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Singapore - Lighthouse, the AI Commercial Operating Platform for the travel and hospitality industry, today announced the appointment of Jan Hansen as Vice President of Growth, Asia Pacific. The role reflects a step-change in the company's investment in APAC as the region emerges as one of its largest growth opportunities. Hansen joins from Agoda, where he spent nearly ten years in commercial and supply leadership roles. Based in Thailand, he will oversee commercial strategy and customer growth across Asia Pacific. A decade of commercial leadership at Agoda Hansen most recently served as Global Head of Connectivity & Partnerships at Agoda, and before that led Commercial Excellence across the company's multi-market business. Across those roles he worked directly with global and regional chains, independent hotels and hospitality tech partners, giving him firsthand insight into how hotels make commercial, distribution, and connectivity decisions — both internally and in partnership with travel platforms. Jan understands the APAC hotel market from three angles most leaders never get: the operator's, the partner's and the platform's. It's a rare combination, and it's exactly what this moment in the region calls for Dave Collier, Chief Revenue Officer at Lighthouse Why APAC, why now Hansen's appointment lands as Lighthouse moves to an AI-first product strategy. Recent launches include Connect AI, the first direct booking app for hotels inside ChatGPT, alongside continued investment in agentic AI for pricing, distribution and revenue performance. APAC is one of Lighthouse's fastest-growing regions and one of the most active travel tech markets in the world. The new VP of Growth role is built to match this pace. "Hospitality is entering a major transformation driven by AI. The way hotels operate, price, market and make commercial decisions is being fundamentally reshaped by automation and intelligent systems," said Hansen. "What excites me most about Lighthouse is the company's ambition to put AI at the center of that transformation. With Lighthouse's strong data foundation, technology platform, and customer focus, we have a unique opportunity to help hospitality teams work smarter, move faster, and unlock entirely new levels of commercial performance. I'm especially excited to help lead that journey across APAC, one of the world's most dynamic travel markets." Powered by the industry's largest proprietary data network, spanning 80,000 hotels across 185 countries, Lighthouse delivers better commercial outcomes for global chains, regional groups, and independent hoteliers. Learn more at www.mylighthouse.com .

Parsippany, NJ - Lodging Interactive, a hospitality focused digital marketing agency serving hotels and resorts since 2001, announced that its Social Media Amplified Program generated 1,253 warm wedding RFP requests for client hotels from January 1 through May 31, 2026. The program combines strategic social media marketing posts with promotional landing pages and lead capture forms designed to move engaged couples from inspiration to inquiry. The resulting wedding RFPs were delivered to client hotel sales teams for follow up calls, appointment scheduling, and potential site visits. Social media should do more than create awareness for hotels. When content is connected to a focused landing page and a clear call to action, it can become a measurable sales support channel. These wedding RFP results show the power of aligning social media storytelling with lead generation. DJ Vallauri, Founder and CEO of Lodging Interactive Over the five month period, Lodging Interactive’s Social Media Amplified Program generated an average of approximately 251 wedding leads per month . The opportunity is especially meaningful given the value of wedding business to hotels. According to The Knot Worldwide’s 2026 Real Weddings Study , the average U.S. wedding spend was approximately $34,000 , with an average guest count of 117 guests . The Knot’s wedding budget guidance also shows that venue and rentals account for 29% of a typical wedding budget, while catering, cake, and drinks account for another 24% , creating a combined 53% allocation for categories that are highly relevant to hotel wedding venues. Using those figures as a directional model, Lodging Interactive estimates that a booked hotel wedding may represent approximately $24,400 to $27,600 in potential gross revenue opportunity when venue, catering, beverage related categories, and estimated guest room revenue are considered. Applied across 1,253 wedding inquiries, that represents an estimated potential gross revenue opportunity of approximately $30.6 million to $34.6 million . The revenue estimate is directional and does not represent actual booked revenue. Results vary by property, market, close rate, room block pickup, average daily rate, guest count, wedding package pricing, and sales follow up. “Hotels invest significant time and resources into wedding sales,” Vallauri added. “Our role is to help create the digital pathway that brings more qualified inquiries to the hotel sales team. From there, the property can begin the relationship, schedule the site visit, and work to convert the opportunity.” Lodging Interactive’s Social Media Amplified Program is designed for hotels, resorts, ownership groups, and management companies seeking to turn social media engagement into measurable business opportunities. The program combines platform native content, campaign specific landing pages, lead capture forms, and performance reporting. For more information, visit Lodging Interactive or contact DJ Vallauri at [email protected]

