Marketing

📊 Jul 27, 2026, by Markus Busch. Wholesale room-nights appear as occupancy wins, but discerning between unreachable guests and those who would book directly is crucial. Effective use of wholesale channels means targeting markets and dates you can't reach independently, ensuring bookings are truly incremental. Ring-fencing, opaque pricing, and dynamic channel management are key strategies. Identifying if a booking is genuinely incremental or substitutive is essential to avoid subsidizing unnecessary discounts. Evaluate data quarterly to refine strategies.

📈 Jul 27, 2026: Google announced the launch of AI Max, now supporting over 500,000 advertisers. IHG is the first hotel to secure a "Direct Offers" spot, invited by Google outside the open auction. This AI system claims a 15% increase in conversions and a 20% boost in ad relevance. Highlighted Answers, featuring sponsored links, are being tested. The paid AI answer slots, initiated with IHG, could later expand from invitation-only to self-serve.

🛫 On September 23, 2025, Sabre enabled AI-ready connections for hotel bookings on its platform, which includes 2 million hotels. This platform handles sorting through over fifty petabytes of data from airlines, hotels, and agencies. Current hotel file descriptions might date back to 2018 or 2019, remaining unchanged. The shift emphasizes the importance of keeping hotel records updated, as agents read only structured files, not websites.

🏠 Airbnb's new French campaign highlights the country's rich social history and rural tourism, leveraging the nostalgia of the 1936 paid vacation days. France, Airbnb’s second-largest market, reached 1 million active listings in May 2026, a 27% increase over three years. The 2025 Tour de France boosted Airbnb bookings by 155% in host cities, drawing 45 million French viewers. Airbnb partners with local mayors and heritage charities, focusing its marketing on rural and small-town rentals.

Hospitality distribution is complex, and for many professionals, especially those growing into leadership roles, finding the confidence to speak up can take time. Knowing what to say and how much to explain is not always straightforward. Lauren Cannon, Senior Director of Product Management at Expedia, speaks about building clarity, confidence, and influence in hospitality distribution, and why this starts with focusing on the problem rather than trying to have every answer. Please note: This written interview is based on episode 5 of the Hospitality Distribution Chats podcast. The content has been edited for readability. Watch the full episode here. Finding a path into distribution Natalie Kimball: How did you get started in hospitality distribution? Lauren Cannon: I didn’t plan to work in distribution or technology. Early in my career, I joined an ownership group building a hotel from the ground up, literally, starting with a hole in the ground and a very small team. With no dedicated technology team, someone had to figure out systems and connectivity. Despite having no technical background, I decided to step in and learn. Through a lot of trial and error, we implemented the systems that supported the hotel, spa, and restaurant. This was around 2006–2007, when connectivity was still evolving. The experience gave me a unique perspective, combining hands-on technology learning with a deep understanding of hotel operations—two perspectives I still rely on today. Creating your own opportunities NK: Many people want to move into more technical or product roles. How should they think about that transition? Lauren Cannon: There isn’t a single path into these roles. It often comes down to timing, but that doesn’t mean you have to wait for opportunities to appear. You can create them by being curious and stepping into areas that aren’t clearly defined. That’s where most of the learning happens. Mentorship is also important, but I don’t think of it as one person. I’ve learned from many people along the way, picking up different perspectives and approaches. Over time, that helps you build your own way of thinking and communicating. Communicating with confidence in complex environments NK: In this industry, we often walk into rooms with senior leaders or stakeholders, and someone may put you on the spot and ask, “Can we do this?” or “Can we actually solve this?” How do you navigate that moment? Lauren Cannon: The first thing I try to understand is what problem is actually being asked. If someone is asking, “Can we deliver on X?” or “Can we make the traveler experience better?” or “Can we make a hotelier’s life easier?” then the answer is not always to start with the technical explanation. The answer starts with understanding the problem, the options on the table, and what we would recommend. If I know the answer, I will try to make it crisp, especially for a senior leadership audience. If I do not know, I will say something like, “Here is what we are trying to solve. Here is how I understand

This article was written by Travolution. Click here to read the original article Most travel agents gave up on gaining Gen Z customers without ever even trying. That’s because they…

ChatGPT hotel ads are sponsored placements that appear beneath ChatGPT’s answers when travelers research trips and accommodation. OpenAI began piloting them in early 2026, which means a channel you could…

💳 Visa, with 4.4 billion cardholders, enters hotel distribution, enabling direct hotel bookings using card credentials. Hotels face booking friction, with direct rates stuck at 5-15%, while digital wallets double mobile bookings. 38% of hoteliers cite integration as a key tech challenge. Cross-departmental training cuts turnover by 45%, offering 2.5x ROI in 18 months. Langham Hospitality saves food waste across five markets; Hyatt sees demand from destination weddings. New hotels open in Charleston, Plano, and near Yellowstone.