Our Selection: The most important news in hospitality

🏋️ By 2024, the global wellness tourism market will reach $894 billion, up from $655 billion in 2019, with a projected annual growth rate of 9.1% until 2029. The rise of fitness-focused hotels is driven by Millennials and Gen Z, who demand robust amenities for training, recovery, sleep, and nutrition. According to McKinsey, wellness retreats and boutique fitness classes have a 30% net purchase intent across age groups for 2025. Hotels offering extensive wellness services can achieve higher premiums and profitability.

📈 Viewpoint asks if AI search benefits direct booking or OTAs. Platforms like ChatGPT and Gemini offer instant bookings, but OTAs provide 750,000 hotels, 2.5 million rentals, 400 airlines, and 150 car rental companies access. Google's I/O 2026 update favors direct bookings with 91% using AI for planning and 2% executing bookings. U.S. hotels saw Q1 2026 ADR rise 6%, RevPAR 8.7%, and profit margins up 4 points.

🏖 The resort faced over $1M in room revenue decline and disengaged staff. BRN Solutions revamped leadership, operations, and strategy by hiring experienced leaders, outsourcing revenue management, and changing marketing partners. Within five months, room revenue improved by $350K, forecasting a $965K yearly increase. Future projections include a 14% ADR rise and 5% occupancy growth. Strategic changes, like restructuring wedding schedules and enhancing sales efforts, contributed to this turnaround.

📚 May 21, 2026: AI travel channel developments focus on integrating general-purpose AI assistants like ChatGPT with platforms such as Lighthouse, SiteMinder, and DirectBooker. While current connectors need traveler activation, the aim is seamless distribution. Presently, ChatGPT provides travel data from third-party sources, but future architecture is uncertain. Companies involved now gain experience, forming relationships essential for deeper integration. Booking.com and Expedia's early entry secured their positions, illustrating the importance of timing in AI platform integration.

📈 May 21, 2026: New GBTA research reveals key trends in corporate travel. Nearly 75% of buyers face challenges with travelers finding cheaper hotel rates outside approved channels. AI's role in managed travel is set to grow, focusing on forecasting and disruption management. There's a shift towards retail-style, attribute-based hotel booking experiences. Ancillary services are now part of the booking process, and fragmented travel ecosystems persist as a problem for corporate buyers.

📖 Loews Hotels, led by Alex Tisch, is part of the Tisch family's diverse business portfolio. Hotel chains, including Hilton and Accor, increasingly use celebrities as brand ambassadors. Private credit markets for hotel investment face challenges from rising default risks and liquidity issues. Fouquet’s New York, a luxury hotel in Tribeca, attracts attention for its Parisian style and celebrity clientele. With summer approaching, hotels are gearing up for peak vacation season.

🏩 McKinsey surveyed 3,200 travel loyalty members, revealing that experiential factors are among the top five loyalty drivers. The 2026 Hotel Industry Report highlights travelers' desire for "control without choreography," preferring mobile check-in and digital room keys. Though 70% of American travelers skip the front desk, they value staff's presence. Positive interactions drive reviews and repeat visits. Hotel managers should foster reliable staffing and lead by example to enhance guest experiences and maintain competitiveness.

🏨 HumanX 2026 summit at EHL Lausanne, with 800 participants, highlights AI's role in transactional tasks, leaving humans for crucial interactions. Luxury, redefined as experiences beyond LLM capabilities, saw Asia Pacific luxury hotel transactions surge 77% from 2017 to 2025, reaching $2.1 billion in 2025. Accor Deputy CEO Jean-Jacques Morin emphasizes surfing the AI wave without losing the human touch. A proposed five-step framework suggests identifying high-friction workflows before AI implementation.

💸 Automation and smart pricing are transforming hotel revenue management. Independent hotels face high demand, with only one revenue manager handling pricing, forecasting, and reporting. Intelligent RMS enables continuous updates based on demand, boosting efficiency. Dynamic pricing, such as Open Pricing, adapts rates continuously, leading to significant gains. Heure Bleue Palais saw a 37% ADR and 115% RevPAR increase, while The Remington Orange boosted ADR by 10%. Accurate forecasts align hotel operations, enhancing decision-making and performance.

