TOP NEWS

🏨 Sep 28, 2026: In Europe, 51% of hotels report OTAs selling rooms below hotel rates, up from 40% two years ago. Booking.com, used by 65% of hotels for payments, leads with 66.1% of OTA bookings. Booking Sponsored Benefit lowers rates, impacting revenue management. By early 2026, 72% of Booking Holding's bookings used its payment service. Independent hotels manually monitor OTA prices, while large chains automate rate matching with systems like Radisson's.

💻 New Hyatt data reveals that loyalty programs are crucial in travel planning, with 51% of travelers taking trips only possible with rewards. Respondents indicated travel rewards cover 40% of vacation costs, and 74% feel rewards enhance travel spending value. Despite this, only 56% of PTO is used annually, even though 90% recognize vacations boost mental health and 85% say travel prevents burnout. Seven in ten feel pressured to make trips financially worthwhile.

💻 Booking, Expedia, and Airbnb saw declines of 21%, 18%, and 18% respectively in a month due to Meta's Muse launch on September 8, 2025. Muse hit 2.5M US downloads in two weeks. Agents like Muse and Instinct threaten OTAs by simplifying price comparison and booking. Booking's 2025 GBV was $186B with $27B revenue. OTAs' friction costs face pressure: $54B shifted from aggregators, $321B to Meta. Expedia and Booking's marketing spend was 4-6% GBV, with Booking spending $8B. AI-assisted bookings still under 1% of OTA traffic.

🛀 By 2024, the global spa industry grew to 201,861 spas generating $157 billion with a 7.4% annual growth rate. The medical spa segment was valued at $24.2 billion in 2025 and is forecasted to reach $78.2 billion by 2033. Medical spas are growing nearly 16% annually. In 2024, US patients spent $1.30 billion on GLP-1 medications. The wellness economy is valued at $6.8 trillion in 2024, predicted to grow to $9.8 trillion by 2029.

📈 Shares of Booking Holdings fell 3.9% on September 22 and about 5% more the next day, due to Meta's Muse AI agent, launched September 8, which compares prices and books travel. Booking.com relies on independent hotels and small rentals for 90% of revenue. Analysts argue AI will challenge OTAs by accessing member-only discounts, while Wall Street counters that signing these properties manually is difficult for AI. Booking Holdings was trading 29% below its August high by late September.

🏨 In 2026, Airbnb's nights grew 2.6 times faster than Booking in Q2, reversing a trend from the last two years. This shift is driven by Airbnb's strategic inclusion of hotels, a significant platform expansion. Although hotels currently represent a single-digit share of Airbnb's nights, they are growing more than three times faster than the homes business. Approximately 35% of first-time hotel guests return to Airbnb to book homes, strengthening the marketplace.

💻 Florencia Cueto Pedrotti, Director of Global Engagement & Sales Enablement at Shiji, and Javier Campo, SVP Europe at Amadeus, discussed hotel digital merchandising and attribute-based selling. Amadeus research highlights that 74% of travelers expect personalization. Currently, airlines earn 15-20% of revenue from ancillaries, while hotels earn 3-5%. Javier emphasizes the need for dynamic systems to deliver personalized offers, with a focus on strategy first. The transformation is expected within the next 24 months.

💻 Beaumier hotels in Europe improved guest experience using Canary Technologies. Guest interactions became seamless with mobile-first check-ins. Enhanced data collection boosted direct communication, and simplified deposit processes saved time. At Grand Hotel Belvedere, staff optimized logistics using guests' expected arrival times. Beaumier found a partner in Canary, supporting international growth and technology integration. Canary Technologies, serving over 20,000 hotels in 100+ countries, is renowned for its AI-powered Guest Management Platform, simplifying operations and enhancing guest experiences.

🏨 Former Remington Hospitality CEO Sloan Dean launched AI Hospitality Group, the first AI-native hotel management firm, with $30 million funding from Astound Ventures. AIHG utilizes 60+ autonomous agents for hotel back-office operations, aiming for a 500+ basis point GOP improvement. Booking.com cites Hotrec data predicting 56% direct bookings in Europe by 2025. Actabl's H1 2026 analysis shows Full Service hotels cutting hours per occupied room by 3.1%, Select Service by 3.5%, with occupancy at 67.9% and RevPAR up 8.9%.

💻 In September 2026, Sloan Dean, at AI Hospitality Group, rethinks hotel operations using AI tools at Ameswell Hotel, Marina del Rey Hotel, and Hotel Hermosa. AI's role includes recruiting, sales inquiries, and inventory management. AI Hospitality Group aligns compensation with performance via profit sharing. Sloan describes an operating system called "the pulse" that connects to various hotel systems for data aggregation, enhancing daily operations. The model emphasizes fewer employees and higher efficiency, potentially increasing pay for roles like GM and sales directors.