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Xavier Mufraggi of Generator on Affordable Lifestyle Hospitality, Keeping the Host in Hospitality, and Building the Future of City Travel
Generator CEO Xavier Mufraggi outlines plans to double the brand's 15-property European footprint to 30-40 properties by 2030, targeting city-focused young travelers with design-led, affordable hospitality backed by Brookfield.
Reclaiming hotel F&B revenue from delivery apps: Are your guests ordering from DoorDash & Deliveroo instead of from you?
IRIS argues hotels can reclaim F&B revenue lost to delivery apps by adopting mobile ordering platforms, citing a 30%+ revenue uplift and an InterContinental New Orleans case study as evidence.
By Kate Fuller, Head of Marketing, IRIS
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Yavapai Lodge Eliminates Long Lobby Lines With Canary's Self-Service Kiosk
Yavapai Lodge deployed four Canary Technologies kiosks and AI messaging to solve a daily 30-minute check-in backlog, cutting complaints to zero and eliminating service recovery costs.
Union Square Plaza Hotel uses Cloudbeds’ open API to build technology around how the property actually operates
Union Square Plaza Hotel's owner used Cloudbeds' open API to build custom AI-assisted rate and inventory management tools without a software development background, bypassing vendor roadmap constraints.
Simone Puorto: Choosing Humans May Redefine Luxury, Xavier Mufraggi of Generator Plans to Double by 2030, Agentic Protocols Mapped to 100+ Use Cases
Wednesday brought Simone Puorto proposing technocentric, hybrid, and anthropocentric hotel models where choosing human staff over machines becomes a genuine luxury signal, Xavier Mufraggi of Generator on affordable lifestyle hospitality and doubling the portfolio to 30-40 cities by 2030, and the AI Hospitality Alliance mapping agentic protocols to 100-plus hospitality use cases with a free workbook. Milan ADR near all-time high, WTTC's €2B Malta commitment, and 12 property announcements rounded out the session.
Recent Appointments
View AllWhen the Holiday Season Ends, Your Guest’s Value Doesn’t
Maestro PMS argues that hoteliers should use the holiday season to build long-term guest relationships by connecting departmental data, rather than focusing solely on seasonal room revenue.
By Lisa Jane Wheaton, Senior Project Strategist, Maestro
h2c Hotel Chain Tech Report 2026: The AI Opportunity
h2c's 2026 global study finds AI is used at 91% of hotel chains, but only 28% have a senior-led strategy and just 13% report measurable ROI.
Viceroy Hotels & Residences Introduces “A World Made by Many,” a New Brand Campaign Highlighting Unique Destinations and the Makers That Shape Them
Viceroy's new multi-destination campaign features 10 local makers across Chicago, St. Lucia, Algarve, Sun Valley, and New York, with bookable immersive experiences tied to each property.
Beyond RevPAR: What Really Drives Hotel Performance?
A four-layer performance framework moves hotels beyond RevPAR to connect commercial results with operating profit, EBITDA, CapEx, and return on invested capital.
Hotel Development: What hands-on hospitality experience brings to investment decisions
An experienced hospitality professional argues that operational expertise must be embedded in hotel development decisions from the outset, not consulted after design, budget, and strategy are already set.
Supplier News
View allRevinate launches hospitality's first data activation platform
Revinate launches Pathways, Vault, and Chat as a unified data activation platform combining CRM, CDP, and AI execution across 1.25 billion guest profiles.
Íslandshótel selects Aven Hospitality to unify hotel commerce across 18 properties
Iceland's largest hotel group consolidates direct booking and GDS connectivity across 18 properties onto Aven's SynXis-based platform, adding Booking Engine, Corporate/Agent Tool, and GDS Distribution.
Aven and Íslandshótel
IDS Next Expands Wellness Technology Offering Through Oracle Marketplace
IDS Next's FX Spa wellness ERP is now on Oracle Marketplace, offering two-way OHIP integration with OPERA PMS for real-time booking, guest profile sync, and folio posting.
ELAF Group Brings AI-Powered Guest Service to Its Hotels with Canary Technologies
ELAF Group, operating ELAF Hotels and JOUDYAN Hotels across Saudi Arabia, has deployed Canary's AI voice, messaging, upsell, and F&B ordering tools across its portfolio.
