TOP NEWS

🌱 London’s Plant-Based Expo showcased meat, dairy, egg and fish alternatives three years ago. The article reports that 75% of plant-based diet converts previously ate meat and estimates $6.6 billion in global retail sales since 2015. According to the Good Food Institute’s 2026 report, funding tightened in 2025 while public investment and policy support grew. AI, fermentation and 3D food printing are advancing alternative proteins, with younger consumers’ purchasing power shaping expectations for 2030.

🔑 Mews and Vingcard are bringing Apple Wallet and Google Wallet room keys to hotels, enabling tap-to-enter access without opening an app. ASSA ABLOY’s Tess Mattisson helped launch the first mobile room key in Stockholm in 2010. Existing RFID locks, even 10-year-old models, can often support wallet keys; roughly 30-year-old locks need new electronics. ASSA ABLOY’s latest platform offers up to five years of lock battery life. Staff training is key to guest adoption.

🏨 Cote Hospitality’s Chief People Services Officer Merrick P. Dresnin outlines 8 workforce priorities for hotels competing with Airbnb: define service promises, hire caring problem-solvers, plan staffing, strengthen onboarding, develop managers, use technology, support employees and connect workforce metrics to guest outcomes. Hotels operate 24 hours daily; the article argues human service is their advantage. Cote Hospitality has operated for over 100 years, with properties in Nisswa, Minnesota, and Tucson, Arizona.

🏨 STR and Tourism Economics’ 31 August 2026 forecast covered 59 markets across Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific. Across 16 Asia Pacific markets, projected 2026 RevPAR growth fell from 4.4% to 3.9% as occupancy expectations weakened; ADR growth was revised to 3.2%. Hotel budgets also need profitability measures: Flow Through tracks revenue converted into operating profit, while Flex assesses profit protection during downturns. Staffing, distribution costs and scenario planning help translate revenue into sustainable earnings.

🏨 OpenAI launched US ChatGPT ad tests on February 9, 2026, expanding sales to 89 countries by October. Reported prices fell from $60 to $25 per 1,000 impressions, with minimum spending dropping from $200,000 to $50,000. Ads appear on Free and $8/month Go plans, not $20/month Plus or higher tiers. The article questions luxury hotels’ audience fit, noting affluent-user demographics remain unpublished and ads do not influence answers.

🏨 Thailand cut its 2026 international arrivals forecast from 36.7 million to 33 million, matching its minimum 2027 target. Arrivals totaled 24.4 million through October 17, down 4.1% year over year. Despite weaker demand, 167 hotel projects were planned nationally at June’s end. Phuket has 5,517 rooms coming, around 40% in 2027, while luxury and upscale occupancy fell from 84.1% to 80%. Forward fourth-quarter arrivals rose 2.8%.

🏨 Data from thousands of properties shows nearly two-thirds of guest messages go beyond basic FAQs. The findings highlight a shift in hospitality operations toward agentic fulfillment—handling requests rather than simply answering questions—and in-stay commerce.

🏨 Booking.com stopped sending guest phone numbers to all hotels’ connected systems on September 28, 2026, citing fraud prevention. Numbers remain accessible manually in its Extranet and Pulse app. Automated pre-arrival offers now depend on Booking.com messaging, requiring approved links and registered senders. Since October 1, WhatsApp charges businesses for replies beyond 1,000 free monthly replies per phone number, with rates varying by guest country. No hotel company has disclosed financial losses from Booking.com’s change.

🏨 Expedia Group’s October 28, 2026 release introduced 30+ features across Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo. Property Expert now answers questions using property details and reviews on Expedia and Hotels.com in the US; on Expedia, it also reads guests’ reservations after booking. Hotels.com’s homepage offers stay extensions near checkout. Usage figures, extension rates and hotel oversight options were not disclosed. Hotels should check AI answers against their listings and rate plans.

🏨 Hilton added team booking tools to its free Hilton for Business program on October 22, 2026, letting administrators book, change, cancel and track colleagues’ stays. Hilton reports over 400,000 members; its 2023 research found 75% of small-business customers manage travel in-house. Competing with IHG and Marriott, these chain-only hotel portals exclude independents. None of the three chains discloses program room-night totals, leaving their impact on bookings unquantified.