🏨 Boutique hotels' market size is projected to increase from $28 billion in 2025 to over $50 billion by 2033, highlighting experiential travel's growth. RARE India, led by Founder Shoba Rudra, aims to expand its curated hospitality model post-investment from SAMHI Hotels. Scaling is achieved through enhanced distribution, global visibility, and technology, while maintaining individuality. Approximately 60% of RARE’s hotels employ local staff, promoting community-led tourism and sustainability. Expansion targets a room count increase from 8-15 to 12-20.

🏨 The Grand Hotel Birmingham celebrated its fifth anniversary on May 18, 2023, after a £50m restoration. Originally opened in 1879, it features 185 bedrooms. The hotel employs several hundred staff, including 13 from the reopening. Partnerships include art displays and a student cocktail competition, won by "Five Years In Bloom" on May 13. The hotel includes Isaac’s restaurant and Downstairs At The Grand venue. Historical guests included King George V and The Beatles.

💻 May 20, 2026, in Las Vegas, Expedia Group CEO Ariane Gorin revealed a strategic shift: the company will use specialized AI “point agents” rather than a single chatbot. This approach reflects travelers' preference for collaborative trip planning and human involvement. Hotels stand to benefit from AI tools for specific tasks like upselling and messaging. The travel industry recognizes the need for practical AI applications as seamless end-to-end AI experiences remain technically challenging.

🌎 Global hospitality trends are evolving. In Europe and the Middle East, restaurants and hotels are focusing on authenticity and experience-led dining. AI, wellbeing, and emotional connection are key factors reshaping the future. The session analyzed consumer behavior, highlighting these aspects as pivotal in redefining the hospitality sector.

🛠 May 19, 2026, AI in travel: Only 18% of consumers fully trust AI for booking, yet AI-referred travel traffic grew 111% year over year. Quantum Metric's survey of 1,500 US and UK consumers shows travel as the least trusted category among AI applications. Despite low trust, AI-driven cart values are nearly double traditional traffic's. AI-referred visitors are more decisive but twice as likely to abandon a frustrating transaction. 81% won't return after a bad AI-introduced experience.

📈 May 18, 2026, highlights AI's role as a probabilistic layer around deterministic hotel systems like PMS and CRS, not replacing them. AI enhances tasks like guest messaging, as seen with tools like Booking.com's Smart Messenger, launched in October 2025. AI-native systems should be scrutinized for accuracy, especially in revenue management and agentic commerce, like Expedia's Romie. Security, accountability, and vendor lock-in risks require careful governance. The debate is where AI fits within hospitality's technology stack.

🗺 May 18, 2026: Global visitor spending reached US$2.02 trillion in 2025, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. Spain emerged as a top tourism market, forecasted to generate €115.1 billion, ranking third globally. Spain anticipates 96.8 million international arrivals, with visitors spending about US$1,344 per trip, above Europe’s average of US$1,068. Infrastructure and digital systems drive growth, with visitor spending expected to increase by 5.3% in 2026 to reach €121.1 billion.

💻 May 18, 2026, FCM Travel announces the relaunch of its AI assistant Sam, expanding it into a comprehensive booking and servicing platform for travelers, managers, and consultants. Set to roll out in June across over 90 countries, Sam will filter hotels based on policies and agreements, utilizing conversational booking. Human consultants remain vital for complex situations. Sam maintains data privacy by operating within FCM's architecture, reflecting privacy concerns. AI's role in corporate booking is increasingly shaping hotel visibility and choice.

💰 Whittlebury Park, near Silverstone, plans a multi-million-pound investment to enhance facilities. The resort aims for carbon neutrality in five years with a new solar energy storage system and is refurbishing hotel rooms. In April 2026, a sample room was completed. Whittlebury Park will add holiday apartments, an outdoor play area, and four indoor padel courts. The resort targets the MICE sector and the UK staycation market, responding to a 95% surge in corporate event demand since late 2021.

💻 May 15, 2026, Bangkok—Shiji announced RakYim Siam Hotel's implementation of Daylight PMS, Infrasys POS, and Reviewpro Reputation to enhance guest experiences. Formerly Maitria Mode Sukhumvit 15, the hotel rebranded to reflect genuine Thai hospitality. The transformation supports efficient operations and guest-centric services. Managed by Unicorn Hospitality, the hotel integrates culturally inspired design and technology. Shiji, a global leader in hospitality tech, supports 91,000 hotels worldwide with a workforce of over 5,000.

