Innovation

🛫 Aug 21, 2025, AI scams increasingly target business travelers with deepfake voices and fake bookings during stressful situations like flight delays. Scammers exploit urgency to trick travelers into financial and information theft. Fake airline, hotel, or car rental sites lead to fraud. Training and policies are crucial for spotting red flags like unusual payment requests or redirects. Corporate travel managers must equip staff to identify scams and safeguard processes.

🌍 Aug 21, 2025: AI travel tools like Expedia Trip Matching, Mindtrip, Layla, Gondola, and Ray-Ban Meta glasses offer innovative features but face challenges. Expedia converts Instagram Reels to itineraries, and Gondola manages loyalty points. Mindtrip excels in visuals; however, flight data is weak. Layla focuses on emotions but has a restrictive paywall. Ray-Ban glasses provide landmark info but have limited language coverage. Traditional tools like Google Flights remain more reliable and accurate for travel planning.

📈 Aug 21, 2025, Italy witnessed a data breach exposing vulnerabilities in outdated hotel systems. Legacy Property Management Systems (PMS) increase compliance risks, inefficiency, and staff turnover. Modern, cloud-based systems promise to safeguard data, boost operations, and enhance guest experiences. Transitioning to cloud PMS offers workflow optimization and revenue opportunities while shifting security responsibilities to certified vendors. Adopting these systems transforms technology from a burden to a business enabler for hotels.

📈 Aug 21, 2025, Google’s AI-driven search reshapes travel visibility. Smaller sites with “Hidden Gems” gain more exposure, but big brands still dominate. Authentic content from forums, blogs, and niche sites is highlighted alongside large brands. While big travel domains show up more often, smaller brands can gain traction with genuine insights. Consistent presence and clear editorial voice are crucial for challengers to build credibility and authority.

📰 Joanna Fantozzi is a Senior Editor at Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, with over seven years of experience in the industry. She joined Informa’s Restaurants and Food Group in 2018 and has been in her current role since August 2021. Joanna holds degrees from The College of New Jersey and CUNY. Her work has appeared in major publications like The New York Times and Forbes. Previously, she held editorial positions at Insider and The Daily Meal.

🤖 Chatbots have evolved, now used by over a thousand Mews hotels. With zero connection fees and 1,000+ apps in Mews Marketplace, integration is seamless. New-gen chatbots, enhanced by generative AI, streamline operations, manage guest interactions, and boost revenue. Leading chatbots like Akia, Duve, HiJiffy, and Runnr.ai offer tailored solutions for guest communication, booking management, and upselling. Hotels can initiate chatbot use rapidly by focusing on high-impact areas through Mews Marketplace connections.

💻 Louisville, Kentucky—In June 2025, Agentic Hospitality launched its AI-driven platform in collaboration with Google for Startups Cloud Program, aiming to enhance hotel visibility and bookings. From 2019-2025, direct bookings at The Houstonian Hotel rose by 91% using Agentic's Schema Adapter. Agentic's platform includes tools like the Conversion Intelligence Engine, processing guest signals for optimized bookings, and a Channel Manager connecting hotels to over 30,000 distribution partners, ensuring competitive, structured data dissemination.

📅 Leslie Vial and Christophe Bataillard launched the first Topliner edition today, addressing revenue management, human and technical aspects in the hospitality industry. Focused on a global reinvention, they emphasize collaboration across the ecosystem. Topliner aims to build a community, especially among French speakers. The event features two sessions: a panel with four guests and discussions on artificial intelligence. Further announcements are anticipated in the coming months.

📚 Barbara Muckermann became CEO of Kempinski Group in May 2024 and discovered the brand's founding in 1862, not 1897. Kempinski, present in 33 countries with 38 properties planned, aims to focus on luxury in core markets like Germany, the US, the UK, and the Gulf Cooperation Council. Muckermann restructured leadership, emphasizing emotional intelligence, and plans strategic partnerships to innovate the brand, initially founded by visionary Berthold Kempinski, known for hospitality innovations since 1872.

🚿 2Pure Products launched OdorBac Toilet & Scale in August 2025. This dual-purpose cleaner uses bio-surfactants and acids to clean and descale sanitary facilities. Made with 98% natural ingredients, 100% biodegradable, and packaged in 100% recycled plastic, it’s effective up to 500x more than traditional methods. The product is available in 12x1L and 4x5L refill bottles. It is non-corrosive, with a pH of 2.2–3, and no hazard warnings, making it safe for users and the environment.