Innovation

📱 July 6, 2026, researcher Suganthan Mohanadasan analyzed ChatGPT's network traffic, revealing it uses Bright Data and Oxylabs, major web scrapers, to gather hotel information. From 1,240 sources, ChatGPT uses these scrapers for recommendations, while hotel websites provide factual data, if accessible in plain HTML. ChatGPT's decision for lodging is influenced by external reviews and listicles, not the hotel's website. Traffic analysis is partial, with insights changing weekly.

💻 In 2026, hospitality software is crucial for hotels in acquiring guests, managing operations, and increasing revenue. The industry's focus on technology adaptation highlights the importance of selecting the right software.

🏨 Oliver Page, from Deloitte Digital, predicts AI will revolutionize hospitality by enhancing booking, guest engagement, and operations. AI facilitates direct bookings and optimizes internal processes, reducing costs through improved efficiency. Challenges include data fragmentation and ensuring human oversight. AI will boost revenue via personalized offers while reshaping workforce roles, enhancing productivity. Success hinges on strategic AI deployment paired with human input and robust governance, balancing efficiency with controlled autonomy for optimal results.

💸 Last week's Travolution Connects panel highlighted a shift in travel tech: marketplaces increasingly focus on optimising payment flows. Sunrate's Paul Batchelor stressed the commercial potential of integrated payment solutions. Will Plummer from Trust My Group noted OTAs' control over inventory, tech, and payments in the past decade. Oliver Fellowes from PingPong emphasized embedding payments from the design phase. Gemma Timmons from OAG identified payments as a crucial pillar in the evolving tech stack for enhancing traveler experience.

🏨 Jul 3, 2026, Radisson Hotel Group launched real-time price matching across 1,600+ hotels in 100+ countries. The system monitors and matches rates from OTAs like Booking.com, Expedia, and Google Hotels, redirecting bookings to RadissonHotels.com without claims or approvals. While Radisson gains pricing insights, no data on conversion improvements were shared. The system excludes member fares and requires guests to start on OTA platforms. Automating this ensures competitive pricing, but implementation is costly.