Marketing

📈 May 26, 2025 – Booking.com ends direct affiliate partnerships with travel content creators, effective June 20, 2025, urging them to reapply via Awin. This impacts those earning under €1000/month, causing revenue loss before peak summer. Affected creators must urgently replace links. Competitors like Expedia explore AI tools, adding to industry disruption. Confusion and frustration grow as creators express concerns on LinkedIn and Reddit, with Booking.com providing limited information.

🤖 Google’s new “Shop with AI mode” revolutionizes e-commerce by integrating discovery and purchase directly in search, disrupting the $5.5 trillion industry. OpenAI’s Operator agent books hotels, shifting from traditional websites to AI-driven transactions. Morgan Stanley anticipates a $5 trillion humanoid robot economy by 2050, with significant impacts on sectors like travel and hospitality. Y Combinator promotes AI agent-focused startups. Expedia and Airbnb innovate with AI and new services, respectively, challenging traditional travel and service models.

📈 May 23, 2025, hotels face shifting guest expectations and economic uncertainty. 81% of consumers prefer personalized experiences, making guest segmentation essential. Generic marketing is ineffective, with mass emails often ignored. Segmentation based on booking history and preferences improves engagement. Use existing data like past stays and spending habits for effective segmentation. Tailored messaging enhances acquisition, bookings, and loyalty. An available guide offers five segmentation strategies to implement today. Access it at Cendyn's website.

📈 May 23, 2025: OTA stocks rebounded after Q1 2025 earnings exceeded expectations. Expedia faced challenges due to U.S. dependence, but most firms surpassed EBITDA forecasts. Airbnb projected a $1B+ revenue from new services. Expedia saw a 1.5% decline in B2C revenue but beat EBITDA expectations through cost management. Geographic diversification offset U.S. travel weakness, with strong intra-European and Canadian outbound travel trends.

📷 33% of French travelers are influenced by social media for vacation planning, increasing to 58% among 25-34-year-olds. Phocuswright reports 62% of travelers have booked trips after seeing social media content. 28% booked hotels based on influencer advice, with 37% regularly following such advice. Instagram (68%) and YouTube (67%) are the most impactful platforms. On Pinterest, 8 out of 10 users plan trips, and 68% finalize travel purchases. MGallery, Mercure, and Club Med utilize Pinterest for listings.

🌎 Fairmont Hotels & Resorts launched the "Make Special Happen" global brand campaign directed by Jean Claude Thibaut, shot at Fairmont Royal York, Toronto. The campaign celebrates Fairmont's heritage and will run in two phases: May-July and September-October 2023. It targets North America, Canada, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, emphasizing travel and lifestyle media. The initiative features unique experiences like "Special Happens… After Dark" and "Special Happens… In the Wild," across its 92 properties in 30 countries.

📨 Research shows 81% of customers prefer personalized experiences. Many hotels struggle with segmentation, leading to wasted marketing efforts. 21% of legitimate marketing emails land in spam due to poor targeting. By using guest data like stay dates, country of origin, rate codes, room types, and booking methods, hotels can enhance email relevance and engagement, driving better ROI. Effective segmentation helps convert OTA bookers to direct clients, boosting loyalty and revenue through tailored offers.

📰 eDreams ODIGEO has partnered with AXA Partners to enhance travel protection for consumers across 15 European countries, including the UK, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands. The partnership aims to provide travelers with extensive insurance coverage, including trip cancellations and medical emergencies. César Friol highlighted the collaboration’s focus on value and innovation, while Adelane Mecellem emphasized AXA’s commitment to exceptional service. The initiative addresses modern travelers’ needs for flexibility and security.