At the EHL HumanX Summit in Lausanne, Simone Puorto sat down with Dr Achim Schmitt, Dean of EHL Hospitality Business School and a professor of strategic management whose research is in why organisations decline and how they turn themselves around. He brought that lens to his own industry, and the diagnosis was not flattering. Hospitality, in his reading, has spent years being comfortable, and comfort is exactly what gets organisations into trouble. The full conversation is available to watch below. Hospitality got too comfortable Simone asked whether there are warning signs the industry is still not taking seriously. Schmitt pointed straight at comfort. For thirty or forty years, he said, hospitality was one of the least innovative industries in the world, and the reason sits in its structure. One party owns the building, another operates the hotel, and a third owns the brand that brings in the guests. Each has its own interest and each wants to grow its share, which works well as long as the whole thing keeps growing. For a long time it did. The industry expanded year after year and generated new jobs at a remarkable rate. That growth, he argued, let everyone avoid hard questions. Now, in established markets like Switzerland, it is getting difficult to find both guests and staff, and a comfortable industry suddenly has to reinvent itself. Much of that reinvention, in his view, comes down to two things: bringing digital tools into hotels, and bringing talent in. Retention matters more than attraction Simone framed the squeeze plainly. Tourist numbers keep climbing, by some forecasts sharply, while fewer people join the industry and turnover stays high, so the temptation is to do more with fewer people. Schmitt agreed the pressure is real but called it a slippery slope. If the industry decides it can simply run on fewer people, it stops making the effort to attract anyone, and that takes you back to square one. His emphasis is on keeping people rather than recruiting them. Hospitality has some of the worst turnover rates of any industry, he said, running at thirty to forty percent in many markets and higher in parts of the budget segment. That is a problem in itself. If a graduate knows that every two or three years they will have a completely new team around them, and may not last either, the industry looks unattractive, because people want to be recognised, to belong to a team and to a culture. So the first job, he argued, is to keep people, keep them happy and develop them, which means real investment in learning and development. Do that well and attraction tends to follow. Short-term fixes for long-term problems This led into a question Schmitt thinks about a lot, the risk of trading long-term strength for short-term results. He gave a concrete example from talent. When a country runs out of local workers, the quick fix is to bring in workforce from abroad, as new markets in the Middle East

Wilmington, Delaware, [Month] [Day], 2026 – RobosizeME , a leading provider of AI-enabled workflow automation solutions tailored to hotel groups and resorts, today announced an expanded automation initiative with a major U.S. gaming and hospitality operator. The project focuses on automating high-volume loyalty and guest point workflows across casino and hotel systems, helping ensure faster, more consistent point updates for players while reducing manual handling for operations teams ahead of HITEC 2026. The operator manages large-scale hospitality and casino operations that require tight coordination between multiple operational systems, loyalty workflows, and guest-facing services. RobosizeME’s automation deployments are designed to reduce manual intervention, improve processing efficiency, and enhance the accuracy of loyalty point updates and related guest communications. Key highlights of the initiative include: Automation of loyalty point updates across casino and hotel systems Support for reconciliation workflows tied to guest rewards and gaming-related operations Reduced manual processing in high-volume guest point and loyalty environments Improved consistency and transparency of player rewards and guest experiences “Gaming and hospitality operations involve some of the most operationally complex loyalty environments in the industry,” said Greg Berman, Managing Director, North America at RobosizeME. “By automating the repetitive steps behind point reconciliation and guest updates, we are helping teams cut processing time and reduce errors in workflows that directly impact player satisfaction and repeat visits.” The automation initiatives include support for loyalty operations assistance, reconciliation workflows, and hospitality process coordination tied to guest rewards and gaming-related operational systems. As hospitality and gaming operators continue to evaluate operational efficiency initiatives, workflow automation is increasingly being used to improve response times, reduce manual processing burdens, and support teams managing large-scale guest engagement programs. RobosizeME will be presenting additional hospitality automation use cases during HITEC 2026. For more information about RobosizeME, visit www.robosize.me or contact us .

