TOP NEWS

🏆 France is preparing for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, expecting 15 million attendees from July 26 to August 11. Paris hotels were 50% booked by February, and 16 million Americans traveled abroad from January through March—a record high. Deloitte reports travel plans after Labor Day rose from 12% in 2022 to 17% in 2024, with travel budgets increasing by 13%. Digital frontline workplace apps in the hospitality industry enhance operational efficiency, employee engagement, and service delivery during high-demand periods, including the Olympics.

📱 Ryan King, Senior Vice President, Americas at Shiji Group, during HITEC 2024 in Charlotte, discussed the company's hospitality technology focus and security. Shiji Group aids hotels with cyber threat protection, global regulatory compliance, and enhances guest and employee experiences with technology like mobile-based housekeeping and pool area POS systems. King stressed the importance of human-centric technology and change management for successful adoption. The company looks forward to AI strategy outcomes and continued innovation.

📊 At HITEC 2024, Simone Puorto interviewed Guilain Denisselle, a hospitality veteran with 35 years of experience. Denisselle predicts AI will enhance revenue management, guest messaging, and system connectivity in hospitality. He suggests AI could replace APIs for simple tasks and foresees a rise in Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to reduce manual work. The integration of AI aims to streamline operations and improve the guest experience by HITEC 2025. This insight is part of Hospitality Net's HITEC 2024 series.

💰 UK's Labour Party wins a majority in the General Election with 412 seats of the 650 available, Conservatives secure 120 seats, Liberal Democrats 71, SNP 9, Sinn Fein 7, and Others 28. Labour's victory was predicted by the exit poll released at 10pm BST on Thursday, forecasting a 170-seat majority. Twelve Tory cabinet ministers, including Liz Truss, lost their seats. Sir Keir Starmer, the incoming Prime Minister, addressed supporters in London, while outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak took responsibility for the Conservative loss. Industry leaders react, calling for action on manifesto commitments and addressing business rates and housing issues.

📈 In June, the U.S. economy added 206,000 jobs, with unemployment at 4.1%, up from 4% in May. Leisure and hospitality saw only 7,000 new jobs, compared to May's 42,000. The restaurant industry's second quarter had the weakest job growth since Q4 2020, adding only 900 jobs. Despite a forecast of 525,000 seasonal jobs, full-service restaurants are still -4% below pre-pandemic levels. Job openings in restaurants and accommodations are below 800,000, signaling a potential market normalization.

🎬 Netflix to open two 'Netflix House' immersive entertainment venues in 2025, occupying over 100,000 square feet in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, and Galleria Dallas. Business travel rebounds to $245 billion in 2023, despite 60% of companies cutting budgets and 96% implementing cost-control policies. New York's Little Island, a 2.4-acre public park, hosted over 200 free and 30 ticketed performances in 2022 and commissioned 44 city-based artists for 69 performances. Hospitality Design magazine calls for 2024 Boutique 18 nominations by August 5th, honoring 18 emerging hospitality designers with 5-10 years of experience.

📱 Häfele partnered with Like Magic to launch 'Work and Sleep' hotel rooms, combining digitally-enabled furniture and a guest experience platform to convert vacant rooms for multi-use, enhancing revenue and reducing costs. The innovative concept includes adjustable lighting, keyless entry, and web-app amenities access. Tested at ibis Styles hotel in Nagold, Germany, the partnership aims to redefine hospitality with personalized services and operational efficiency through digitization, aiding staff and enriching guest experiences.

🏆 Gelsenkirchen led with a 786% increase in year-on-year bookings, with Leipzig at 570%, Dortmund 329%, Munich 124%, and Frankfurt 62%, thanks to UEFA Euro 2024, according to DidaTravel data. Germany's average daily hotel rate (ADR) rose by 35% during the event. The booking window expanded from 17 to 28 days, while the average stay was about two days.

🏨 Häfele, in partnership with Like Magic, is developing the ‘Work and Sleep’ hotel room concept, reconfiguring rooms for multiple uses with digitally-enabled furniture and advanced software, aiming to maximize room revenue and cut costs. The ibis Styles hotel in Nagold, Germany serves as a test site. Innovations include smartphone-enabled keyless entry and adaptable lighting. The Like Magic platform provides a digital guest journey and streamlines hotel operations, allowing 80% of daily tasks to be managed from one system.

🏡 Martin Soler, a fractional CMO and co-founder of the most read hotel newsletter in Europe, addresses the potential of Chief Digital Officers in driving the digital transformation needed in the hotel industry. Digital advertising faces a challenge with the potential 60% revenue decrease from Chrome users for publishers, due to the deprecation of third-party cookies by Google's Privacy Sandbox. Reddit is emerging as a key platform for travel discussions, possibly overtaking Tripadvisor. Hotels, once pioneers in technology, have fallen behind since the advent of smartphones. AI is set to revolutionize marketing, as seen with Coca-Cola's partnership with OpenAI since early 2023. The shift towards AI in marketing is imminent, urging hotel marketing teams to start experimenting with rapid iterations and personalized ads. The article suggests that the shift from Technology Officers to Digital Officers could be critical for enhancing guest experiences in hotels.