TOP NEWS

🖤 According to WeRoad's poll of 4,600 solo European travelers, over 40% find off-the-beaten-path destinations like Uzbekistan, Namibia, Jordan, and Kyrgyzstan more meaningful. One-third seek new places, while 20% prefer fewer crowds. Nearly 50% made lifelong friends, 34% enhanced their Instagram, and others compared the solo travel experience to therapy, fostering connections with the world and self.

📞 Hoteliers in North America see a 50% conversion rate on phone bookings, outperforming OTAs, as per Revinate’s 2025 Hospitality Benchmark Report dated Apr 11, 2025. Underutilization of the voice channel results in lost revenue and guest relations. Advanced reservation sales technology, such as lead capture strategies ($12.07 per email) and 24/7 coverage through RezForce, can increase revenue by $1,748 per room annually. Luxury travelers and those with specific needs prefer voice bookings for the personalized service.

💾 Palette Hotels is deploying Quore's workflow management solution across its 25 properties to enhance engineering, housekeeping, front desk, management, and other areas. Quore provides a cloud-based, mobile-ready, multilingual solution that streamlines operations and improves guest experiences. Palette Hotels represent various brands including Marriott, IHG, Hilton, Hyatt, Choice Hotels, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, and Best Western. The solution offers insights into problem resolution costs, guest satisfaction, and more, while also exploring new features like CapEx functionality. Palette Hotels aims to use Quore's full capabilities, leveraging the support from the Quore team for successful implementation.

🏢 On June 12th, 2025, Fernando Vives will speak at the 30th Hospitality Operator Forum in Paris. With 25+ years in hospitality and as Chief Commercial Officer of NH Hotel Group under Minor Hotels, Vives emphasizes strategic revenue management and topline growth as key to sustainable profitability. Advocating for revenue intelligence and operational empowerment, Vives is set to share his expertise at the InterContinental Paris le Grand, pushing for a proactive approach to industry challenges.

🏦 Canal House of Georgetown celebrated as Marriott International's one millionth room in the U.S. on April 8, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Developed by Douglas Development and managed by TPG Hotels & Resorts, the property includes a 107-room hotel with diverse room geometries and a signature restaurant, the C&O Lounge. Design elements throughout the hotel pay tribute to Washington, D.C., with roses and deep green hues, while the C&O Lounge menu features local flavors and ingredients.

🏨 Choice Hotels International, Inc. began its 10th annual MasteryX tech summit in Scottsdale, Arizona, on April 9, with over 650 associates participating in workshops and sessions on AI, quantum computing, and other technologies, aiming to boost revenue and efficiency for hotel owners. Last year’s MasteryX innovation automated special rates and promotions, leading to nearly 450,000 room nights and $31 million in sales. The company has introduced several industry-first technologies, like the first hotel website with real-time info in 1995, the first cloud-based PMS in 2003, and fully migrated to AWS Cloud in 2024.

🏨 Hotel brands focus on selling loyalty cards like Bonvoy and All, rather than the company names like Marriott or Accor. They have two offerings: loyalty programs for guests that create recognition and rewards, and hotel brands for investors that define positioning and operation playbooks. These strategies allow guests access to a global network, owners to benefit from brand equity, and hotel groups to grow through partnerships and franchises, while individual properties manage guest experiences. Hospitality still thrives in smaller or independent properties, especially luxury ones, while big brands ensure consistency for frequent travelers.

🏠 Lush, the ethical cosmetics retailer, is set to enter the UK hospitality sector by opening a hotel, leveraging its success in retail and spa operations in the UK, Canada, the US, and the Middle East. The company, which operates nearly 900 stores globally, plans to integrate its retail and spa experiences into this new hospitality venture, targeting wellness-oriented travelers. Despite previous financial challenges, Lush aims to diversify and grow, aligning with trends in experiential travel and integrated customer experiences.

🛏 The article discusses the importance of an integrated digital ecosystem for hotels to enhance growth, profitability, and guest satisfaction. It emphasizes that relying solely on Property Management Systems (PMS) and accounting software is insufficient. The blog post outlines five core technology system categories in the hotel industry: Operational Systems, Sales & Revenue Systems, Planning & Administrative Systems, Guest-Centric Systems, and Business Intelligence Systems. Operational Systems include PMS, Point-of-Sale (POS) systems, and Meetings & Events software, crucial for day-to-day hotel functions. Sales & Revenue Systems like Revenue Management Systems (RMS), Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, and booking engines drive business by attracting guests and optimizing pricing strategies. Planning & Administrative Systems focus on back-office tasks, financial management, and labor scheduling for efficiency and profitability. Guest-Centric Systems, including mobile apps and guest messaging platforms, aim to improve the guest experience through personalization and convenience. Lastly, Business Intelligence (BI) Systems provide strategic oversight by analyzing data from all other systems to drive informed decision-making. The article underscores the interconnectedness of these technologies and the risks of not leveraging the full technological toolkit available, resulting in lost revenue, efficiency, and guest loyalty opportunities.

🛩 The UK's Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) mandate, effective as of January, requires SAF to constitute a minimum of 2% of fuel for UK flights in 2025, with targets increasing to 10% in 2030 and 22% by 2040. SAF can slash carbon emissions by up to ~80% compared to traditional jet fuel. Despite the mandate, the UK Climate Change committee predicts SAF will only represent 6% of total fuel demand by 2030, missing the 10% goal. To bolster SAF scaling, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) suggests a comprehensive strategy focusing on enhancing SAF production, infrastructure, R&D, and technology adoption for net-zero aviation by 2050. Business travel, with significant purchasing influence, plays a critical role in promoting SAF, especially through the book-and-claim model, enabling the purchase of SAF without it being physically present at airports. The World Economic Forum highlights the importance of formal government acceptance of this model and transparent accounting to drive corporate investment in SAF.