Innovation

🌍 Seattle, Washington, saw a 30% increase as the top Labor Day weekend destination; domestic travel up 9% and international down 4% from last year. Gas prices averaged $3.81, currently about $3.50. Travel costs: domestic down 2%, international up 11%. Top destinations include Anchorage, Alaska, and European cities. INRIX advises avoiding peak traffic times Thursday and Friday afternoon/evening, suggests morning travel or Saturday afternoon, and early Sunday or Labor Day departures to dodge congestion.

💸 RateGain, an AI-powered SaaS provider for travel and hospitality, was recognized as a Strategic Partner by Agoda's Connectivity Partner Program on August 28, 2024, in Noida. The partnership, initiated in 2009, focuses on advanced technology for partner properties to streamline decision-making and rate plan updates. Agoda, part of Booking Holdings, operates in 39 languages with 4.5M properties and 6,900 staff in 25 markets. RateGain, founded in 2004, serves 3,200+ customers in over 100 countries and collaborates with 26 of the Top 30 Hotel Chains.

🏖️ FitMont, a global payment orchestration platform, revealed survey findings on European online travel booking habits, highlighting that 1 in 10 travelers faced refund issues on canceled holidays. 67% rarely review policies pre-booking, 33% are deterred by hidden fees, 14% are loyal due to rewards, 20% find travel booking more complicated than retail, and 25% prefer transparent cost companies. Seamless payment options like Apple Pay and Klarna may enhance travel firms' appeal, particularly among younger demographics, by simplifying the booking process and being upfront about costs.

✈ European low-cost airline Ryanair has partnered with Trip.com, a leading travel service provider, to expand its "Approved OTA" program. Trip.com Group's platforms, including TrainPal and Vayama, now offer Ryanair's low-fare flights. This follows Ryanair's previous partnerships with lastminute.com, On the Beach, Tui, Loveholidays, Kiwi.com, and Etraveli earlier in the year. The deal ensures Trip.com customers have direct access to bookings and essential flight information without extra verification. Bookings through Trip.com will begin in the coming weeks.

💸 Profitroom is offering free digital health checks for hoteliers amid 100,000 hospitality vacancies as reported by the Office for National Statistics. The "Profitroom On Tour" events run from September 9-12, targeting areas with high job vacancies like hospitality, trailing service industries, human health, social work, wholesale, and retail trade. Stops include St Michaels Resort, Cornwall (Sept 9, 5pm); Woolacombe Bay Hotel, Devon (Sept 10, 5pm); Stratton House Hotel, Cotswolds (Sept 11, 5pm); The Great House, Sonning (Sept 12, 6pm). Insights from tech experts aim to help optimize digital presence and boost operations against staffing challenges.

💳 Only 16% of transactions are cash-based today, with 33% of Americans viewing tipping favorably. In Canada, 37% tip 15-19% for great service. Digital tipping faces challenges due to integration with hotel PMS, yet it's crucial for staff to receive tips directly. Visa gift cards are now a solution for digital tips in hotels, offering transferable balances and no cost to hotels. Digital tipping, integrated with PMS, provides security benefits and the potential for higher tips.

🍴 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor at Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality since 1999, previously wrote for The New York Sun (2005-2008) and was a food columnist in Thailand (1992-1997). A Tufts University magna cum laude graduate in history and a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef, he’s known for food and beverage trends and French and Asian cuisines. Awards include the 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award and he was inducted into the Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014. He's based in Brooklyn, N.Y.

💻 In July 2024, the Top 100 Gen AI Consumer Apps ranked the top 50 AI-first web products by unique monthly visits and top 50 AI-first mobile apps by monthly active users. Nearly 30% of the companies were new since the March 2024 report. On the web, 52% of companies focus on content generation/editing, with 58% of 12 new entrants in the creative tool space. Music generator Suno rose from #36 to #5. ChatGPT remains #1 on web and mobile, while Perplexity is now #3 on the web. Bytedance introduced three new apps: Gauth (#44), Coze (#45), Doubao (#47); Doubao also hit #26 on mobile. New category aesthetics and dating includes LooksMax AI (#43), Umax (#44), and RIZZ (#49) on mobile, with LooksMax claiming over 2 million users and Umax claiming 1 million. Discord traffic indicates trending content generation apps, with 10 AI companies in the top 100 Discord servers by invite traffic.

🏨 ALBIE©, developed by The Anything Group (TAG), is a new booking platform featured on Kickstarter. Aimed to revolutionize travel, ALBIE allows integrated bookings for hotels, activities, and ancillaries in one reservation. Over two years of development ensured compliance with PCI, GDPR, and ADA standards. It promises personalized travel experiences, time and cost savings for travelers, direct revenue, and optimized occupancy for hotels. Features include all-in-one booking, automated enhancements, and a modern interface. Key technology partners include SiteMinder, SHIFT4, ApplePay, and major PMS like Maestro and Mews. An instant gratification loyalty program is expected in 2025.