real-time guest interaction and service improvement. Additionally, AI's role in planning and transparency pressures hotels to redefine their offerings beyond price, emphasizing experiences and amenities. Leveraging proprietary data becomes crucial for maintaining competitive advantages in AI-driven environments.

📈 Apr 16, 2026: Mews launches Mews Business Intelligence (BI) to integrate AI-powered analytics into its hospitality system. The platform offers live operational data access, customizable dashboards, AI insights, and automated reporting. Hotels using Mews BI, like Adara Hotel, report increased occupancy and revenue. This solution is globally accessible, enhancing data-driven decisions for hoteliers by merging internal and external data sources in real-time.