TOP NEWS

🛫 Travelport's 2024 State of Modern Retailing Report shows a 1,900% increase in air travel options since 2010, with over 10,000 options now available. 58% of travelers are overwhelmed by choice, 56% find offers harder to understand, and 61% think there are more penalties for flight changes. Most travelers (71%) feel anxious about getting the best deal, while 80% find fare comparison time-consuming. Travelers prefer to see all options on one screen (88%), and many use OTAs, especially Millennials (70%) and Gen X (64%). Key amenities include luggage allowance (63%), cancellation policies (50%), and seat selection (50%). In contrast, US travelers struggle more with flight shopping (49%) than hotel, car rental, or restaurant comparisons.

📣 Beef 'O' Brady's, operating in more than 20 US states, partners with SoundHoundAI to introduce voice AI for phone orders. The tech is live at all corporate locations, set for franchise integration, and efficiently handles 100% of calls—even during peak periods like the 2024 Summer Olympics. SoundHound's AI can manage orders, answer menu queries, and cover FAQs, offering seamless ordering for customers. SoundHound AI's solutions are used in over 10,000 restaurants and recently acquired the Allset ordering platform, signaling a growing trend where 80% of US diners expect AI voice assistants to dominate food ordering soon.

🍴 Chef John Tesar's Knife Italian opened on March 19 at The Ritz-Carlton Dallas, Las Colinas following a $55 million property renovation. The restaurant features diverse menus for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, combining traditional Italian flavors with modern touches. Steak options are sourced from 44 Farms and include dry-aged cuts ranging from 45 to 240 days. Tesar's fusion of steakhouse experience and Italian roots manifests in a vibrant, ingredient-driven culinary venture.

🚨 Key facts from the article: A global IT outage affecting airlines, airports, and railways has been linked to a Crowdstrike antivirus software update, causing Windows 10 PCs to shut down. The problem was identified and a fix deployed. Microsoft Azure experienced concurrent issues. No hack or data breach occurred. This outage has been labelled the "biggest" IT failure since 2017 by Elon Musk. Airlines such as American, Delta, and United issued ground stops on Friday morning. UK airports like Gatwick, Manchester, Stansted, Edinburgh, and international hubs Schiphol, Tokyo, and Sydney reported problems. Microsoft suggested multiple reboots as a solution, while Ryanair advised passengers to arrive three hours early. Services are expected to be disrupted throughout the day as systems are restored.

🛫 In the travel industry, human-driven internet traffic accounts for 51.1%, while malicious bots constitute 44.5%. Bot traffic has increased from 37% to 44% in the past year, negatively affecting airlines by engaging in unauthorized scraping, seat spinning, loyalty program account takeovers, and credit card fraud. To combat these threats, the industry must implement multi-layered defenses, including advanced bot management, continuous monitoring, public and private API security, collaboration for collective security, and customer education on bot risks.

💸 HITEC 2024 recap focuses on hotel tech trends, emphasizing operational efficiency and revenue enhancement. Daniel Johnson, CEO of Venza Inc., stresses cybersecurity in the GenAI era for both protection and guest trust. Michael Thalassinos of Silverware highlights QR code menus for targeted dining experiences. Scott Wilson from Sabre Hospitality and Laura Calin of Oracle discuss labor challenges, advocating for AI and automation. Digital tipping is being adopted by Charlestowne Hotels, with Max Spangler confirming its success. Jeff Bzdawka of Knowland notes the shift towards smaller corporate meetings, creating new revenue opportunities for smaller properties. AI's role in sales and marketing is recognized for personalizing guest experiences, as per insights from Sabre Hospitality and Maestro. Mike Snavely of Phunware comments on capturing digital guest engagement. Michael Gray from Nomadix addresses hardware reduction and value in hotels.

🏨 Key success factors for hoteliers include thorough market research, personalization of guest experiences, robust feedback mechanisms, and competitive analysis. Main failure points are ignoring guest feedback, outdated offerings, and poor market fit. Revenue maximization strategies involve dynamic pricing, multiple revenue streams, cost-benefit analyses, and monitoring of KPIs like ADR and RevPAR. Overemphasis on cost-cutting and neglecting revenue optimization and investment can hinder profitability. Effective people management requires continuous employee training, a positive work culture, competitive compensation, and career growth opportunities. High staff turnover and poor management practices can impact service quality. Adapting to market dynamics and focusing on guest and employee satisfaction ensures sustained business growth.

🏖 On Thursday, 18 July 2024, the European Tourism Manifesto was launched, featuring over 70 organizations from the European tourism sector. They demand a Commissioner for Tourism, a robust Tourism Taskforce in the European Parliament, and annual Ministerial Meetings at the Council. Their agenda includes decarbonization, smart EU funding, resilient connectivity, and skills training to boost the industry.