Innovation

🏨 Travel tech startup Speakspots.com launches a white-label AI agent for hotels, automating guest communications and driving revenue via WhatsApp. Initially tested at ARTIEM Asturias, this service is expanding to ARTIEM Carlos in Menorca. It offers real-time, personalized recommendations, overcoming language barriers and roaming fees. The AI agent also books restaurants and activities, aiming to boost local businesses. The pilot showed increased guest spending, covering 20% of its operating costs. This innovative solution targets rural, high-end hotels.

📈 Shiji launched its 2025/2026 Hospitality Distribution Technology Chart, marking its 10th anniversary. This edition introduces new sections: Marketplace, Social Media with Booking, and Upselling, highlighting non-traditional booking channels. Key trends: social media as booking engine, AI integration, and demand for open APIs. Platforms like Douyin and WeChat feature in new categories. The chart, initiated in 2015, helps hoteliers understand evolving tech landscapes, with input from global experts.

📈 June 11, 2025 - Barcelona: Shiji unveils its 2025/2026 *Hospitality Distribution Technology Chart*. Key trends include AI integration across hotel tech, social media like TikTok and WeChat as booking channels, and a rise in alternative marketplaces. Upselling tools are essential, with a focus on direct bookings and open APIs. The chart reflects a shift towards flexible, tech-driven revenue strategies. Download the full chart on Shiji's website.

🌎 Jun 12, 2025: AI is transforming travel planning, influencing 62% of travelers through online content, and 75% via social media. Brands like Dragonpass, with 40 million users, are using AI to tailor travel perks based on digital behaviors such as search history and purchase habits. Marketers must adapt to this AI-driven landscape to stay relevant, as digital interactions from Google searches to TikTok likes shape travel decisions.

🏠 Jun 12, 2025, Airbnb expands its Experiences platform to include hotel-style services, such as massages and fitness sessions, challenging hotels to adapt. Despite skepticism from Hilton and Accor executives about quality consistency, Airbnb aims to compete by offering amenities typically exclusive to hotels. HotelAVE's CEO highlights missed loyalty and revenue opportunities for hotels. Meanwhile, Marriott tests curated experiences, and some hotels list on Airbnb to reach new segments. The hospitality industry faces the pressure of evolving guest expectations and tech advancements.

🏨 Hotels are at a crucial juncture. Facing declining tourism and competition from vacation rentals, AI emerges as a key solution. AI processes large data sets, enabling personalized guest experiences, once exclusive to luxury hotels, now accessible to budget-friendly ones. AI optimizes operations through predictive maintenance, dynamic pricing, and staff scheduling. Despite data privacy concerns, hotels utilizing AI effectively can enhance guest experiences, improve efficiency, and remain competitive. The future integrates AI innovation with personalized hospitality.

📈 Global demand and spending in the travel industry have surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Modern travelers expect personalized and tech-driven services. Hospitality brands are shifting to real-time data strategies for personalized guest interactions. For instance, Wyndham Hotels uses real-time data to offer tailored promotions. Real-time data enables personalized guest experiences from pre-arrival to post-stay. Identity resolution and IT infrastructure are crucial for this shift, allowing brands to unify and activate data effectively, enhancing guest satisfaction and loyalty.

📈 Actabl launched Digital Night Audit, a product developed over several years to digitize the labor-intensive night audit process in hotels. Previously, night audit involved printing 50-60 pages nightly, requiring manual reviews and multiple approvals. The digital solution offers real-time portfolio-wide visibility, instant access to past audits, customized automation, and significantly reduces paper use, offering eco-friendly benefits. This enhances process efficiency, accountability, and audit readiness, aligning with the modern push for digitization in hospitality.

💼 L'Escale Royale, founded by the Dumont brothers, won the 2024 innovation award for its luxury floating suites in France, made from 98% sustainable materials. They aim for 1,000 suites by 2028. Kopster Hotels, a finalist, offers eco-friendly urban chic stays in Lyon, Colombes, and soon Paris. B&B HOME launched in 2024 in Saint-Ouen, focuses on sustainability with 31 rooms featuring kitchenettes. It plans expansions while promoting local initiatives. Join the Hospitality Awards 2025 for industry recognition!