Innovation

📣 Marriott International renews a 10-year exclusive F&B mobile dining agreement with IRIS, extending their partnership that has already seen a double-digit increase in mobile orders and revenue. Kansas City Marriott Downtown reports a 30-minute reduction in customer wait times and an impressive 87% year-on-year increase in order volume, alongside a 94% jump in F&B revenue. Digital orders through the app are 20-30% higher in value than traditional orders. IRIS's solution is now operable across Marriott’s portfolio of 30 brands.

🧮 Lighthouse's AI categories: Predictive AI (forecasts, structured data), Generative AI (creates content, unstructured data), Automation (process-driven, no data learning). They use Google Cloud Platform for AI model deployment and have a diverse Data Science team. They embrace innovation with an "Innovation roadmap" and partner with Google's Certified AI Experts. ChatGPT gained 1 million users in 5 days post-Q4 2022 release. Lighthouse's projects range from predictable to highly uncertain in scope and outcome.

💰 A survey by Uber for Business involving 250 frequent UK taxi users revealed 82% prioritize comfort to avoid fatigue, and 31% list comfort among their top three priorities, equaled only by short wait times. Over three-quarters (78%) find taxis simplify work/life balance, although 35% experience frustration due to delays (51%), disruptions (40%), and expense processing (26%). Manual expense processing, taking an average of 40 minutes monthly, is still common among 47% of respondents. Priority pickups and various vehicle options, including Uber Business Comfort and Lux, are benefits for business travelers using Uber’s business profiles. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of these travelers and 77% of C-level executives prefer ordering green vehicles. Over half (54%) want their companies to track carbon emissions, which Uber for Business Sustainability Dashboard enables.

🏖️ On the Beach achieved a 25% increase in adjusted pre-tax profit to £31 million, with revenue up by 14% to £128.2 million, and a 15% rise in total transaction value reaching £1.21 billion for the year ending on September 30. The company experienced a 13% growth in summer passenger numbers over 2023 and plans expansion into Ireland. CEO Shaun Morton anticipates doubling TTV to £2.5 billion and reaching an £85 million adjusted pre-tax profit in the future.

📅 ATPI Group launches CrewHub, a booking platform for group travel. 🚀 The self-service technology is designed to simplify business travel for groups of any size and industry, allowing bookings from various airports or routes to a shared destination. 🕑 CrewHub claims to cut booking time by up to 60%, taking approximately one minute per traveler, based on an example of coordinating 11 individuals. Initially created for Marine and Energy customers, it will be trialled in Q1 2025 before rolling out across all ATPI business lines within the same year.

🏖️ "Inspire My Holiday" launched the new portal "Find an Agent", set to reach over one million consumers by 2025. It allows users to locate travel agents based on holiday type, class, agent location, and specialties. Registration is free for both consumers and agents. The soft launch included agents from Flight Centre, Travel Counsellors, Advantage, PTS, Hays Travel, and The Travel Network Group. The official launch is scheduled for Boxing Day, targeting the peak sale period.

📆 Amadeus Cytric integrates with Hubli, revolutionizing corporate travel with one-stop booking for flights, accommodation, mobility, and meeting venues. Over 60% of business travel is for meetings, yet manual processes are common. This partnership is a response to customer demand for seamless planning. Hubli, valued at $598.2 billion in 2022, is projected to grow to $2,309.4 billion by 2032, offering policy-compliant, sustainable, and safe booking options.

📈 The most clicked link in the previous newsletter was a post on "21 Ridiculously Specific Travel Tech Predictions for 2025", calling for measurable and due predictions by Dec 31, 2025. Propellic sponsored the newsletter, offering a white paper on U.S. Consumer Trends for optimizing 2025 marketing strategies. Insight Partners discussed the rise of "intelligence-first" companies, suggesting that AI could lead to a fundamental reimagination of software. Bain & Company recommended enhancing established customer habits and moving beyond chatbots for successful AI adoption in customer experience. The Global Travel Tech Thinktank in Singapore saw 50 executives from companies like Booking and Agoda discussing AI's future in travel, focusing on non-intrusive intent interpretation and loyalty prediction. Hereticon, a "conference for thoughtcrime" by Founders Fund, only features speakers with ideas controversial enough to get cancelled elsewhere. Christian Watts addressed 10 common OTA complaints with direct responses, highlighting the relationship dynamics between OTAs and suppliers. The Travel Tech Essentialist Job Board listed 286 Sales/Business Development openings, over 25% of all roles, emphasizing the importance of sales in tech companies. Air France-KLM partnered with Kolet to offer travelers eSIM-enabled internet access in over 190 countries, with perks like 1GB of free data and Flying Blue Miles. A BCG report revealed that 83% of airline employees support modernizing sales approaches, suggesting a full retail model

💸 "Revenue Management For Hire" offers a scalable outsourcing solution for optimized pricing strategies and increased profitability in the hospitality industry. Businesses access expert services without full-time employee costs, leveraging advanced technology and real-time market insights to stay competitive. RevOptimum tailors revenue management strategies and provides 24/7 support, catering to hotels, resorts, vacation rentals, event venues, and travel agencies, aiming to boost occupancy rates, average daily rates (ADR), and revenue per available room (RevPAR).