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April 8, 2025

56 posts

Why independent hotels have the tech edge

🏨 On Apr 8, 2025, Mews CEO Matt Welle and L+R Hotels’ Joe Pettigrew discussed the importance of combining financial skills with guest experience, flexibility, and tech-savvy approaches for successful hotel investment. Key points included the advantage of independent hotels having custom tech stacks, the emerging practical uses of AI, like large language models, for enhancing guest engagement, and the crucial role of investors in driving innovation. Hospitality's core remains providing a warm, personal guest experience, supported but not replaced by technology.
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How AI and social commerce are shaping the future of travel

📱 On Apr 8, 2025, at WiT Africa 2025, it was presented how AI and social commerce are reshaping the travel industry. Social media platforms have overtaken traditional search engines for travel discovery. Smartphone adoption in Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to rise, influencing travelers' booking behaviors. Key points include AI advancing from discovery to personalized agents, a pivot to "social-first" strategies by companies like Travelstart, influencers driving bookings with an emphasis on authenticity, and AI enhancing the human aspect of travel by automating routine tasks.
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You are the greatest souvenir

🏖️ Marriott Bonvoy launches “You Are The Greatest Souvenir” campaign on Apr 8, 2025, focusing on travel's transformational experiences over material items. The campaign, developed by Wieden+Kennedy New York and directed by Fleur Fortuné, showcases Marriott's outdoor lodging, award-winning dining, and boutique hotels. Featured during major events like the NCAA Final Four, it will be seen on TV, streaming services, airports, and in-flight entertainment.
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No longer welcome?

🌎 On April 8, 2025, Raj Gyawali, with over 20 years in the travel industry, experienced an American client canceling a trip to Nepal due to fears linked to the current U.S. administration. American travelers are increasingly canceling or hesitant to travel internationally amid concerns about global perceptions during Trump's second term. European favorability towards the U.S. has notably declined, affecting the tourism sector with a drop in international visits to the U.S. and U.S. client cancellations abroad.
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Easter travel 2025: Bookings surge as travelers plan earlier and go global

🏨 Easter 2025 hotel bookings rose 16.8% year-over-year, with Spain and Portugal leading at 6.75 and 4.75 more bookings per property respectively. ADR grew by 13.7% in Portugal and around 8% in Spain, while Mexico, the US, and the UK faced declines. Booking lead time increased by 9.63% to an average of 96 days, with Portugal hitting 105 days. Italy showed the largest lead time increase at 15.51%. Global average stay length dropped 3.43%, but Italy and Australia saw rises. International bookings grew in all markets, except Australia, with notable jumps in Italy and France. Germany's May holiday bookings are up 14.4%, with longer lead times in Mexico and Italy.
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Why hoteliers must bid on their own brand terms

🏨 On Apr 8, 2025, an article highlighted the importance of hoteliers bidding on their own branded keywords to protect direct bookings from OTA hijacking on Google. Key points include: high-intent travelers searching for hotels on Google, OTAs outbidding hoteliers for their own branded terms, the risk of losing direct bookings or potential guests, and strategies like securing 100% share of voice on Google Ads for branded terms, utilizing free and paid links on Google Hotel Ads, and maintaining SEO for a strong online presence.
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