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Bethesda, MD — Stayntouch , a global leader in cloud-based hotel property management systems (PMS), reported record growth in Q1 2026. The company saw a 75% year-over-year increase in revenue from new business and a 106% rise in new hotel rooms under contract, making it the company’s strongest quarter ever. This milestone, along with strong platform adoption and the expansion of its technology suite, positions Stayntouch for continued investment and momentum in the year ahead. Stayntouch’s record growth comes as hotel leaders increasingly adopt Best-in-Class technology , favoring specialized capabilities over generalized all-in-one systems. Its comprehensive and modern cloud PMS delivers operational efficiency, reliable performance and flexible integrations, helping hotels stay competitive, reduce labor costs and improve long-term staff retention, key challenges identified by 65 percent of hoteliers in the American Hotel and Lodging Association 2026 State of the Industry report . In Q1 2026, Stayntouch reached several key achievements, including: Delivering its best quarter in history, driven by strong new customer acquisition, primarily from independent hotel groups and management companies across the U.S. and Europe. A 75% year-over-year increase in revenue from new business, fueled by a 33% rise in new hotel customers added and a 106% increase in hotel rooms under contract. The launch of new product features, including an AI-powered guest messaging tool, helping hotel teams save 375 hours a month while working more efficiently and delivering the fast, personalized service today’s travelers expect. We’ve always believed in showing up for hoteliers with technology and a partnership they can truly count on. Our platform is built to perform, and our integrations give hoteliers the flexibility to simplify day-to-day operations, ease the load on their teams, and build a tech stack that works for them without locking them in. That approach helped us kick off 2026 with our strongest quarter ever, and we’re more committed than ever to continuing to build a platform that gives hoteliers more control, greater efficiency, and the flexibility they need to succeed. Jacob Messina, CEO of Stayntouch

RM is dying, yup, i said it and you think i went f** bananas. Let me give you 2 examples from just this week: The German government (and others) adding a rule to dynamic price changes: only once a day you can increase but you can decrease as much as you like... FIFA tickets: Fans outraged at prices - unaffordable for some...and so "strange" that some matches are so expensive whilst others so cheap... Revenue Management is dying, not because it stopped working. BUT and here is the BUT: Because people are starting to see and above all FEEL it. The invisible game we’ve been playing We’re in a supermarket - me and my little man Hayden. Three shelves, same category, different prices. Bottom shelf is cheap, middle shelf is “normal,” top shelf is premium. Typical marketing set up coupled with human behaviour theory - nobody complains. Nobody writes a LinkedIn post about injustice. We just pick what fits us and move on. A few hours later, same day, same kid: Hayden wants chocolate after dinner. Suddenly, the rules change. It’s no longer about the product, it’s about the conditions. Did he behave? Did he finish homework? Has he already had enough sugar? The “price” is now effort, timing, negotiation. Earlier, different prices didn’t make sense to him. Now he’s actively trying to move himself into a better deal. Same system. Different context. Completely different acceptance. People love it…until they don’t (aka when its cheaper its good) Here’s the reality nobody likes admitting: People love revenue management when they win. When they get the early bird deal. When they find a cheaper rate. When they get upgraded because demand is low. When they feel like they outsmarted the system. But the moment it flips: They book late and pay more. They realize someone else paid less. They miss the “right timing.” Now suddenly the system is broken. Not because it changed. Because their position in it did. The thought experiment nobody likes Let’s remove revenue management for a second. No dynamic pricing. No segmentation. No timing advantages. No flexibility-based pricing. Everything is fixed. Now ask yourself honestly. Would you be okay paying the same for a flight booked six months in advance as someone booking two hours before departure? Would you be fine if hotels removed all cheaper advance rates and just priced everything at the highest possible level to protect revenue? Would you enjoy a world where there are no deals, no upgrades, no smart buying decisions… just one fixed price for everyone? The "we are all equal camp" is getting warm and fuzzy here. Sounds clean. Until you realize it’s just more expensive and less flexible. The part we don’t talk about Revenue management creates a two-class system: Those who can navigate it. And those who can’t. The ones who understand timing, flexibility, and options play the game well. The ones who don’t end up paying more, often without realizing why. That’s not new. That’s how almost every

