TOP NEWS

💻 RobosizeME and APEX Sales Consultants have formed a partnership to assist hotels in migrating from legacy sales and catering systems like Amadeus Delphi to modern cloud solutions such as Opera Cloud and Infor Sales and Event Management. APEX brings over 150 successful data migrations over the last decade, blending their expertise with RobosizeME’s API-driven technology for secure transfers. The service involves U.S. and EU-based data centers, ensuring ISO27001 and GDPR compliance. For more information, visit www.robosize.me and www.apexsalesco.com.

🗑 Clean the World, marking its 14th anniversary, distributes approximately 7 million bars of soap annually through its WASH Foundation globally, reaching areas from Maui to the Philippines to Ukraine. It recycles used soap and amenities from major hotel companies worldwide, vowing to divert 100% of received plastic from landfills. The new Live Impact Dashboard provides hotel partners with detailed recycling metrics and aligns with the United Nations’ 17 SDGs. The tool also streamlines logistical processes like ordering and pickup scheduling.

🏡 Ballathie Country House Hotel & Estate in Perthshire, Scotland, acquired by IMR Hotels. Marketed at nearly £5 million in 2019, the 17th-century property has operated as a hotel since 1972, boasting four AA stars and a two-AA-rosette restaurant. IMR Hotels plans renovations to enhance accommodation, dining, leisure facilities, and sustainability, focusing on outdoor and wellness activities, local sourcing, and creating new employment opportunities. The estate aims to become a premier destination for outdoor pursuits and wellness.

🍶 Mototsugu Fusada founded Musubi Kiln in 2020, aiming to share Japan’s craft heritage and harmonize traditional and modern luxury in tableware. Musubi Kiln supplies to top hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants globally, blending Japanese design and craftsmanship. The brand focuses on "craft x lifestyle," offering ceramics for luxury dining and daily life. Collaborations include renowned names such as the Four Seasons and The Shota, emphasizing handcrafted quality and the sensory experience. Mino ware from Hibino Ceramics, with its historical importance, is featured for its innovation and practicality. Musubi Kiln balances bespoke and large-scale production, maintaining "MUSUBI KILN quality" across their range, and works closely with chefs to enhance culinary presentations.

💰 In 2025, PAR Technology acquired Delaget and, in 2024, Task Group for $206 million and Stuzo for $190 million. Shift4 purchased Revel Systems for $250 million in May 2024, Vectron Systems in June, and Givex in August. The Access Group, expanding in North America, acquired Paytronix Systems in November 2024, QikServe in September, and SHR Group in June. In 2023, they also acquired Guestline and ResDiary, enhancing their position in the hospitality technology sector.

📌 Vision Hospitality Group, headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee, plans to open five new hotels and break ground on four others in 2025, with further renovations on four hotels planned. In 2024, the group opened three hotels totaling 435 rooms and completed $15.3 million in renovations across four Marriott-branded hotels. The openings in 2024 included 189-room Moxy Boulder, 101-suite Home2 Suites by Hilton Chattanooga East Ridge, 145-suite Element Atlanta Perimeter Center, and 115-room The Inn at Celebration. By the end of Q1 2025, Vision will have renovated 21% of its portfolio and expects 37% to be new or renovated by year's end. The company is also seeking strategic partnerships with other hotel ownership groups to share best practices and proprietary systems.

📈 Expedia launched "Expedia Travel Shops," with a focus on video-first content, creator collaborations, and social commerce integrations. The initiative, aiming to ease travel planning pain points, involved Jeremy Jauncey from Beautiful Destinations. Videreo provides an alternative to Expedia's influencer storefronts, allowing brands to shine through directly and set their own commission rates. ABTA introduced an AI helpline for legal advice on AI use in businesses, with Data Driven Legal offering 30 minutes of free expert advice to members. At the WiT conference, Chris Hemmeter described AI as a "once in a generation transformation" for the travel industry. Google shelved its AI trip planner initially showcased at the developer conference in May 2024, raising questions about the feasibility of AI in trip planning. Japan leveraged an AI tool, "Sakura AI Camera," for cherry blossom preservation, aiding local governments amidst labor and budget constraints. Adobe reported a 1200% increase in traffic from generative AI sources during the U.S. holiday shopping season, with these consumers showing 8% higher engagement on retail sites. MyTrip.AI offers generative AI services, including a custom AI Sales and Service Assistant for travel companies. Additionally, over half of business bookers are open to letting AI handle their travel arrangements through management companies, indicating growing trust in AI's capabilities.

🏨 In Mykonos late last year, temperatures around 15°C led to closed shops and restaurants, with few visitors. Hotel businesses face challenges attracting the right crowd, not influencers but a global creative set. Strategies to stay relevant include capsule collections and radio. Sporty & Rich collaborated with luxury hotels like The Carlyle, Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, Le Bristol, offering branded merchandise (e.g., €100 tote bags). Eaton Workshop, with locations in Hong Kong and D.C., focuses on community-building, offering free meeting rooms and radio booths with over 2,000 shows since 2018.