WASHINGTON, D.C. — June 3, 2026 — This month, hoteliers from more than 60 countries will be flocking to San Antonio to attend HITEC 2026 to see the world’s latest showcase of hospitality technologies. Innovation leader Innspire will be on-site June 15 to 18 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in Booth #3042 to introduce attendees to several new portfolio enhancements that will redefine the modern hotel guest experience. "Every HITEC is an opportunity to reconnect with valued customers, meet new hotel partners, and share our vision for where hospitality technology is headed," said Martin Chevalley, CEO and Co-Founder of Innspire. "We're eager to be in San Antonio to demonstrate how Innspire is making it easier than ever for hoteliers to deliver exceptional guest experiences through one connected platform. We're especially excited to introduce a new, flexible approach to Guest Journey that allows hoteliers to start at no cost and expand as their needs evolve." Innspire’s Guest Journey brings together guest engagement, mobile experiences, AI-powered services, and in-room technology into one seamless, connected experience. Designed to create consistency across every guest touchpoint, this platform represents a new approach to how hotels interact with guests before, during, and after their stay. Going with Guest Flows Adding to the excitement at HITEC, Innspire will unveil a powerful new Guest Journey capability called Guest Flows that gives hoteliers greater control over how guest interactions, communications, services, and experiences are orchestrated throughout the stay. This frictionless solution will automate hotel operations and orchestrate intelligent touchpoints that boost revenue and guest satisfaction. “Guest Flows is a core component of the Innspire Guest Journey platform,” said Anne Frye, Innspire President. “It’s a frictionless, zero-download hospitality solution that coordinates intelligent interactions from the moment a guest books until they check out. It synchronizes hotel staff, back-end automation, and guest-facing technology to streamline workflows and service requests; links seamlessly with our AI Concierge to facilitate automated guest messaging and answer questions or fulfill requests instantly; and quick digital check-in, contactless access (when integrated with digital keys), and targets upselling opportunities for food, beverage, and amenities right to the guest's phone.” Enhancing the In-Room Entertainment Experience As part of the showcase, Innspire will also preview its latest advancements in guestroom entertainment through its InnSmart TV streaming solution featuring support for Google Cast embedded, Apple AirPlay 2, and Chromecast technologies. The solution delivers the familiar and frictionless streaming experiences travelers expect while maintaining the security, reliability, and simplicity hotels require. “Innspire TV runs natively on hospitality Smart TVs from Samsung and LG, with no external set-top box required,” Frye said. “The launcher carries the hotel’s branding, photography, and tone on every screen in the property. Guests can cast Netflix, Spotify, Apple Fitness+, Disney+, YouTube, and any Cast-enabled app from their own device to the in-room TV. And, should smart TVs not be offered at the hotel, our InnCable connector turns any TV with HDMI into a smart TV.” Visitors to HITEC San Antonio are invited to stop by Booth

Year-to-date UK data shows the margin squeeze accelerating as costs outpace top-line gains. UK hotels are doing more business than last year. They're keeping less of it. Q1 2026 data tells a familiar story with a worsening twist: TRevPAR is up 2%, but labour costs are rising at nearly double that rate — and profit margins are heading in the wrong direction. Revenue is not the problem. What you do with it is. This post breaks down the numbers — by city, by revenue stream, and by cost line — so you know exactly where the pressure is coming from, and where the real opportunity still lives. This modest 2% TRevPAR increase (from HotStats Q1 2026 data) shows UK hotels can't outrun costs with room rates, with profit margins being compressed by rising operating expenses. The gap between TRevPAR growth and cost inflation is now the defining challenge of the UK market — and it's widening. Here's the uncomfortable truth: if you're only watching RevPAR, you're watching the wrong metric. The room you sold today might have cost you money tomorrow, depending on how you sold it. This article includes insights from the Q1 2026 webinar hosted by Jane Pendleton, CEO of HOSPA, featuring Michael Grove from HotStats and Louisa Green, Managing Director at RBH. Continue reading

