Interviews

March 13

Decisions You Can Trust: A Conversation with IDeaS at ITB Berlin

Klaus Kohlmayr discusses AI trust challenges and the evolving role of revenue managers in hospitality technology.

Klaus Kohlmayr in conversation with Simone Puorto

March 13

Booked in Seconds, Inside ChatGPT: A Conversation with Apaleo at ITB Berlin

Apaleo's founder demonstrates live hotel booking through ChatGPT, with 15-20 hotel groups already deploying AI agents in production.

Uli Pillau in conversation with Simone Puorto

March 12

Be Brave: A Conversation with Infor at ITB Berlin

Infor's David Poprawka argues hospitality must rebuild its data foundation before AI can succeed, showcasing AR proof-of-concepts for check-in and housekeeping.

David Poprawka in conversation with Simone Puorto

March 12

The Always-Reply Future: A Conversation with TrustYou at ITB Berlin

TrustYou's CEO envisions moving from fragmented guest communication to unified conversational AI that maintains context across all channels and touchpoints.

Benjamin Jost in conversation with Simone Puorto

March 12

Experiences Are Inventory, Not a Feeling: A Conversation with Journey at ITB Berlin

Journey executives explain how hotels can generate 50% of revenue from non-room sources by treating experiences as bookable inventory rather than add-ons.

Simon Bullingham, and Andrew Metcalfe in conversation with Simone Puorto

March 11

Payments, AI Commerce, and Why Retail Went First: A Conversation with Stripe at ITB Berlin

Stripe's James Lemon discusses payment infrastructure challenges in hotels and why AI booking technology is more complex for travel than retail.

James Lemon in conversation with Simone Puorto

Ernest - Lighthouse's AI for hoteliers

Ad AI Hospitality

"Just tell me why my weekend pickup dropped." With Ernest, now you can ask your commercial data anything, and act on the answer.

Lighthouse

Ad Guide

The next-gen metrics that move hotel P&L

Hotel tech has changed what's possible – and measurable. RevPAR and ADR aren't enough; discover the metrics that really matter.

Mews

Interview Sales & Marketing

March 11

Intent, Representation, and the Future of Direct Booking: A Conversation with Aven Hospitality at ITB Berlin

Aven Hospitality's Mark Hollyhead discusses how AI-driven search shifts booking from filling forms to expressing intent, requiring hotels to control their own representation.

Mark Hollyhead in conversation with Simone Puorto

March 11

The Toggle Tax and the Invisible Lobby Boy: A Conversation with Access Hospitality at ITB Berlin

Access Hospitality's Champa Magesh argues system fragmentation hurts guest experience more than data quality, coining the "toggle tax" for staff switching between platforms.

Champa Magesh in conversation with Simone Puorto

March 10

One Platform, One Source of Truth: A Conversation with Access Hospitality at ITB Berlin

Access Hospitality's Navigator uses natural language AI to query unified hotel data, eliminating the need to toggle between multiple systems.

Nicola Longfield in conversation with Simone Puorto

Interview Sales & Marketing

March 10

Social, Search, and the Fight for Direct Bookings: A Conversation with Cendyn and HOSPITALITY X at ITB Berlin

Cendyn's CEO and HOSPITALITY X Co-Founder discuss how social media evolved from brand awareness to direct conversion channel at ITB Berlin.

Michael Bennett, and Otto Konstantin Lindner in conversation with Simone Puorto

March 10

Friction, Wristbands, and Why Best-of-Breed Wins: A Conversation with TRYBE at ITB Berlin

TRYBE CEO discusses their wristband-based contactless system for spas, arguing specialized software with strong integrations beats all-in-one platforms.

Ricky Daniels in conversation with Simone Puorto

The next-gen metrics that move hotel P&L

Ad Guide

Hotel tech has changed what's possible – and measurable. RevPAR and ADR aren't enough; discover the metrics that really matter.

Mews

Interview Sustainability

March 9

The Regenerative Question: A Conversation with Willy Legrand at ITB Berlin

Dr. Willy Legrand discusses why 40 years of sustainability frameworks have failed to prevent environmental decline and explores regenerative tourism as a transformative alternative.

Willy Legrand in conversation with Simone Puorto

March 9

Meetings, Events, and a Ride in a Trabi: A Conversation with VenueSuite at ITB Berlin

VenueSuite announced demand-based pricing for meetings and events, applying room revenue management logic to meeting spaces with early results showing increased bookings on lower-demand dates.

Ralph van Hooijdonk in conversation with Simone Puorto

February 25

Simone Puorto discussed Humans-as-Luxury, AI, Imperfection, and the Future of Hospitality

Puorto argues AI requires structural process changes, not just tool integration, and introduces "Humans-as-Luxury" as human service becomes a strategic differentiator.

Simone Puorto, Head of Emerging Trends and Strategic Innovation, Hospitality Net

Lamezia Terme, Italy

February 17

Quinta’s Daniel Doppler on Why Hospitality AI Now Starts With Data, Not Chatbots

Quinta founder argues the AI advantage has shifted from chatbot interfaces to data quality and maintenance, with hotels needing structured knowledge systems for agent-to-agent booking futures.

Daniel C. Doppler in conversation with Simone Puorto

Interview Development

February 11

Lopota Lake Resort and Spa: Building a Year-Round Destination in Georgia’s Kakheti Wine Region

The Masiuradze sisters explain their philosophy of slow, nature-first expansion at their Georgian resort, prioritizing authenticity over amenities to build year-round appeal.

Elene Maisuradze, and Ana Maisuradze in conversation with Henri Roelings

Georgia

Interview General Management

February 10

Beyond Berlin and Munich: The Fontenay’s Thies Sponholz on Hamburg’s Luxury Moment

Thies Sponholz discusses winning Germany's Hotelier of the Year 2026 award and how The Fontenay has elevated Hamburg's luxury hotel scene since 2018.

Thies Sponholz in conversation with Henri Roelings

Hamburg, Germany

Interview Development

January 13

Hilton’s South East Asia Playbook: Secondary Cities, Design-Led Stays, and Wellness by Intention

Hilton's Southeast Asia head discusses expansion into secondary cities, wellness integration throughout guest journeys, and deploying different brands based on market fit rather than one-size-fits-all approaches.

Henri Roelings in conversation with Alexandra Murray