Marriott Launches Ask Bonvoy AI Search for 283M Members, HITEC Leaves Industry Both Thrilled and Unsettled, WhatsApp Is Killing Hotel Operations
Wednesday closed HITEC 2026 with Marriott launching Ask Bonvoy, a conversational AI search tool for 283 million Bonvoy members, and a first-person recap of the conference finding deep industry consensus on AI's transformative role alongside equally deep disagreement on what it will cost. A sharp argument that WhatsApp is a liability for hotel operations and Revinate's Ivy AI platform launch rounded out a dense final session.
How 'Just Ask AI' Is Rewriting the Rules of Every Industry
Behavioral shift toward AI-driven question-and-answer is already complete among consumers, leaving businesses across hospitality, accounting, and healthcare racing to replace dashboards with conversational tools.
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Why Running Hotel Operations on WhatsApp Is the Equivalent of Managing Your Business on Personal Gmail — A Conversation with Guy Weiss, CEO of Zenzap
Zenzap CEO Guy Weiss argues that hospitality's reliance on WhatsApp for operations creates data loss, privacy, and security risks, and that purpose-built work communication can cut turnover by up to 50%.
Winning the AI inbox: What hotel marketers need to know about email deliverability in 2026
A guide for hotel marketers on adapting email strategy to AI-powered inboxes like Gmail Gemini and Apple Mail, covering deliverability, segmentation, and content optimization.
Preface II: The Last Virgin Space: Aesthetic Resistance in the Age of AI-Mediated Travel
Leonardo Caffo argues that AI and algorithmic image saturation have made pure aesthetic experience, the genuine "wow" of discovery, effectively impossible for the modern traveler. Yet rather than mourning that loss, he proposes a radical reorientation: the last virgin space of authentic experience is not the destination itself, but the friction between what AI leads us to expect and what reality actually delivers.
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View AllRecast: How Swiss Deluxe Hotels redefines luxury hospitality with tech
Wilhelm Luxem, Head of Quality Commission at Swiss Deluxe Hotels, shares how luxury properties can adopt technology while preserving authentic human connection, drawing on a 50-year career.
Cebu gets a bold new beat as Radisson RED makes its Philippine debut
Cebu's hospitality scene is about to get louder, brighter and far more playful. Radisson RED Cebu Mandaue has officially opened at Astra Centre, a dynamic mixed-use destination with a lifestyle shopping mall at its core, marking the first Radisson RED hotel in the Philippines. With 144 stylish rooms, statement-making design and a social-first energy, the hotel introduces a vibrant new stay for travellers who like their experiences expressive, connected and full of personality.
Radisson Blu Hotel & Conference Centre, Salzburg opens as the city's largest conference hotel
Salzburg's largest conference hotel now operates under the Radisson Blu brand. The Radisson Blu Hotel & Conference Centre, Salzburg is an upper-upscale, full-service hotel with 262 rooms and suites and 1,785 square meters of event space, including a 960-square-meter ballroom for up to 1,000 guests. The hotel's integration into Radisson Hotel Group connects an established conference venue with international distribution, the Radisson Meetings program and Radisson Rewards, the group's loyalty network with more than 27 million members worldwide. The launch under the Radisson Blu brand comes at a time of record growth in Austria's meetings and events sector.
Courtyard by Marriott Debuts in Okinawa with a New Beachfront Escape
Set along Kise Beach overlooking the pristine waters of Nago Bay in northern Okinawa, the hotel brings Courtyard by Marriott’s warm, modern hospitality to one of Japan’s most beloved island escapes. Famed for its subtropical climate, crystal-clear waters and easy island rhythm, Okinawa draws millions of domestic and international visitors each year. The hotel sits approximately 72 kilometers, or one hour’s drive, from Naha International Airport.
Cleveland’s Quiet Climb: Resilient Hotel Market with a Balanced Demand Base
HVS analysis of Cleveland's hotel market highlights how leisure growth, convention recovery, and healthcare demand from Cleveland Clinic create a resilient, balanced lodging ecosystem through 2026.
Supplier News
View allInnspire Officially Launches ‘Guest Flows’ at HITEC
Innspire's app-free Guest Flows product covers the full hotel stay via SMS, WhatsApp, and browser, with pilot data showing pre-arrival completion rates rising from 5% to 20%.
Revinate Introduces Ivy, the Hospitality AI Decision Intelligence, Built Across Its Entire Platform
Revinate's Ivy is trained on 17 years of hospitality data and 1.1 billion guest profiles, currently powering chat resolution and call scoring, with planned expansion into automated guest communications.
Revinate Brings Ivy to Work: Automated Call Scoring and Revinate Chat Put Hospitality AI on the Front Line
Revinate announced AI-powered call scoring (96% accuracy, 30+ hours saved monthly) and a digital concierge chat tool, both launching for general availability in mid-to-late 2026.