Are your emails driving revenue or adding noise? Hotels using targeted campaigns see dramatically higher conversions, while generic sends can perform up to 10x worse. Because if your message fits everyone, it converts no one. In this episode of Hotel Moment, we’re featuring a webinar from our 2026 Hospitality Benchmark Report leadership series — revealing why mass email blasts are falling short and what’s replacing them. From cart abandonment emails to behavior-based targeting, the most effective campaigns reach the right guest at the right moment, without manual effort. Stop guessing. Your data already knows what works. The hotels winning in 2026 are the ones using data to increase direct bookings and stand out in crowded inboxes. Listen now to start turning emails into revenue. Meet your host Karen Stephens As Chief Marketing Officer at Revinate, Karen is focused on driving long-term growth by building Revinate’s brand equity, product marketing, and customer acquisition strategies. Her deep connections with hospitality industry leaders play a key role in crafting strategic partnerships. Karen has more than 25 years of expertise in global hospitality technology and online distribution — including managing global accounts in travel and hospitality organizations such as Travelocity and lastminute.com As the host of The Hotel Moment podcast, she interviews top players in the hospitality industry. Karen has been with Revinate for over 11 years, leading our global GTM teams. Her most recent transition was from Chief Revenue Officer, where she led the team in their highest booking quarter to date in Q4 2023. Watch the video

AI hasn’t replaced hotel marketers. But it has quietly replaced parts of their jobs. The real question is no longer “Should we use AI in hotel ads?” — that’s settled. The question is: “Which decisions are better made by machines — and which decisions become more valuable when made by humans?” The answer is not philosophical. It’s economic. In paid media, the dividing line between AI and human control should be determined by speed, scale, and signal quality . Let’s break that down properly. What AI Is Actually Better At (and Why You Should Let It Win) 1. Micro-Optimisation Across Thousands of Signals Meta, Google and other campaigns don’t optimise against one variable. They optimise against thousands: Device type Time of day Geo-intent signals Browsing history Auction density Price sensitivity indicators On-site engagement depth No human can process that in real time. When you manually adjust bids, audiences or placements, you are reacting to yesterday’s data. AI reacts within milliseconds inside the auction. Insight: Manual bid control in 2026 is often a comfort blanket. It feels strategic, but in high-volume accounts it usually underperforms algorithmic bidding — especially for direct bookings where conversion windows vary. Automate: Smart bidding Budget allocation across ad sets Placement optimisation Dynamic retargeting logic Because here, scale beats intuition. 2. Pattern Recognition in Non-Obvious Guest Behaviour Hotels often assume they know their audience: “Couples book weekends.” “Families book school holidays.” “Business travellers book last minute.” AI often proves this wrong. For example: A segment browsing spa pages may convert on room-only offers. High-intent users may enter through blog content. Certain feeder markets may convert better midweek due to flight pricing. Humans think in narratives. AI thinks in probability distributions. When enough conversion data exists, probability wins. Automate: Lookalike expansion Broad targeting with conversion optimisation Value-based bidding models But — and this is critical — AI only works when fed good conversion signals. Which brings us to where humans matter. Where Humans Are Still Underrated (and Increasingly Important) 1. Defining the Economic Objective (Not Just the Platform Objective) AI optimises towards the event you give it. If you optimise for: Landing page views → you’ll get traffic. Add to carts → you’ll get consideration. Bookings → you’ll get volume. But hotels don’t want volume . They want: High-margin direct bookings Reduced OTA dependency Higher ADR Longer stays Off-peak occupancy smoothing AI doesn’t understand margin structure. It doesn’t understand channel strategy. It doesn’t understand lifetime value. Humans must decide: Should we push suites or base rooms? Should we sacrifice ROAS to reduce OTA share? Should we prioritise occupancy or rate? Those are business decisions , not algorithmic ones. Keep manual: Primary KPI definition Margin-based decision making Channel conflict strategy Revenue alignment with sales & RM teams This is where most hotels underperform — not because of bad AI, but because of unclear strategic intent. 2. Creative That Converts Emotionally, Not Just Statistically AI can test creative combinations at scale. But AI cannot: Capture the emotional atmosphere of your

This article answers the question: Why is answering the phone a critical customer service skill for employees today? Answer: Answering the phone is a critical customer service skill because customers still prefer it for support, and failing to respond creates frustration and signals that the company doesn’t care. Recently, a client shared that their younger employees didn’t answer the phone. With plenty of frustration in her voice, she asked me, “Can you teach them that skill?” At first, I thought she was joking, or maybe venting, but she backed up the complaint with a comment that made sense. The younger generation didn’t grow up with a hard-wired “land line” in their home. Everything they know about a phone is what they carry in their pockets. Furthermore, many people carrying a phone hardly ever use it as a phone. They use it for messaging, social media posts, text messages, and more, but not for phone calls. So, here is our reality. This isn’t about customer service in a contact center. That is a job that