💻 May 15, 2026, hotel distribution strategies have shifted from a funnel-based model to decision-journey mapping, influenced by creator content, AI recommendations, and word of mouth. AI tools, using OTA data, provide shortlists, but a strong property identity on platforms like TikTok enhances visibility. OTA presence affects both direct bookings and AI visibility. The future lies in agentic AI, where Information Gain content becomes crucial, prioritizing properties with distinct identities over scale and price efficiency.

🏨 Many hotels face operational risk due to thin leadership teams, exacerbated by potential single resignations. The hospitality industry, often focused on frontline staff shortages, now contends with the shrinking leadership bench. General managers frequently manage multiple departments, indicating a lean management structure. This emerging challenge underscores the vulnerability of current hotel operations, where a single vacancy in leadership can significantly impact overall functionality.

🏨 Kempinski Group, led by CEO Barbara Muckermann, is diverging from industry trends by acquiring hotels instead of adopting an asset-light model. They've recently bought Augustine Hotel, Prague, marking their first wholly owned hotel in over 50 years. Kempinski aims to offer distinctive experiences by controlling both the asset and operations. This strategy focuses on long-term value and innovation, contrasting with common real estate investor approaches, and is expected to strengthen their brand and asset portfolio.

📷 May 14, 2026, TikTok Go launched in the US, enabling users 18+ to book hotels via the app. Hotels appear in the video feed, search results, and location pages, with booking through Booking.com, Expedia, or Trip.com. TikTok doesn't handle transactions; partner OTAs do. Hotels rely on organic TikTok presence and creator partnerships for visibility. Only US operations currently; no European/Asian rollout timeline. Creators with 1,000+ followers earn commissions from bookings.

🏨 In early 2026, regional UK hotels outperformed London's market, with 60% experiencing RevPAR growth. Glasgow and Cardiff led with 14% and 10% increases, respectively. Edinburgh saw a 5% rise, aided by the Six Nations and a 6% growth in international arrivals. London faced declines due to supply-demand imbalances, though areas like the City and Docklands mitigated losses. Despite challenges, UK GDP is forecasted to grow by 0.6%, with staycations expected to rise.

🏨 In Q1 2026, hotels prioritizing guest value over occupancy saw a €350 increase per guest. Traditional metrics like Occupancy, ADR, and RevPAR were deemed incomplete. A focus on total guest value showed a guest could generate €650 versus €300. This change demands infrastructure and technology, enhancing guest experiences from pre-arrival to post-stay. Progressive loyalty programs and personalized offers are key. Dynamic pricing should extend beyond rooms to other services for optimal revenue.

💻 Last year, Actabl reported hotel general manager turnover at 28% and assistant general manager turnover at 38%. Actabl collaborates with 90% of the top 50 hotel management companies to tackle talent challenges, emphasizing AI's role in optimizing new employee effectiveness. AI aids hotel operations by providing data-driven insights and reducing onboarding friction. Actabl's three-layer framework—data foundation, surfacing intelligence, and agentic AI—enhances hotel operations. Notably, AI Asset Setup in Actabl’s Transcendent product improves asset management, reducing setup time from days to seconds.

🌏 May 13, 2026, India: Prime Minister Modi's call to reduce foreign travel during peak booking season, amid the Gulf crisis and rising energy costs, may temporarily shift spending to domestic tourism. Travel agencies report a 10%-15% drop in international inquiries. Rising fuel prices and airfares are key barriers, affecting luxury and long-haul destinations. Domestic tourism could benefit, though India's long-term growth as an outbound market remains strong. Hospitality businesses might adapt marketing strategies to focus on short-haul and value offerings.

📈 Three months into 2026, operating costs for hotels are rising. Energy rates in California have surged 61% since 2020 and may rise another 30% by 2030. Hotels consume about 400 gallons of water per room daily. Food waste can cost up to $40,000 annually. Efficient resource management is vital, with 40-60% of electricity often wasted. The next generation of successful hotels will focus on operational intelligence and resource-smart practices to maintain resilience and reduce costs.

💻 Duetto, backed by GrowthCurve since 2024, rebranded as a Revenue and Profit Operating System (RP-OS) in 2025, while FLYR Hospitality shifted to a Revenue Strategy Platform. Duetto underwent leadership changes, hiring four C-suite executives in seven months and acquired HotStats. Duetto expanded its partnership with Meliá and secured Preferred Hotels & Resorts, covering 625 luxury independents. The company operates within a parent firm that has raised over $500M, focusing on AI-native architecture for optimization and forecasting.

