Africa - Latest

All-in-one, hands down. Advantages are: Fewer vendors to talk to, saving time Fewer dashboards to look at, preventing dashboard fatigue Fewer interfaces to maintain Better data streaming (not guaranteed though) Steamlined billing There are exceptions to this, especially for emerging categories, but in a world of "satisficing", keeping it simple rules the day.

A very topical question which also came up at the HFTP Barcelona CIO Summit recently. There was no single answer as it will always depend on the particular situation. For a small hotel/BnB, a combo PMS/POS/IBE product like Avon Data, Heart or BookAssist may suffice and would do a very good job.

In a word, yes. All the major players in industry are working towards a hospitality 'platform' solution. Yes, you may be able to purchase the pieces separately, which is purely commercial. But they are designed and intended to support across business operations.

Since when it's a good thing for the government to determine commissions in the private sector? Commissions are charged in many industries: from insurance to sales to real estate. Why doesn't the government regulate them all? And why decrease the commissions by 25% and not by 19.5% or 26.8%?

I firmly agree that, in many cases, the fees are excessive and that OTA's have exploited the industry's vulnerabilities—particularly targeting independent hotels and softer brands. That said, I do not believe government intervention in commission structures is the answer.

It certainly sounds appealing at first. Let's protect the poor hotels from high commissions but if we've learned anything from economics it's that government price controls tend to create more problems than they solve. Take the example of rent controls.

"Hand-thought is the new hand-built. In luxury, human-curated service — powered by AI — is the next premium." The CIO role has moved far beyond infrastructure. We’re no longer just maintaining networks — we’re shaping the future of the guest experience.

"Forget the hype — the true power of AI lies in the back office, not in guest-facing gimmicks." Technology has become central to our business planning. IT is no longer a support function — it’s a strategic pillar. I’m increasingly involved in shaping commercial roadmaps, evaluating distribution platforms, and making long-term investment decisions.

Every department is becoming its own tech expert — our job is to enable, not dictate." We’re witnessing a cultural shift in how technology is adopted within hospitality businesses. End users are increasingly tech-literate — they’re evaluating tools on their own, consulting peers, and coming to IT with clear preferences.

We focus on using technology to create seamless and personalised guest experiences while also improving performance. One example is how guests can easily add extras such as late checkout or breakfast directly from their phone at check-in.

One simple example that recently impressed me was receiving a WhatsApp message allowing me to check in online. It was seamless and aligned with what many guests now expect. In fact, we know that around 63 percent of millennials prefer the option to check in online.

At Staypineapple, we use Mews across all of our properties and have started incorporating AI to help us better understand our guests before they arrive. We combine this with other data—like reviews and past preferences—to build a more complete picture of who is staying with us.

I was shocked by the claim that there were hoteliers linking their property websites' "Book Now" buttons directly to the OTAs. In hospitality we had a few cases like these back in the year 2000. But now, 25 years later? First, direct bookings are cheaper than OTA bookings.

OTAs are not a strategy - they're a costly crutch. The idea of abandoning direct online distribution in favor of exclusive reliance on OTAs is not only shortsighted — it's dangerous. OTAs are useful tools in a diversified distribution strategy when demand is not strong, but surrendering full control to them is a fast track to eroded margins and loss of brand equity.

Handing your business over to a lottery outcome. Sounds like a great idea! One should not outsource something mission critical to the business. If selling product isn't mission critical, then I suppose knock yourself out! There is no doubt that competing is a tough business.