requires the phone to be answered. That’s what people are paid to do. This is about anywhere a phone rings while employees are busy doing something else. It could be a store, a hotel, a doctor’s office, a lawyer’s office, a nursing home – pretty much anywhere. The phone becomes background noise. It is ignored rather than answered. If a customer, patient, or client reaches out to a company and nobody picks up, it becomes a customer experience problem. Maybe customers are calling for something as simple as store hours. Or maybe it’s an urgent matter. Regardless, they are reaching out and expecting someone to be there. When nobody answers, the message they receive, even if unintentional, is that the company or brand doesn’t care. Year after year, in my customer service and CX research , the phone consistently ranks as the No. 1 preferred method of communication when customers need help or have a question. Despite the fact that we live in a digital world, the old-fashioned “analog” phone is not dead – not even close. So if your team isn’t answering it, you have a customer experience problem that needs to be fixed. Here are four ideas to help get the phone managed the way it should be: The Why: As part of the onboarding process, explain the importance of answering the phone, and emphasize why it matters to the customer when it’s mismanaged or ignored. Basic Training: This is where employees learn the basics of phone skills. How the phone is answered and how a conversation is ended are both important. I always say, “First impressions set the tone for what’s to follow, and last impressions leave lasting impressions.” Set Minimum Expectations: Standards matter, such as answering the phone within three rings. If a customer must be transferred, make it only once and to the right person. Know the proper way to put someone on hold. These are the baseline for a good

The Shiji Insights Podcast Year Two marked a clear evolution in the series’ editorial depth. If the first year established the program’s voice, the second year sharpened its operational lens. Throughout 2025, Florencia Cueto guided conversations that moved decisively beyond trend commentary. Instead, the discussions examined how hospitality leaders execute strategy inside complex system environments. Across all episodes, a consistent pattern emerged. Digital transformation was reframed as an operational discipline. The guest experience was positioned as a management system. Data was treated as a strategic instrument rather than a reporting output. Collectively, the year surfaced a defining industry issue: operational coherence. Takeaways Digital transformation requires integration before automation. Communication platforms protect both revenue and brand integrity. Attribute-based selling increases revenue potential but raises execution standards. Guest experience functions as a cross-departmental management system. Destination intelligence must inform property-level strategy. Digital transformation as operational discipline In Reflections on Platforms, Partnerships, and the Year Ahead , we spoke with Javier Campo from Amadeus , exploring how integrated platform thinking is reshaping digital transformation in hospitality. The discussion reframed transformation as a shift away from fragmented system architectures toward unified operational environments. While the industry has long prioritized connectivity, Campo emphasized that true progress lies in eliminating fragmentation rather than managing around it. The partnership between Shiji and Amadeus illustrated this evolution. By aligning Daylight PMS with the Amadeus CRS as a single operational ecosystem, the focus moves from technical integration to functional coherence. Systems are no longer expected to simply exchange data, but to operate with shared logic, reducing the interpretive burden on hotel teams. Campo highlighted that legacy approaches to integration often transferred complexity to operations. In contrast, platform-based models are designed to remove that complexity altogether, enabling clearer workflows, more reliable data, and stronger alignment across departments. Therefore, digital transformation in 2025 is no longer defined by adding new technologies. It is defined by consolidating them into environments where systems, data, and teams operate as one. From conversation to confirmation: what FITUR revealed In our special FITUR 2026 episode , Florencia Cueto sat down with hospitality leaders, partners, and technology experts, where conversations moved decisively beyond theory to explore how hotels are navigating integration challenges, redefining guest-centric strategies, and aligning technology with operational realities. What stood out was not simply the volume of innovation, but the shared urgency among hoteliers and technology providers to move beyond fragmented solutions toward cohesive ecosystems. Conversations at FITUR consistently reinforced the same message echoed throughout the podcast: the future of hospitality will not be defined by individual technologies, but by how effectively they are connected, understood, and executed in practice. Communication as operational infrastructure In Communication is the Real “Wow” , we hosted Teresa de Pablo , Area Manager at Hotelkit . The premise was straightforward yet urgent. Guest experience fails when internal communication fails. The episode detailed common operational breakdowns. Maintenance issues disappear into informal channels. Allergy information does not reach the kitchen. Frontline employees lack visibility into decisions that affect their work.