Most publications covering the hotel industry tell you what happened last quarter. This one tells you what’s coming, and why it matters for the experiences you’re building right now. We’re sharing the latest edition of Societies Quarterly, a curated guide published by Influence Society for extraordinary hospitality brands, and honestly, it’s one of the most refreshing reads we’ve encountered in a long time. It doesn’t read like a trade report. It reads like a creative brief for the future of hospitality. The fifth edition covers 35 pages across seven major themes: pulling signals from fashion, architecture, AI, wellness, luxury design, and consumer…

🏨 Cocoon Hotel Munich Hauptbahnhof, with 103 rooms across eight categories, implemented an AI agent reducing room allocation time from 45 minutes to one minute. Launched by Apaleo, Cocoon Hotels, and Eckelmann Hotels, the AI system processes guest preferences and operational priorities. Previously, manual room assignments were complex, especially with OTA bookings. By end of May, the AI will cover 10 properties and 700+ rooms. This innovation enhances efficiency, benefiting both guests and staff.

MUNICH, 12 May, 2026 – Apaleo, the API-first property management platform, has developed a new AI agent for room allocation with European hotel group Cocoon Hotels and Eckelmann Hotels. The AI agent has slashed the hotel’s room assignment process, a largely manual task, from up to 45 minutes per property per day to around one minute. The AI agent is live at Cocoon Hotel Munich Hauptbahnhof, a 103-room property with eight room categories and a high degree of room-level complexity. There, the agent, which runs on Apaleo’s platform, reads guest comments, identifies details relevant to room allocation and assigns rooms based on guest preferences, group…

💻 On May 12, 2026, Pan Pacific Hanoi in Vietnam implemented Shiji's Infrasys POS to streamline operations and enhance guest services. This cloud-based system supports multiple dining venues and in-room services, integrating with existing systems for efficient order and payment management. The deployment includes workstations and tablets, enhancing data-driven decisions and personalized service. Shiji serves over 91,000 hotels globally, while Pan Pacific Hotels Group manages more than 50 properties across 30 cities.

📅 HD Expo 2026 emphasized data-driven design, year-round hospitality, and operational discipline. Harper Halprin and David Tracz highlighted creativity through constraints, like budgets and existing structures. Randall Stone and Dominick Perrier-Strand discussed community-oriented hotels, offering local collaborations and experiential touches. Sam Fox stressed disciplined operations, valuing staff and continuous improvement. These panels focused on making hospitality concepts work effectively by integrating data, community, and strong leadership practices.

🏆 FIFA World Cup 2026 faces a booking mismatch: Despite being the largest ever with 48 teams over 104 matches in 3 countries, 80% of hotel bookings across 11 U.S. host cities fall short of expectations. Contributing factors include 65–70% of hoteliers citing visa issues, the strong U.S. dollar, and changing traveler habits. Hotel rates rise while occupancy drops due to FIFA’s room block strategy and evolving mega-event traveler preferences. Global attention doesn’t ensure high bookings.

📈 Nuveen and Weave Living partner to redevelop a property in Seoul's Gwanghui neighborhood into a 62-key serviced apartment. Acquired for KRW22.5 billion, operations will begin in January 2027. Metronic Global in Malaysia buys 81 serviced apartment units at Marina Point Klebang in Melaka for MYR33.24 million, expected to complete by Q1 2027. Singapore invests an additional SGD740 million in tourism by 2025, boosting its sector's infrastructure. Vietnam begins a VND2.42 trillion eco-urban project in Sa Pa.

💻 Mike Rawson, ex-CIO of citizenM, shared insights on hospitality automation with Jessica Gillingham. Over seven years, citizenM expanded from 13 to 40 hotels, integrating technology to enhance guest experiences and achieve high NPS scores. Emphasizing people, process, and technology, Mike stressed AI's role in personalization and automation without replacing human interactions. citizenM's app streamlined the guest journey, while invisible tech innovations reduced service disruptions. The future focus is hyper-personalization with careful privacy considerations.

