Welcome to our annual visioning section, where we look ahead to what the next year will bring for hospitality. Here we bring together market expectations, evolving traveller behaviour, technology shifts, sustainability priorities, and fresh ideas from across the industry. The goal is simple: to help hoteliers and partners spot the signals early, understand what is changing, and turn insight into practical action for the year ahead.
Academic research identifies five interconnected forces transforming hospitality in 2026, with AI automation and economic polarization driving both luxury premiumization and demand for authentic local experiences.
The publication features 25 global experts examining how hospitality can shift from extractive to regenerative practices that actively support community and environmental health.
The whitepaper outlines how hotels can capture untapped revenue from non-staying guests through unified commerce architecture that treats time as inventory and shifts from reservation-centric to guest identity-first systems.
The analysis explores ten emerging wellness trends from sleep optimization to community building, providing specific hotel applications for each to boost ADR and guest satisfaction.
The article outlines ten AI trends that will reshape hotel operations and distribution in 2025-2026, from schema markup requirements to agent-to-agent booking systems.
EHL's white paper identifies six priority areas for tourism's sustainable transition, emphasizing systemic change over isolated solutions.
Despite abundant capital availability, hotel deal volume remains low due to compressed cash flows and major capital requirements, though the bid-ask gap has narrowed to 5%.
The initiative will be guided by member states through 2027 to position tourism as a transformative sector in global climate action and post-2030 development goals.
Trip.com Group reports double-digit booking growth for Lunar New Year 2026, with cross-border stays of 7+ nights up 40% and long-haul bookings surging over 50% year-on-year.
The analysis identifies ten emerging trends shaping ultra-luxury hospitality, from low-occupancy designs and agriluxury to integrated wellness stays and cognitive longevity programs.
The article argues sales leaders must shift from relying on top individual performers to building scalable team systems and processes for sustainable revenue growth.
Amadeus executives outline their five-stage demand generation approach, emphasizing unified marketing and revenue strategies over traditional room-filling tactics.
The rise of AI booking channels in 2025 forces hotels to optimize content for machines, not just humans, requiring more authoritative proof over aspirational marketing copy.
The guide identifies AI operational use, trust-building, and attendee-led personalization as key drivers reshaping corporate events and hospitality strategy.
Hotels.com data reveals travelers are booking eclipse destinations 18 months early, with some locations seeing 445% search increases.
The article argues that modern hospitality success depends on inclusivity, tech-enhanced human service, hyper-personalization, transparent sustainability, and expanding beyond traditional room stays.
Hospitality is at an inflection point. 2026 is not just any other year, but a year when everything could change – and yes, AI is at the heart of it.
Revinate's Dylan Cole breaks down how 2026 hospitality trends like personalization and tech integration solve different regional challenges across European markets.
The author argues reinvestment in existing hotels offers the best risk-adjusted returns in 2026, as transaction math improves but sellers resist higher cap rates.
Analysis covers six key trends including AI adoption, destination hotels, luxury-budget performance gaps, and outdoor accommodations shaping 2026.