CHICAGO — June 3, 2026 — Hotel Communication Network , the global leader of in-room guest engagement and tablet-based commerce media, will be present at HITEC San Antonio in a BIG way. In addition to exhibiting June 15 to 18 at the Henry B. González Convention Center, HCN Founder & CEO Kevin Bidner will address hotel operators, management company executives, IT executives, and finance and procurement leaders each day on topics critical to the future of hospitality: · Monday, June 15 at 9:00 a.m. in Meeting Room #220 At a Technology Showcase titled “ Guest Engagement: The Final Frontier ,” Bidner will discuss how in-room tablets are emerging as one of the hospitality industry’s most powerful new media and guest engagement channels. The presentation will explore how hotels can automate operations, improve guest satisfaction, drive ancillary revenues, and create highly engaging commerce media opportunities for brands seeking to reach affluent travelers in a trusted, distraction-free environment. This no-nonsense discussion will reveal how tablets can create continuous engagement throughout the guest journey while simultaneously increasing satisfaction and incremental revenues. It will examine whether or not mobile apps and QR codes are enough or already becoming outdated to communicate with guests; identify which technologies are delivering results today and which innovations are about to reshape hospitality tomorrow; and reveal the emerging role AI is playing in personalizing and automating guest communications. · Tuesday, June 16 at 2:30 p.m. in Exhibit Hall, Stage B: Booth #3821 Hotels have spent years digitalizing booking, loyalty, and operations, yet the guestroom itself has remained largely disconnected from modern commerce and media strategies. That changes today. As major hotel brands launch proprietary Commerce Media platforms, HCN is leveling the playing field by enabling all hoteliers to participate in the same high-margin revenue opportunity through the in-room tablet experience. During Exhibitor Tutorial 06B titled “ The Hotel Room is the New Media Channel: How Commerce Media is Creating a New Revenue Stream ,” Bidner will explain how the hotel room is evolving into a measurable, monetizable media environment. Attendees will learn why the hotel room is becoming the next premium media environment; how guest attention during the stay creates monetizable advertising value; why Commerce Media is rapidly becoming a competitive necessity for hotels; and how branded, soft-branded, and independent hotels can participate immediately to generate sizeable revenues and lasting loyalty. A Commerce Media White Paper will be presented to all who attend. “HITEC is the ideal platform to demonstrate how hotel guestroom tablets have evolved from a guest amenity into a fully integrated operational and revenue-generating ecosystem,” Bidner said. “Our Content Media Network is creating a completely new way for hotels to engage guests while simultaneously opening the door to meaningful new advertising and ecommerce revenues.” Wednesday, June 17 at 1:45 p.m. in Exhibit Hall, Stage A: Booth #856 The modern hotel tablet is not just a digital compendium; it’s an operational platform that can increase revenue, reduce service friction, improve labor efficiency, and influence guest purchasing behavior

Access the complete GEO for Hotels course and learn the strategies leading hotels are using to stay visible, relevant, and recommended in AI-powered search: bit.ly/4dZcumn How to show up in AI search and drive more direct bookings AI is changing how travelers search, compare, and book hotels. Instead of scrolling through pages of results, they are asking detailed questions and getting a single, curated answer. That shift has a direct implication for hotels. If your property is not included in that answer, you are no longer competing for clicks. You are not being considered at all. This is where Generative Engine Optimization, or GEO, becomes critical. It is not a replacement for SEO, but it is a necessary evolution. It ensures your content is not just visible, but usable by AI systems that are shaping the booking journey. What is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)? Generative Engine Optimization is the process of adapting your website content so it can be understood, selected, and cited by AI-powered search engines. Unlike traditional SEO, which focuses on rankings and keywords, GEO focuses on how content is interpreted. AI systems do not simply index pages. They analyze meaning, context, and intent, then generate a response using a small number of trusted sources. For hotels, this means visibility is no longer about appearing on page one. It is about being included in the answer a traveler receives when they ask a question like: “What are the best boutique hotels near the Eiffel Tower with breakfast included?” GEO ensures your content is structured and written in a way that makes that inclusion possible. How is AI search different from traditional search? Traditional search presents options. AI search delivers decisions. Instead of returning a list of links, AI platforms synthesize information into a single response. That response may include one or two hotel recommendations, supported by short descriptions pulled from various sources. This creates a much higher bar for visibility. In a traditional results page, multiple hotels can compete for attention. In AI-generated answers, only a few are mentioned. In many cases, only one stands out. At the same time, user behavior has shifted. Travelers are no longer typing short queries. They are asking layered, conversational questions that combine location, amenities, and intent. AI search is designed to respond to that complexity, which means hotel content must do the same. What is the difference between GEO, SEO, and AEO? SEO, AEO, and GEO are not competing strategies. They each serve a different role in how your hotel is discovered. SEO remains important for driving traffic through traditional search engines. It helps your website rank and attract visitors. AEO, or Answer Engine Optimization, focuses on providing direct, concise responses to specific questions. It is what helps your content appear in featured snippets and AI overviews where quick answers are required. GEO builds on both. It is designed for broader, more contextual answers where AI systems need to trust your content as a reliable source. It emphasizes depth, authority, and

