TOP NEWS

💰 Riverside Hotel in Boise, Idaho, automated its tip management using TipHaus with Oracle, benefiting over 400 employees, including 150 tipped staff. Previously reliant on cash payouts, Riverside faced transparency and administrative challenges. By adopting this technology, they eliminated cash tip outs and reduced manual errors, saving over 40 hours a month in calculations. Complaints about tips dropped to zero, with staff now receiving earnings twice weekly, enhancing morale and trust.

✈️ Ryanair partners with Booking Holdings, including Booking.com, Kayak, Priceline, and Agoda, providing access to Ryanair flights to over 235 destinations. This collaboration allows customers booking through these platforms to access their myRyanair accounts without additional verification, ensuring they receive crucial flight updates. The partnership highlights efforts to protect customers and provide more choices at lower fares, offering price transparency and enhancing the booking experience for travelers globally.

🍴 Michael Mina, The Mina Group, and Stephen Curry are opening steakhouses in October at The Westin St. Francis hotel in Union Square, San Francisco. Mina's Bourbon Steak and Curry's The Eighth Rule will debut. Curry’s first hospitality venture follows his 2021 launch of Gentleman’s Cut bourbon. The Eighth Rule offers limited seating and craft cocktails. The Mina Group, managing operations, has over 25 concepts. The central Bourbon Lounge will feature seasonal California ingredients.

🏨 September 1st marks National Hotel Employee Day, established in 2022 by the American Hotel & Lodging Association to honor U.S. hotel workers. Mews, co-founded by Richard Valtr and Matt Welle, uses AI to enhance hospitality by automating tasks, allowing staff to focus on guests. Features like AI Smart Tips and Atomize RMS optimize operations. Sandra Alcazar (The Maj Hotel, Philadelphia), Johnny Noonan (The Chloe, New Orleans), and others highlight the benefits of AI in delivering personalized experiences.

📸 From August 27 to September 6, 2025, Hilton Molino Stucky Venice offers exclusive experiences during the Venice Film Festival. Guests can enjoy spa treatments like the Glow and Tone (€140) and Deep Body Stress Relief Massage (€100), sip the Golden Lion’s Grove cocktail (€23) at the Skyline Rooftop Bar, and attend a Cinema Dinner Night on September 6 (€150 per person). Stay in luxurious suites like the Presidential Suite (€6,500/night) and Tower Molino Suites (€1,200/night). Rooms start at €240.

Blog Post Excerpt 📈 Governments are opposing Airbnb to boost housing. AI changes hotel bookings, requiring strategic growth in direct bookings. Tech paradoxically increases time value as it saves time. Tourism fuels 10% of global tax revenue. Hotels struggle with tech adaptability, unlike Google’s seamless AI integration.

🏨 On August 28, 2025, more than 15,000 European hotels joined a collective lawsuit against Booking.com over rate parity clauses, following the European Court of Justice's ruling on September 19, 2024. Led by the Dutch Stichting Hotel Claims Alliance and supported by HOTREC and 30 national hotel associations, hotels from Italy, Germany, and Greece are prominent participants. The suit will be filed in Amsterdam District Court by year-end. Registration closes on August 29, 2025.

🍴 Daniel Humm, chef at Eleven Madison Park in New York City, reintroduces meat to his menu on Oct. 14, 2025, after a vegan-only phase since 2021. Influenced by financial reasons and event booking challenges, the $365 tasting menu now includes fish, meat, and duck. Despite a 23% drop in NYC vegan restaurants and a mere 1% vegan population in the U.S., meatless meals remain popular among health-conscious youth. Vegan restaurant sales fell 7.5% by April 2023.

🗺️ Europe’s top attractions are under strain, with a report from Arival and Destination Wayfinder analyzing 56 million reviews across 300,000 listings. Less than 0.2% of destinations account for nearly 50% of traveler reviews. Major cities like Paris, Rome, Barcelona, and Amsterdam see over 40% of reviews concentrated on top attractions. The report urges dynamic pricing, equitable access, and diverse experiences to manage demand. Long-term solutions involve public-private efforts to balance tourism benefits.

🍲 Bret Thorn, a food & beverage editor since 1999, covers trends for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality. Formerly with The New York Sun (2005-2008), he received the 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award. Thorn is a Tufts University magna cum laude graduate and a Le Cordon Bleu alumnus. He contributed to Oxford food encyclopedias and was inducted into Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014. Thorn resides in Brooklyn, N.Y. and his expertise spans global cuisines and restaurant operations.