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Automatic

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  • 5 min

Sleep’s First Night Effect and Hotel Room Assignments

🛌 Hotels are leveraging sleep science to combat the First Night Effect (FNE), a phenomenon causing poor sleep in new environments. Despite operational challenges, they can boost guest satisfaction by assigning guests to the same room on return visits, exploiting CRM data and booking systems. This low-cost strategy enhances sleep quality, loyalty, and revenue. With an average length of stay around 1.2 nights, familiar settings reduce perceived danger, improving rest and differentiating wellness-focused properties.
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  • 7 min

Developing a Guest-Centric Culture: Training and Best Practices for Superior Service

📍 A Disney cruise moment highlights guest-centric culture: a server brought chicken tenders and fries to a picky four-year-old from the ship to Disney's private island. Guest-centric hospitality prioritizes transformations over transactions, emphasizing empathy and personalized service. Authenticity and individual initiative over rigid scripts drive genuine interactions. Consistency, empathy, and mentorship foster a supportive culture. Training should be engaging and retention-focused. Technology supports human connection, not replaces it. Culture is built through daily, compassionate actions that create memorable moments.
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  • 2 min

What does it take for a city to green its tourism?

🌎 Québec City, as of now, joins the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism and the GSTC for sustainable tourism. The GSTC sets global sustainability standards with four pillars: sustainable management, socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental impacts. Since 2011, GCSTIMES has led in sustainable development, with centers in China, US, UAE, France, and Australia, reaching 140+ countries. Their brand portfolio includes GCS, AUROkeys, Xenyra, and Glint Spot, supporting over 100,000 hospitality groups worldwide.
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How AI is reimagining travel beyond efficiency

🗺 Nov 17, 2025. By 2026, AI will revolutionize travel, predicting traveler needs and resolving disruptions. AI will personalize trips using mood and context, while Expedia's B2B platform serves 70,000 businesses. Currently, 30% of U.S. travelers use AI for planning. By 2025, expect conversational discovery, 2026 brings autonomous execution, and by 2027, a real-time travel graph emerges, enhancing seamless travel. AI will manage routine tasks, enabling human agents to provide more personalized service.
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Europe’s fall boom reshapes the continent’s travel rhythm

📅 Nov 17, 2025: Summer in Europe is becoming less appealing due to extreme heat and overtourism, pushing travelers to favor the fall. Record demand and higher hotel prices in September-November are noted, with increased bookings from the US to Europe. Older and luxury travelers are leading the shift. Popular cities like Florence and Rome are crowded throughout autumn, with October visitor levels often surpassing September. This trend extends the travel season into November and beyond.
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Tripadvisor shifts toward a new core

📈 Nov 17, 2025: Tripadvisor is at a pivotal moment as Viator and TheFork—now contributing half of its revenue—drive growth. Viator has surpassed a GMV of over $4 billion, nearing $1 billion in revenue. TheFork boasts a network of over 30,000 restaurants. Management is focusing on these assets, expecting ~$85 million in cost synergies and improved EBITDA margins from 2026, signaling a shift from its traditional referral model.
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U.S. tourism hit by continued steep drop in Canadian visitors

💸 Nov 17, 2025, U.S.: A 30% drop in Canadian visits has led to a $5.7B decline in U.S. tourism spending in 2025. Political tensions, trade policies, and new border rules deter Canadians. Tourism-dependent states face economic risks like reduced hotel occupancy and local tax revenue. The U.S. is approaching a $70B travel trade deficit. Efforts to attract Canadians include discounts, as Canadian spending in some towns drops nearly 40%.
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Revolut and Booking.com team up on travel payments

💳 Nov 17, 2025, Revolut partners with Booking.com to enable payments via Revolut Pay for accommodations and soon flights and cars. This collaboration offers faster checkouts, biometric security, and enhanced loyalty rewards with a temporary 10x RevPoints promotion. Around 9 million Revolut users already use Booking.com. Nearly 2 million are monthly active Revolut Pay users, making Booking.com Revolut's largest travel partner. Additionally, Booking.com adopts Revolut Business for operations, solidifying their B2B relationship.
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Ageing populations reshape travel demand

🗺 Europe, Nov 17, 2025: Europe’s tourism faces challenges with a shrinking customer base due to declining birth rates and an ageing population. Travelers over 65 now represent a significant market, with 40% experiencing disabilities. Rising VAT and city taxes pose additional pressures. In contrast, the U.S. and Japan see growth with competitive pricing. Local funding issues drive new tourism taxes, risking the industry's competitiveness. Industry leaders warn of a potential "Buckaroo moment" from excessive taxation.
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  • 4 min

LodgIQ’s CEO Vincent Ramelli on Reinventing Hospitality: Data, People and the Future of AI-Driven Hotels

💻 Vincent Ramelli, CEO of LodgIQ, has been pivotal in hospitality tech evolution since the internet's inception. With LodgIQ, generative AI simplifies revenue management for over 550 hotels, enhancing decision-making. Meta-search innovation with Google and TripAdvisor transformed hotel sales, generating up to 40% revenue. LodgIQ's AI provides automated, yet understandable, insights for independent and chain hotels, combining data with human expertise. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, LodgIQ also has offices in New York City and Bangalore.
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