Recently, The Wall Street Journal published an article about the frustrations travelers still face with hotel-room technology. I read it with one overwhelming reaction: How are we still here? After more than 20 years of talking, advising, designing, reviewing, and troubleshooting hotel technology, it is astonishing that so many of the same avoidable issues still remain. Not futuristic issues. Not expensive moonshots. Not obscure edge cases. No AI needed here. Just the basics. Bad TV experiences. Poor Wi-Fi. Not enough sockets. Confusing controls. Weak lighting. Awkward workspaces. Apps galore. QR codes everywhere. And technology that is far too visible precisely because it does not work well enough to disappear. That last point matters. Because the best hotel technology should be invisible . It should be so well planned, so intuitively designed, and so operationally sound that the guest barely notices it. No repeated logins. No crawling behind furniture. No failed casting attempts. No guessing which light switch does what. No returning to the room to find devices not charged because the hotel cut power when the guest stepped out. And yet, across the industry, we are still building friction into the guest journey and then acting surprised when satisfaction scores suffer. The industry still confuses “smart” with “useful.” Too much hotel technology is designed to impress project teams rather than serve guests. A “smart” TV that takes ten minutes to figure out is not smart. An app-only room service journey is not innovative if it makes hospitality feel colder. A beautifully designed room with nowhere convenient to charge a phone is not guest-centric. A stylish bedside panel that lets one guest switch off the lights, but not the other, is not thoughtful design. It is amazing how often the industry gets seduced by aesthetics, interfaces, and feature lists while overlooking the very things that define comfort, convenience, and usability. Guests do not reward technological ambition. They reward ease. Wi-Fi is now more important than hot water Provocative? Perhaps. True? Absolutely. A guest may tolerate many things, but they will not tolerate poor connectivity, especially at premium rates. In a world of cloud work, streaming, gaming, video calls, multiple devices, and instant speed testing, weak Wi-Fi is no longer a minor annoyance. It is a brand failure. And let us be honest: every guest now knows how to run Speedtest. So when they pay $250, $350, or more per night and encounter dreadful speeds, repeated authentication prompts, or patchy coverage, their reaction will not be neutral. It will go straight to frustration, review scores, and NPS. Hotels must stop treating Wi-Fi as an amenity and start treating it as mission-critical infrastructure. It should be fast. It should be stable. It should be easy. And the guest should sign in once, not 20 times. You can never have too many power sockets The shortage of convenient power in hotel rooms remains one of the industry’s most baffling failures. Guests today travel with phones, laptops, tablets, watches, earbuds, battery packs, and sometimes work

The hospitality platform will continue to operate its brands independently while expanding globally through franchise and strategic partnerships Casa Collective currently comprises a portfolio of 13 hotels across key destinations Following the acquisition, four additional properties are expected to join the portfolio, alongside a broader pipeline of opportunities under evaluation Domes will support the platform’s international expansion through operational expertise and development capabilities London – Domes Resorts has entered an agreement with Goldman Sachs to acquire Casa Collective , the hospitality platform behind the Cook’s Club and Casa Cook brands, marking the next stage of international growth for the brand portfolio. Hospitality entrepreneur Remo Masala will be a shareholder too, acting as a strategic partner and creative lead in the platform. The transaction reflects increasing investor confidence in scalable, brand-led hospitality platforms and positions Casa Collective to accelerate its international footprint. Casa Collective currently operates a portfolio of 13 hotels across key destinations, providing a strong foundation for further international expansion. This scale reflects the commitment and performance of the teams across all Casa Collective properties. As a result of the transaction, four additional properties are expected to join the portfolio, alongside a broader