Innovation

🚀 OpenAI uses AI to boost productivity, with 3,500 employees leveraging Codex to achieve a 70% increase in weekly merged pull requests. Sales productivity rose 20%, while Estée Lauder and Canva saw enhancements of 90% and 44%, respectively. In a survey of over 5,000 enterprise users, 95% reported time savings with ChatGPT. OpenAI serves over 1 million businesses, while 75% of enterprises report positive ROI. The focus is on expanding AI's economic value across industries.

🛒 November 2025, Google introduced a major AI shopping update for holiday shopping. The AI Mode in Search allows users to shop conversationally, describing their needs as they would to a friend. It offers organized responses with visuals, prices, reviews, and inventory data. This upgrade utilizes the Shopping Graph, featuring over 50 billion product listings, with 2 billion updates every hour, ensuring fresh and reliable information for users.

🏨 Mandarin Oriental aims to more than double its global footprint within the next decade, having already added seven properties in two years and with 30 more developments underway. Laurent Kleitman, appointed group CEO in September 2023, emphasizes that luxury hospitality hinges on human connection rather than technology. The industry is projected to grow nearly 10% annually over the next five years. The "Rising Fans" program supports career development, fostering talent in a digital-first world.

💸 76% of a revenue manager’s week is consumed by internal tasks like reports and data checks. Data fragmentation in hotel systems leads to mismatched KPIs and delayed decisions. AI and BI tools can automate these processes, increasing hotel revenue by 10-15%. A UK hotel using AI-based forecasting achieved record profitability by adjusting rates and optimizing inventory ahead of a local event. The future of hospitality combines AI with human judgment for strategic decision-making.

📺 Uniguest launches Google Cast support for Samsung Hospitality TVs, enhancing in-room streaming. Guests can stream content directly to Samsung HBU800, HU7000F, and HU8000F TVs without external dongles. This integration is globally certified, ensuring security and privacy, with credentials automatically cleared at checkout. Uniguest's Hotel Hub platform manages this scalable solution, meeting modern guest expectations. Samsung celebrates this as a milestone in its hospitality offerings, offering support for popular OTT apps like Netflix and YouTube.

💻 The Landgrove Inn in Vermont, with 16 rooms and located at 132 Landgrove Road, has upgraded its guest experience using Mews, a leading hospitality operating system. This digital shift modernized their reservation process, achieving full automation in just one week. Mews, serving over 12,500 clients globally, has helped reduce manual tasks, allowing the inn to focus on guests and events. The Landgrove plans to expand its tech with Mews' POS and Event Management System.

💸 San Diego, CA & Cambridge, MA — November 17, 2025: Cloudbeds and HTS announced a partnership, introducing HTS's Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) feature to independent hoteliers. This integration offers travelers flexibility, boosting hotel conversion rates and revenue. Cloudbeds operates in 150 countries, winning numerous awards from 2021 to 2025. Founded in 2012, it remains a leader in hospitality tech, enhancing operations and guest experiences with the AI model, Signals.

🏡 The brand, part of Accor’s premium segment, undergoes a global transformation to redefine guest experiences and social spaces. This initiative includes new architectural concepts, updated service standards, and an international events programme, marking a new phase for the brand.

🏨 Kevin King, CEO of Shiji International, received the Lifetime Achievement Visionary Award at the 2025 Hotel Visionary Awards on November 17, 2025, in Atlanta, Georgia. This accolade highlights his over 30 years in hospitality and nearly three decades in hospitality technology, during which Shiji evolved into a global leader in hotel solutions, powering cloud-based systems for over 91,000 hotels worldwide. Shiji employs more than 5,000 people globally.

📈 Harshinder Chadha discusses the transformative impact of AI and BI on hotel revenue management. 76% of a revenue manager's week is wasted on internal tasks, with fragmented data systems slowing decisions. AI systems can automate tasks like rate updates, boosting revenue by 10-15%. A UK hotel used AI for proactive rate adjustments, achieving record profits. Technology enhances human judgment, fostering strategic leadership and improving profitability. Embrace AI and BI to shift from data overload to strategic clarity.