Demand Calendar cuts hotel forecast error in half at Classic Norway Hotels
Classic Norway Hotels cut forecast error by ~50% across 22 properties using Demand Calendar's automated BI platform, reducing Excel use by 95% and aligning all departments on a single nightly-updated forecast.
RoomPriceGenie Enhances Revenue Management Transparency with Price Explanations
RoomPriceGenie's new price explanations feature gives hoteliers plain-language context behind each rate recommendation, including how their own pricing rules may be limiting revenue potential.
AI Is Reshaping Hotel Discovery, Distribution, and Direct Booking. Here’s What Hotels Should Do
As AI assistants reshape how travelers discover and book hotels, properties must audit content for machine-readability and work with tech partners to expose inventory and offers to conversational search interfaces.
Thynk Introduces Lead Qualification Index to Help Hotels Prioritize High-Value Business and Respond Faster
Thynk's Lead Qualification Index scores incoming hotel inquiries across Intent, Fit, Impact and Relationship dimensions, automating RFP capture and prioritization to help sales teams respond faster and win more business.
Aven Hospitality Debuts New Booking Engine; First Properties Live with Navarino Services
Aven Hospitality launches a redesigned booking engine built on the SynXis platform, with Navarino Services reporting over 30% revenue growth in the first month of the pilot.
Air Passenger Rights: GBTA Welcomes Landmark Agreement and Calls for Clear and Consistent Implementation across Europe
GBTA welcomes the EU's reformed air passenger rights rules, which extend compensation of €250–€600 for delays from three hours, and urges consistent implementation across all Member States.
HITEC 2026 so far: where AI feels thrilling and unsettling at once
A first-person recap of HITEC 2026's opening days finds consensus that AI will transform hospitality distribution and operations, but deep disagreement on costs, brand survival, and the role of human staff.
Motto by Hilton Opens First Hotel in Brazil With the Debut of Motto by Hilton Recife Antigo
Hilton (NYSE: HLT), in partnership with REVPAR INCORPORTAÇÕES and MUV Empreendimentos and Atlantica Hospitality International, opened Motto by Hilton Recife Antigo, marking the debut of the lifestyle brand in Brazil. Designed for travelers seeking to immerse themselves in the heart of the destination, the 132-room property also represents Hilton’s entry into Recife, affectionately known as the "Venice of Brazil" for its picturesque canals, colorful colonial architecture, and vibrant cultural traditions.
Hyatt Place Seoul Pangyo Celebrates Official Opening
Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) today announced the official opening of Hyatt Place Seoul Pangyo, marking the debut of the Hyatt Place brand in Seoul. The property is situated in the heart of Pangyo, Korea’s leading IT and business hub. With contemporary design, comfortable accommodations, thoughtfully planned spaces and excellent accessibility, it is an ideal stay for both business and leisure travelers.
Swedish debut for Hotel Indigo by IHG with latest signing in Stockholm
IHG Hotels & Resorts (IHG), one of the world's leading hotel companies, announces the signing of Hotel Indigo Stockholm – Kvarnholmen in Sweden. Developed by Kvarnholmen Utveckling (KUAB) - a joint venture between Peab and JM - the property will be leased and operated by 1912 Hotels under a franchise agreement with IHG. The signing marks the first Hotel Indigo in Sweden and strengthens IHG's growing Luxury & Lifestyle portfolio across Northern Europe.
Davidson Hospitality Group Launches General Manager Council
Davidson Hospitality Group's 2026 GM Council includes 11 general managers from across its portfolio, formed to give property-level leaders a voice in shaping corporate initiatives and tools.
Marriott International Introduces Ask Bonvoy™ a New AI-Powered Search Experience Transforming Travel Exploration
Marriott's AI-powered conversational search tool launches in beta on Marriott.com and its mobile apps, with a full global rollout to 283 million Bonvoy members planned later in 2025.
Las Vegas Sands Donates $150,000 to The LGBTQ+ Center of Las Vegas for a Workforce Development Program Supporting Housing-Insecure Youth
Las Vegas Sands contributed $150,000 to The LGBTQ+ Center of Las Vegas to fund a mobile coffee truck employment program providing job training and housing pathways for 20 housing-insecure youth ages 18-24.
Management-by-Walking-Around (MBWA): Engaging Employees through Informal Workplace Interactions
This explainer outlines the principles of MBWA for hotel managers, showing how regular, informal employee interaction builds trust, surfaces operational issues, and reduces turnover.
Preface I: The Post-Human Traveler: Redefining the Guest
Zoltan Istvan challenges the hospitality industry to think beyond its most basic assumption: that its guests will remain human. From life extension drugs and brain implants to humanoid companions and autonomous AI entities, he maps a transhumanist future that renders current notions of the guest experience — and the guest itself — genuinely obsolete.