set of prospective projects currently under review. The partnership is intended to support the continued expansion of the platform through franchise, management, and strategic development collaborations across leisure destinations and gateway cities worldwide. In parallel, the group will explore the incorporation of strategic partners to support growth through a targeted property acquisition strategy. Our ambition is to provide hotel owners and partners with a strong and reliable platform for growth while ensuring that each brand retains its unique character and guest experience. Dr. George P. Spanos, CEO of Domes Resorts Casa Collective will continue to operate as an independent hospitality company, preserving the distinct positioning and identity of each brand while benefiting from Domes’ operational expertise, development capabilities and access to capital. The platform will continue to collaborate with hotel owners through flexible partnership structures, including franchise, management, development and co-investment models. Partners are expected to benefit from enhanced international distribution and marketing reach, access to development and financing opportunities, as well as operational expertise and brand development support, alongside cross-brand collaborations and shared guest communities. Existing franchise agreements, core brand teams and operating structures will remain unchanged, ensuring continuity and long-term value for hotel owners and partners. The platform’s brand portfolio includes Cook’s Club, a vibrant social hospitality concept centred around music, food, and community; Casa Cook, a minimalist boutique concept defined by a relaxed and understated atmosphere where architecture, landscape, and community create a strong sense of place; and XIA, the latest addition to the portfolio, a newly developed family-oriented experiential hospitality concept. The platform is well positioned to capture growing demand for experience-led lifestyle hospitality, particularly among a new generation of globally mobile travellers. Together, the brands form a complementary hospitality ecosystem designed to evolve alongside travellers across different life stages and travel preferences. Hospitality entrepreneur Remo Masala, founder of the Berlin-based tourism

Bangkok – Minor Hotels , a global leader in hospitality with more than 640 properties across 63 countries, announces the first signings in India under its luxury Anantara Hotels & Resorts hotel brand for 2026: Anantara Zanti Coorg Resort and Anantara Kolkata Hotel. Both properties represent firsts for the brand in India: its first resort and first urban hotel in the country. Anantara Zanti Coorg Resort Scheduled to open in 2028, Anantara Zanti Coorg Resort will bring the brand’s immersive experiences and refined hospitality to the UNESCOrecognised Western Ghats. Set within a forested enclave near Madikeri in Coorg, Karnataka, the 69key resort is designed by renowned Sri Lankan architect Channa Daswatte, widely recognised as the foremost protégé of Geoffrey Bawa, the pioneer of tropical modernism, and draws on the region’s natural landscapes, coffee heritage and Kodava culture. The property facilities will feature four dining venues, a swimming pool, a lobby lounge and library, Anantara Spa and wellness centre, a fitness studio, meeting and event spaces and a kids’ club. Our partnership with Minor Hotels brings a renowned brand to one of India’s most captivating destinations. Through this greenfield development, we aim to deliver authentic experiences that immerse guests in Coorg’s rich culture and pristine landscapes, setting a new benchmark for luxury hospitality in the region. Bimal Desai, Chairman of Zanti Hospitality, owner of Anantara Zanti Coorg Coorg’s natural beauty exemplifies India’s potential for experiential luxury and is ideal for the Anantara brand. The upcoming Anantara Zanti Coorg Resort will showcase our vision of creating distinctive stays that honour local culture, immersing guests in the destination’s vibrant nature and tradition. William Heinecke, Founder and Chairman of Minor International, parent company of Minor Hotels Anantara Kolkata Hotel Slated to open in 2032, the approximately 170‑key hotel will anchor the upcoming World Trade Center Salt Lake Kolkata an-acre mixed-use development. Designed to serve the city’s growing business and meeting and events demand, the hotel will feature two restaurants, a lobby lounge, flexible meeting and event spaces, and complementing leisure facilities