For too long, front desk teams in hotels have carried an extraordinary amount of operational weight. They’re everything from the concierge, customer service agent, complaint handler, internal dispatcher, local guide, problem solver and, increasingly, a kind of human switchboard. When a Holiday Inn property decided enough was enough, here’s what happened… We’ve all met that frazzled hotel receptionist. The one who has just sprinted upstairs to sort out extra pillows for room 407, while simultaneously fielding calls about broken TVs, late check-outs, taxi bookings, missing chargers, and whether the bar is still serving food. By the time they finally return to the front desk, another queue has formed, the phone is ringing again, and people are getting…irritated. Front desk teams are often the nerve centre of the building. And as a guest, you feel for them. You can only imagine how exhausted they must feel by the end of the shift. The issue is, much of this switchboard-style work pulls them away from the very thing hospitality is supposed to be about. Greeting people. A warm welcome. Making guest stays seamless and smooth. And ideally, exceeding expectations. This was exactly the challenge facing Holiday Inn Kenilworth. The constant stream of repetitive guest requests was dragging staff away from the front desk, denting morale, and taking employees seriously off course from their actual job descriptions. Then AI entered the picture. Not another hospitality tech trend that created more noise than value. One that is genuinely working. On a recent episode of my Hoteliers’ Voice podcast, I spoke to Nick Rubin, Chief Strategy Officer at BGAM Hospitality – which manages Holiday Inn Kenilworth, and Daniel Ojeme, Co-founder, CEO and CTO of Eccobell Limited, about how an AI-powered voice agent transformed operations at the hotel. Staff as a switchboard, not a team “For many years within hospitality, front desk time has been taken up by menial administrative tasks,” Nick explained. “You're having to deal with finding someone's TV remote, or finding somebody to go help them find their TV remote, or a guest who's had a bad night's sleep because they don't like the pillow. Instead of being a happy, smiley face on reception – which is ultimately the job – you're becoming a switchboard.” Anyone who has worked in hotels will recognise the pattern. Reception teams are constantly firefighting small operational requests instead of focusing on guests standing directly in front of them. The distinction matters. Hospitality businesses spend a lot of effort designing arrival experiences, refining service standards, and creating welcoming atmospheres. Yet often the very people responsible for delivering that experience are overwhelmed by admin. “We wanted to find a way to bring hospitality back to its roots of being welcoming and warm to people as they enter a hotel,” Nick said. The solution arrived in the form of Eccobell, founded by Daniel Ojeme. “It's an intelligent voice agent that allows guests to chat in a natural conversational style and make their request to reception,” Daniel explained. “There's a lot

We are so excited to announce the launch of Condé Nast Traveler Triple Crown , a collection of the best of the best of the best hotels out there. This group of hotels, which premieres today across our US and UK markets, is special for many reasons. This is the only group of hotels that have won all three of our major awards: Hot List , Gold List and Readers' Choice Awards . To be a Hot List winner, a hotel had to have been one of the best new openings in its first year. To make Gold List means it has been selected as an editor’s favorite, and to be on our Readers' Choice Awards means that our audience has voted the property as one of the top hotels they have ever stayed at. Condé Nast Traveler Triple Crown is therefore based off of nearly four decades of awards, accolades, and recognition across the industry. I personally love how diverse this collection is: Condé Nast Traveler ’s Triple Crown includes extraordinary indie properties, like Puglia’s Borgo Egnazia , called by Condé Nast Traveler Italia editor Maddalena Fossati one of the greatest examples of a masseria, anywhere. There are, of course, the heavy hitters from our favorite brands like Four Seasons at the Surf Club , with its numerous pools and divine lobby bar, which many feel is the best hotel in the larger Miami area (and that is saying something!). The group features sustainable darlings like Babylonstoren in South Africa and true regional gems like the storied La Mamounia , a landmark of Marrakech’s unrivaled hospitality scene.