Less Order Taking, More Hospitality: Rethinking Hotel F&B
The piece argues that digital ordering in hotels should redirect staff time toward meaningful guest interaction, not reduce headcount, while stressing that system connectivity and operational coordination are critical to realizing those gains.
Beyond Commitments: The Standards Behind GCSTIMES' Sustainability Practices
GCSTIMES outlines its sustainability credentials for hotel key cards and hospitality supplies, including FSC CoC, ISO 14001, ISO 9001, and an EcoVadis scorecard.
Access Point Financial Releases State of the Hotel Construction Loan Report
APF's five-page report covers hotel construction loan trends, highlighting rising costs, CMBS maturities, supply constraints, and a shift toward renovations and acquisitions over new builds.
Microsoft Renews Ireckonu’s Trusted AI and Data Solutions Partner Status
Ireckonu has renewed its Microsoft Solutions Partner designations in Data AI and Digital App Innovation for 2027, confirming enterprise-grade standards for its guest data and AI platform built on Azure.
Wellness Partnerships Success with House of Healing Program at Upper House
Upper House's House of Healing program delivers city-specific, two-day curated wellness experiences across Hong Kong, Chengdu, and Shanghai via rotating practitioner residencies.
HOSPA Professional Development highlights career impact of Revenue Management programme
HOSPA's Revenue Management programme is profiled through Joel Graham of Goldsborough Hall, whose training led to expanded responsibilities covering sales, reservations, and revenue.
While long-haul travel plans ease this autumn, travellers remain committed by booking trips to Europe
ETC and Interrail's autumn 2026 Barometer finds long-haul intent to visit Europe fell from 38% to 34%, but confirmed bookings are stable at 52% of intenders, up from 42%.
Is hotel marketing ready for its next evolution?
Revinate CMO Karen Stephens and EMEA MD Dylan Cole discuss moving from CRM and CDP to real-time data activation to drive repeat direct bookings and reduce OTA dependency.
Karen Stephens in conversation with Dylan Cole
Expert Witness Case Study: Hotel Business Interruption & Financial Damages
A hotel expert witness case study explaining why lost revenue rarely equals economic damages, and how proper BI claims require operational context, avoided expenses, and market benchmarking.
By Gary Isenberg, Founder of Iron Mountain Hospitality Advisors, Cayuga Hospitality Consultants
How Well Did The City That Never Sleeps Actually Sleep? YOTEL and Hilton Explore New York’s Sleep Habits
YOTEL joined the Hilton portfolio of brands, with 11 properties now bookable on Hilton.com; the partnership was celebrated with a sleep-focused consumer activation at Grand Central Terminal in New York City.
Good Judgment: The Customer Service Skill You Can’t Put in a Policy
Opinion piece arguing that employee judgment, not policies alone, drives better service outcomes, using a hotel check-in story to illustrate training and empowerment gaps.
By Shep Hyken, Customer Service and Experience Expert, Keynote Speaker and Bestselling Author, Shepard Presentations, LLC.
Unlock Futures Alliance Launches Practical Guide to Protect Children Across Travel, Leisure and Entertainment
The Unlock Futures alliance, convened by The Bicester Collection with WTTC, ECPAT and the UN, has launched an Action Paper giving hotels, airlines and tour operators a practical CARE-ACT-SCALE framework to embed child protection into operations.
Milan hotel room rates approached all-time high thanks to Grand Prix and Fashion Week
Milan hotels hit second-highest ADR (EUR310.04) and RevPAR (EUR261.17) on record in September 2026, driven by the Italian Grand Prix and Fashion Week, per CoStar preliminary data.
Leonardo Hotels Acquires 'The Bristol Hotel'
The Bristol Hotel will be rebranded as Leonardo Royal Hotel Bristol, becoming the group's second property in the city. Leonardo Hotels UK & Ireland, a leading hotel group operating 63 centrally located properties with more than 13,000 rooms, has announced the acquisition of The Bristol Hotel from The Doyle Collection. Following a rebrand to Leonardo Royal Hotel Bristol, the hotel will become the group's second property in one of the UK's most vibrant and dynamic cities.
Booking.com’s 2027 Travel Predictions Reveal the Ultimate Travel Flex: Going Off-Script
Booking.com's annual Travel Predictions report, based on 28,000+ respondents across 32 markets, identifies nine traveler behavior trends for 2027, including mood-based destination search, AI-managed work coverage, and paranormal tourism.