Innovation

📈 Direct bookings and online agency bookings represent 21% of total hotel bookings. Data from December 2024 to March 2025 across 21,000 properties in 310 cities shows 20% through global distribution systems, 19% from walk-ins/groups, and 18% via direct calls. Marketing teams now use third-party agencies, with 66% on social media and 57% on digital marketing. Hotels face challenges with data integration and demand tracking; 80% of them spend up to two days weekly on manual reporting. AI investment is a low priority.

📈 Amadeus partners with Microsoft, leveraging OpenAI on Azure for AI tools in hospitality. By 2024, Amadeus Advisor Chat integrated into Demand360, offering insights across sales, operations, marketing, and distribution. Demand360 uses data from 44,000 hotels and 35 million rentals for occupancy forecasts and market ranking. AI tool Email to RFP enhances group booking efficiency within MeetingBroker. Amadeus plans Microsoft Teams integration and individual AI agents for faster response and increased business conversions.

📺 CHARLOTEE, North Carolina—PPDS launched the foldable and height-adjustable 135” Philips Unite LED 6000 Series All In One. This energy-efficient display reduces power and running costs, suitable for hotel lobbies and event venues. Overcoming size-related installation challenges, it addresses accessibility issues with larger displays. Jeroen Brants, PPDS's global product director for LED, highlighted its ease of transport and installation, preventing costly damage or installation delays.

💻 2024 saw a pivotal shift as smaller AI models, one-hundredth the size of older models, began outperforming larger ones in tasks like natural language processing. Nearly 90% of AI models are now developed by companies, focusing on real-world needs. Open-weight AI models became a practical choice by early 2025, offering flexibility and cost-effectiveness. These advancements enable hospitality businesses to improve efficiencies and customer experiences, reducing dependence on cloud infrastructure and proprietary systems.

📈 Select-service hotel brands require a lean yet effective revenue strategy. Their limitations complicate the use of traditional RMS, designed for larger operations. Enter GameTime—a cloud-based RMS tailored for select-service hotels, offering automated rate updates, pricing every 8 hours, and forecasts up to 365 days ahead. It includes features like Autopilot, mobile access, and fast onboarding, improving operational efficiency and revenue growth. Join the GameTime webinar on July 16 for a live demonstration.

💸 Elavon, a subsidiary of U.S. Bank, partners with Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, expanding its Cloud Payments Interface (CPI) to over 6,000 Wyndham franchisees in the U.S. and Canada. CPI eliminates the need for on-site hardware, enhancing security and operational efficiency. The move supports scalable payment services and integrates with third-party software, offering advanced encryption. This upgrade aims to streamline payments, enable faster, touchless check-ins, and ensure PCI DSS compliance.

💻 HITEC 2025 features AI in revenue management, highlighting the N2Pricing Commercial Suite by Revenue Analytics. ???? Launched in 2025, it enhances data insights and time management for hotel revenue managers. As per Tess McGoldrick, the suite integrates AI, promoting critical thinking rather than full automation. The development focused on addressing common questions in revenue management, with future plans hinging on user feedback and incorporating new data sources. AI's role in evolving this sector remains a focus.

📞 1 in 5 Americans find their calls to restaurants often ignored, and 69% might abandon a restaurant if unanswered. Among millennials, this rises to 72%. 89% of Americans, led by 95% Gen Z, 92% of Millennials, and 80% of Baby Boomers, are open to AI agents for tasks like reservations (47%) and order tracking (42%). Hostie, an AI platform, helps restaurants manage communications. Survey conducted by The Harris Poll, May 29-June 2, 2025, with 2,065 U.S. adults.

🤖 In 2025, agentic AI is highlighted as the top trend in Gartner's report. This AI type functions autonomously, enhancing industries by executing complex workflows and adapting to changes. In hospitality, agentic AI boosts customer service by managing simpler tasks and optimizing resources. However, clear goals and robust data management are crucial, with Master Data Management ensuring unified, accessible data. The AI transformation demands an architectural shift for better collaboration, aiming to elevate customer satisfaction through advanced automation.

💸 Hospitality groups face complex challenges in managing employee benefits billing, especially across multiple states with various benefits plans. Manual billing processes often result in errors, leading to overpayments and disrupted coverage. Automated solutions can identify discrepancies, averaging around 5% of total premium expenses, and save significant costs. Anthony Farinella from Triton Benefits & HR Solutions highlights that unchecked billing errors can lead to hundreds of thousands in overpayments annually. Automation provides clarity, scalability, and accurate property-level cost allocation.