including Anantara Spa and wellness centre, a gym and a swimming pool. The World Trade Centre Salt Lake is a joint venture between Aryan Realty and Merlin Group. The World Trade Center Kolkata is a landmark development for Kolkata and West Bengal, strengthening the city’s standing as a regional business and cultural centre. Partnering with Minor Hotels to introduce Anantara to Kolkata reflects our commitment to create a destination that will support the city’s long‑term commercial growth and raise its hospitality offering. Mr Sanjay Saraf, Co-Chairman of Aryan Realty Mr Sushil Mohta, Chairman of Merlin Group, added, “Our partnership with Minor Hotels and the introduction of Anantara at WTC marks a significant step in shaping a destination that not only meets international benchmarks but also redefines how business and hospitality converge in Eastern India.” William Heinecke added, “Signing Anantara Kolkata as our first urban Anantara in India represents an important step in our growth in the country and reflects the brand’s versatility across

Hilton (NYSE: HLT) today announced the signing of a strategic agreement with Regenta Hotels Private Limited, owned by Royal Orchid Hotels Limited, to sign and open 125 Hampton by Hilton hotels in India. The partnership accelerates Hilton’s upper midscale expansion in India, where rising domestic travel and growing demand from the country’s expanding middle class are driving strong opportunities in the mid-market segment. The franchised hotels will primarily be developed across western and southern markets, including Goa, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, joining more than 3,100 Hampton by Hilton properties trading globally. India’s economic growth, expanding middle class and rapid infrastructure development are reshaping the country’s travel landscape, creating significant opportunities for our brands. Our new strategic partnership with the Regenta Hotels Group demonstrates our commitment to working with established local operators, enabling us to scale our franchise footprint rapidly while maintaining the strength and consistency of Hilton’s brands. Alan Watts, President, Asia Pacific, Hilton Strategic agreements have become a key driver for Hilton’s expansion strategy in India, enabling the company to pair strong local operating expertise with its global brands and commercial engine. This partnership marks Hilton’s third of this nature in India, building on the momentum of earlier agreements that are accelerating development by setting franchise terms across a large portfolio of new developments at once. India’s western and southern states collectively account for a significant share of the country’s GDP and represent some of its most dynamic business and leisure travel corridors. As infrastructure improvements strengthen connectivity and domestic travel continues to grow, demand for reliable, branded accommodation is expanding beyond the country’s largest metropolitan centers. This is creating strong opportunities for branded midscale and upper midscale brands such as Hampton by Hilton to meet the needs of India’s rapidly expanding domestic traveler base across emerging cities and key commercial hubs. As we continue to strengthen our network effect around the world, India remains a strategic long-term growth market for Hilton. For owners, Hampton by Hilton delivers industry-leading returns through an efficient operating model and broad guest appeal. This agreement further reinforces the global strength of the Hampton brand and our confidence in the long-term growth of India’s midmarket hospitality sector. Christian Charnaux, Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer, Hilton Hampton by Hilton is the company’s largest brand by number of hotels and a pioneer of the upper-midscale segment globally. Named the #1 lodging franchise by Entrepreneur® for 17 consecutive years, the brand serves quality-driven travelers through an approachable, high-quality stay defined by its friendly and caring signature hospitality, known as ‘Hamptonality’, in 46 countries globally. Following extensive consumer research in India, Hampton by Hilton hotels in the country will feature design, service and amenities thoughtfully tailored to reflect local preferences while maintaining the brand’s trusted global standards. We are proud to partner with Hilton to scale Hampton by Hilton in India. Our portfolio is a healthy mix of owned, managed and franchised properties, and this partnership with Hilton will drive significant growth