Innovation

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  • 1 min

Food Sector Stakeholders Augment Efforts to Curb Single-use Plastic Pollution

🍴 Saladplate is the go-to hub for the Hospitality, Food, and Beverage sectors within Informa Markets, offering a multitude of resources like weekly news, a monthly newsletter, and a bi-monthly e-magazine. Gain insights and connect with over 10,000 brands through their supplier directory. Stay informed on updates from more than 35 international trade events. This platform is indispensable for those tracking industry trends and innovations. ????
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  • 4 min

How Connectivity Powers Hotel Growth: From 5 to 50 Channels

📱 In 2025, hotels need strong connectivity, scaling from 5 to 50 OTA channels to thrive. Limiting to a few OTAs restricts exposure and revenue. Effective channel management, like STAAH, ensures centralised inventory, rate parity, and real-time sync, preventing overbookings and manual errors. Langkawi’s Royale Chenang Resort expanded to 2,000+ channels, enhancing efficiency. Champlung Mas in Bali increased OTA bookings by 9% with STAAH. Integration with PMS and RMS is crucial for seamless growth.
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  • 2 min

Global study shows 78% of hotel chains are…

💻 Chatbots and Customer Data Management are leading AI applications in hospitality, per h2c GmbH's research involving 171 hotel chains and 11,000+ properties. 78% use AI, 89% plan expansion within 24 months; 42% employ chatbots, 50% aim for data management. AI reliance scores a low 4.7/10. Key obstacles: lack of expertise (62%), unclear strategies (51%). Business Intelligence (78%) ranks top in value. In five years, 40% foresee full automation of reservations and guest data management.
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Modoru’s automated inventory system for…

📦 Modoru launched an RFID-powered inventory system to help catering companies reduce operational costs by up to 20% and packaging waste by 50%. Globally, the catering industry, with around 400,000 operations, faces a recycling rate of just 9%. Manual inventory tracking consumes 25% of staff time and has a 10% error rate. Cape Town's Dish Food & Social will be the first to deploy the system, with further projects in Dubai, the USA, the UK, Singapore, and Australia.
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Lighthouse’s new AI-powered feature to…

🌐 Lighthouse's new AI-powered 'Smart Distribution' enhances pricing and distribution for independent hotels. It automates public rates across booking channels and uses AI to recommend strategies, reducing OTA commissions and boosting revenue. Serving over 85,000 properties in 185 countries, it simplifies revenue management and increases direct bookings. Vincent Goemaere, Sr. VP, emphasizes its role in reclaiming hotel revenue control. This tool is essential for managing complex distribution efficiently.
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  • 8 min

Travel Tech Essentialist #185: Compounding

📰 Travel tech sees a shift: Propellic's study highlights a move towards operator-direct bookings (~80%) over OTAs (13%), revealing users spend more time planning than booking. Clip-farming emerges as a growth hack, with $2k yielding 10M views and downloads. Greg Isenberg's distribution software idea boosts leads by 40%. Speedrun’s next cohort closes, offering up to $1M for startups. Andrew Chen emphasizes clearer pitches. McKinsey notes travel firms aren't ready for agentic AI scale, focusing on internal workflows first.
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The hidden costs eating into hotel revenue

🏨 Oct 1, 2025: Independent hotels face profitability challenges due to opaque distribution and payment fees. Hotels pay 10–30% in commissions to OTAs and 5–8% on bookings to metasearch platforms like Trivago. Click fees range from $0.10 to $1.30. Cross-border transactions incur 3–4% extra charges. Small hotel finance teams spend up to 40% of their time on payment reconciliations, costing $15,000–$30,000 annually. Greater transparency and technology adoption are recommended solutions.
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ChatGPT becomes a shopping platform

🛒 Oct 1, 2025: OpenAI launches Instant Checkout, allowing U.S. ChatGPT users to buy from Etsy and some Shopify merchants. The new Agentic Commerce Protocol lets merchants integrate products into ChatGPT. ChatGPT’s weekly users hit 700 million globally, appealing to retailers. Amazon and Walmart are not participating yet. This positions OpenAI as a disruptor in e-commerce, challenging companies like Google. Future AI advancements could automate purchases. In hospitality, this could impact hotel bookings, posing opportunities and risks for hoteliers.
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Travel brands adapt to fragmented digital journeys

🛫 Oct 1, 2025 – In the travel industry, consumers now view an average of 141 pages before booking. Rising travel costs and inflation push people to OTAs and budget options. Demand for authentic experiences is high, from Gen Z to baby boomers. Brands leverage AI, programmatic ads, and platforms like Amazon DSP to target audiences. Influencers on Twitch and Instagram impact choices, with half of travelers undecided on destinations, presenting opportunities for brands to inspire trips.
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