Marketing

📚 Boston University professor Leora invested two years writing a book, released on September 15, 2024, focusing on marketing as critical and strategic thinking. She emphasizes education over selling, hospitality as marketing, and adapting to digital and physical visibility. Leora's teaching at ESSEC Business School involved practical marketing projects, and her students' input shaped the book. Her approach includes a scorecard for strategic and critical thinking, with her work even sparking job offers for students.

📶 Sep 15, 2025, hotels globally: The Hotels Network introduces a promotion offering 1GB of free eSIM data for travelers booking directly through a hotel’s website. This perk is designed to discourage the use of OTAs like Booking.com and Expedia. The eSIM data is automatically activated upon arrival, requiring no SIM swapping or roaming charges. Hotels integrate this into their personalization platforms effortlessly, enhancing direct booking appeal and boosting customer loyalty.

🏨 Grand Zuri, a prominent hospitality brand, delivers unique experiences and has received numerous accolades. D-EDGE, a SaaS company, supports over 17,000 hotels in 150+ countries with cloud-based solutions for hotel distribution, involving 500 experts across 25 countries. As an Accor subsidiary, D-EDGE's ecosystem includes 550+ partners. Accor itself operates over 5,700 properties and 10,000 food and beverage venues in 110 countries.

🏨 Paris-based MyBoutiqueHotel partners with Influence Society to enhance its global reach. Founded in 2006, MyBoutiqueHotel offers a curated selection of over 10,000 boutique and designer hotels in 55 countries. This collaboration aims to strengthen their niche positioning through multilingual campaigns and data-driven strategies. Xavier Bentes, CEO of MyBoutiqueHotel, emphasizes maintaining their unique boutique identity. Influence Society specializes in digital marketing within high-end hospitality, aligning with MyBoutiqueHotel's design-focused approach.

💸 In response to AI-driven booking trends, major OTAs are intensifying their "Rate Parity" efforts, fearing losing price-sensitive bookings. Strategies may include banning individual property names, conducting manual audits, and enforcing API restrictions. Property managers should focus on enhancing guest experiences, boasting a high NPS like Fieldtrip's 87. Strategies include smart email marketing, creative pricing, evolving SEO, social media leverage, and diverse OTA usage. Fieldtrip's ~50k followers demonstrate social media potential for new revenue.

🛩 eDreams ODIGEO: Fiscal Year 2026 results show 20% membership growth, reaching 7.5 million members. Quarterly growth hit 205,000, achieving €39 million in profitability, an 8% increase. A €20 million share repurchase, 80% completed since May, boosts stock liquidity with €2.5 million daily trading volume. A new €20 million buyback and redemption of nearly 3 million shares aim to enhance earnings per share.

🏠 Airbnb is implementing a 15.5% fee hike, aiming to unify all hosts under a single commission structure as a precursor to introducing tiered commissions in 2026. This change is part of a 12-18 month strategic rollout, fundamentally altering host-platform interactions. Hosts are encouraged to find ways to future-proof their businesses in anticipation of these shifts, as this move marks the beginning of a broader strategy rather than a standalone adjustment.

💰 Airbnb's Q2 revenue rose by 13% to $3.1 billion, yet management warns of upcoming challenges including tariffs and regulatory issues. They've invested $200 million in new services like haircuts and cooking classes, but Wall Street remains unconvinced, causing a drop in stock value. Past attempts at diversifying into "Experiences" were abandoned due to poor cash flow. Meanwhile, Booking Holdings, with consistent inventory offerings, is valued at over twice Airbnb, highlighting the latter's current volatility.