🏨 Sumaq Machu Picchu Hotel, founded in August 2007 by the Clavijo Begazo family, features 62 rooms and suites. Situated near Machu Picchu, the hotel emphasizes eco-conscious practices, focusing on sustainability and local culture. Sumaq supports regenerative farming and agrobiodiversity in the Andes, preserving native crops like potatoes and quinoa. It offers cultural experiences, including cooking classes and rituals. Part of the SLH Considerate Collection, Sumaq is pursuing B Corp Certification, enhancing community impact and sustainable practices.

🌍 Spain is thriving as a top European tourism destination, with 96.8 million international visitors in 2025, a 3.2% increase from the previous year. Tourism revenue surged by 7%. Geopolitical instability, notably the war in Iran, is steering travelers toward stable destinations like Spain, Italy, and France. The trend, pre-dating recent conflicts, highlights the value of stable markets. However, overtourism in popular areas prompts a need for visitor redistribution to less developed regions.

📈 Airbnb CFO Ellie Mertz revealed on a Q1 2026 call that hotel metrics are growing over twice as fast as Airbnb's overall business. AirDNA data shows a 22% growth in Airbnb's hotel bookings compared to a 7% increase for short-term rentals. Mertz outlined three strategic reasons for Airbnb's hotel focus: filling supply gaps, catering to certain trip types, and attracting new guests. Despite concerns about competition, hotels aim to complement rather than compete with short-term rentals.

🏠 May 5th, 2026, Las Vegas: The HD Expo at Mandalay Bay featured a Best Booth Award ceremony judged by Julie Purpura, Rashana Zaklit, Cristie Winterfield, and Kelly Scherbenksi. Williams-Sonoma Business to Business won Best in Show. Other winners included Outform (Best Small Booth), Kimball Hospitality (Best Large Booth), and Kettal (Best Product Display). The event highlighted creativity and design excellence across various categories, celebrating standout achievements in hospitality design.

🏨 In 2026, at Marriott International headquarters in Bethesda, MD, She Has a Deal (SHaD) saw three former pitch participants return as hotel owners. The competition awarded $50,000 to Team Heir Development, graduates from Spelman and Penn State. Women make up 58.6% of the hospitality workforce but less than 2% of hotel owners are women of color. SHaD aims to narrow this ownership gap through training and mentorship, with notable deals including those by alumnae in Sedona, CA, and Stockbridge, GA.

🏨 At the HD Expo, wellness in hospitality design was highlighted as essential, with technology like massage chairs and red light therapy integrating into spaces for a seamless experience. Cinematic guest journeys were emphasized for their choreographed transitions. Desert Rock in Saudi Arabia showcased luxury hospitality rooted in natural landscapes. The event underscored the need for business acumen for creative leaders, emphasizing the importance of operational knowledge in sustaining design studios.

📈 Juyo launched HotelGPT, an AI-driven hospitality platform, on the back of pilot tests through April. Powered by Kassandra AI, it analyzes live hotel data and provides insights instantly. HotelGPT identifies trends, like a 40% spike in June cancellations and an 8-day reduction in lead time compared to last year. A waiting list is open to 100 hotels, offering 1,000 tokens for approximately 100 inquiries within 30 days. Future token access can be via top-ups or subscriptions.

💻 Hoteliers are adapting to modern traveler needs by integrating technology like AI for seamless check-ins and keyless entry. Personalized experiences, driven by data analytics, cater to diverse groups like business travelers and digital nomads. Sustainability is prioritized through eco-friendly practices and green certifications. Social media engagement enhances guest interaction, fostering loyalty. By combining these strategies, hotels can elevate guest satisfaction and secure a competitive edge in the evolving hospitality landscape.

💻 PMS and POS systems in hotels often lack unified data integration, leading to operational friction across teams. Disconnected systems result in manual reconciliation, billing errors, and service issues. A shared data layer enhances real-time operations and decision-making. Guest expectations for immediacy and accuracy are unmet, affecting trust. Industry bodies like HTNG address these challenges. Unified data layers ensure consistent billing, improve workflows, and reduce operational complexity, crucial for effective hotel operations.

📈 Hotels face a challenge as travel demand rebounds: balancing revenue maximization with guest satisfaction and online reputation. Key strategies include aligning online reputation with revenue decisions, utilizing review data analytics, implementing guest-centric revenue strategies, and fostering cross-departmental collaboration. Leveraging technology and integrated tools is crucial for synchronizing reputation and revenue management. Leading hotel groups use guest intelligence and revenue data to sustain growth and protect their reputations.