Innovation

💸 Blink, a US HR specialist, raised $17 million (€14.63 million) led by Enlightened Hospitality Investments. 📈 In 2025, app adoption grew 300%, with users opening it seven times daily. Blink partners with Shake Shack for global expansion in hospitality, enhancing communication and engagement. 🏢 Funds aim to boost product and engineering teams and innovate the AI platform. Blink serves clients like McDonald's, Domino's, and easyJet, adding 700,000 users in hospitality alone. 💼 EHI manages over $550 million in capital.

🏨 Treadwell Mansion in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, opened on 15 May as a fully autonomous aparthotel, eliminating the traditional front desk. Set in a 250-year-old Georgian building, it features 38 apartment-style units. Using the Mews platform, guests receive access codes and manage their stays entirely online. Mews supports 15,000 customers in 85 countries and is recognized for its innovative PMS and POS systems. The project offers a modern hospitality model without legacy constraints, spearheaded by General Manager Liam Annis.

🛳️ intuitive, a UK-based travel technology company with over 20 years' experience, has integrated cruise features into iVector, its reservation platform. Powered by Widgety's API, the module streamlines cruise booking by incorporating live content, itineraries, and pricing. This addition, responding to customer feedback, allows tour operators and OTAs to manage all components, including cruises, flights, and hotels, within a single system, enhancing operational efficiency and conversion rates. The integration involves over 200 third-party supply connections.

🗺 May 19, 2026, Google's I/O 2026 conference could unveil AI travel booking tools, enhancing automated itinerary planning. Google plans to collaborate with OTAs, like Booking Holdings and Expedia, leveraging their resources. This move highlights travel's strategic AI value, potentially altering hotel visibility and booking dynamics. Wyndham Hotels announced Google integration, signaling new AI booking channels. This shift may redefine competition among hotels, OTAs, and tech providers, with advertising frameworks adapting to new AI-generated environments.

📶 May 19, 2026, in the US, OpenAI updated its privacy policy, enabling marketing cookies by default for free ChatGPT users. Conversations remain private, but tracking identifiers and marketing data are shared for advertising performance. This aligns OpenAI with digital giants like Google and Meta, pushing AI assistants into media and customer acquisition roles. Free accounts are primarily affected, highlighting AI's growing role in digital discovery and emphasizing privacy control and user trust as critical competitive factors.

💻 Tokyo, Japan, May 18, 2026 — Shiji partners with JR Systems to integrate Horizon Distribution with Rakutsu with, connecting Japanese hotels to 300+ global travel agencies and OTAs. This initiative supports inbound tourism, helping hotels manage reservations efficiently and preventing overbooking. Key markets include China, South Korea, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and Europe. Shiji supports over 91,000 hotels globally, enhancing operations through secure, guest-centric solutions, leveraging insights from 5,000 employees worldwide.