News - Hospitality Net

May 21

AI Search: Direct Channel or OTAs? Google's Agentic Shift Redraws the Map, U.S. Q1 Hotel Profits Strong

A new viewpoint asks the question the past month of coverage has been circling: will AI search benefit hotels' direct channel or the OTAs. It lands the same day as an analysis of Google's I/O 2026 agentic overhaul, built on Gemini 3.5 Flash and autonomous agents, which argues Google's anti-middleman architecture routes high-intent travelers directly to brand.com. Hospitality Net's HumanX Summit Day Two coverage from EHL Lausanne captures where the summit's consensus broke down. U.S. hotels posted a strong Q1 2026 with RevPAR up 8.7% and GOP margins up 4 points, but operator forecasts for the rest of the year are turning cautious.

Hospitality Net

Opinion Article Technology

May 21

Humanizing Hospitality: Why Choosing a Technology Partner with Heart Brings Many Happy Returns

As the 2026 tradeshow season opens, the article argues that hotel technology must be evaluated on how well it supports frontline staff, with multilingual interfaces, mobile-first workflows, and vendor partnership as key criteria.

By Scott Schaedle, Chief Executive Officer, Quore

United States

Opinion Article General Management

May 21

Scrappy Always Wins: Why Hospitality’s Future Belongs to the Nimble

Newport Hospitality Group's CEO reflects on a leadership retreat session arguing that nimble, adaptable operators outperform larger rivals by focusing on controllable factors and rejecting industry status quo.

By Andrew Carey, Chief Executive Officer, Newport Hospitality Group

Case Study Wellness & Wellbeing

May 21

Inside the Wellness Experience at Four Seasons Hotel London at Tower Bridge

Four Seasons Tower Bridge upgraded its fitness facilities with Matrix Onyx equipment, creating design harmony with the spa and adding features like Facility Concierge for guest services.

Matrix

Opinion Article Technology

May 21

Hospitality: AI Is Not Your Enemy, It’s Your Next Team Member

A Hotelios Consulting perspective arguing hoteliers should treat AI as an operational team member, citing tools like Access Evo and Happy Hotel as examples of automated pricing and revenue optimisation in practice.

By Felix Mercer, Hotelios Consulting, Access Hospitality

Opinion Article Technology

May 21

Six Dimensions to Evaluate When Choosing an RMS

A practical framework covering six evaluation criteria for RMS selection: integration quality, pricing logic transparency, usability, support, forecasting, and total cost of ownership.

By Hrishikesh Bapat, Head of Product, LodgIQ™

Press Release Sustainability

May 21

How Gen Z and Millennials Are Reshaping Sustainable Travel

Expedia Group survey of 7,000 travelers finds 91% of Gen Z factored environmental or social concerns into travel plans in the past year, with 94% willing to travel off-peak to reduce crowding.

Expedia Group, Inc.

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

Ad Be seen. Be trusted.

Why Hospitality Net Leads B2B in Hospitality

Learn what makes us the industry-leader in what we do.

Hospitality Net

Press Release Markets & Performance

May 21

Unpack ’26 Summer Travel Trends: Domestic Demand Rises and Hotel Prices Drop in Popular International Destinations

Expedia Group's Unpack '26 Summer report finds domestic travel surging 77% YoY in social conversation, while hotel rates in popular European, Asian, and South American destinations drop nearly 25%.

Expedia Group, Inc.

Case Study Operations & Strategy

May 21

CASE STUDY: Resort Leadership Breakdown & Revenue Decline

BRN Solutions restructured leadership, outsourced revenue management, and redesigned the sales and wedding strategy at an independent resort, delivering a $1.4M performance swing within five months.

By Rick Blackburn, Founder of brn solutions, Cayuga Hospitality Consultants

Press Release Markets & Performance

May 21

Canada hotels post fourth straight month of performance growth

Canada's hotels saw April 2026 RevPAR rise 7.3% year over year to CAD128.19, with Toronto leading major markets and Newfoundland and Labrador topping provincial gains.

CoStar

Canada

Opinion Article Sustainability

May 21

Sips of Sustainability: Tackling Climate Costs from Farm to Table - Cornell Research

Cornell CHR report from a 2025 Climate Week NYC roundtable finds the beverage industry is treating sustainability as operational survival, with packaging and transport often exceeding farming emissions.

By Jeanne Varney, Cheryl Stanley, and Douglass Miller

HN Original

Opinion Article General Management

May 21

HumanX Summit 2026, Day Two: Where the Agreement Ended

A recap of HumanX Summit 2026 Day Two, covering staff retention, burnout, guest experience design, regenerative tourism metrics, and one speaker's outright rejection of AI in restaurants.

By Henri Roelings, Founder, Hospitality Net

Opinion Article Technology

May 21

An Examination of AI in Travel Planning Across Traveler Spending Segments - Cornell Research

Cornell survey of 1,029 U.S. travelers finds AI adoption varies significantly by spending tier, with accuracy concerns cited by 60%+ as the top barrier across all segments.

By Chris K. Anderson and Young Jang

Press Release Technology

May 21

VERTU Hospitality announces the installation of Vertu Interactive, its new technology solution dedicated to the hospitality sector, at The Hotel Brussels

VERTU Hospitality launches Vertu Interactive, a cloud-based digital signage platform branded as SignTouch, with its first major deployment at THE HOTEL Brussels, a 400-room Pandox Group property.

VERTU Hotels and Resorts and Pandox Hotels

Brussels, Belgium

Ad Be seen. Be trusted.

Why Hospitality Net Leads B2B in Hospitality

Learn what makes us the industry-leader in what we do.

Hospitality Net

Press Release Human Resources

May 21

HSMAI Foundation Releases New AI Talent Pipeline Report Examining the Future of Hospitality Workforce Readiness

HSMAI Foundation research finds hospitality students self-teach AI through experimentation but rate their academic programs' preparation at just 2.78 out of 5, signaling a readiness gap for employers.

HSMAI (USA) and HSMAI Foundation

Press Release Technology

May 21

Hospitality's AI Gap is an Operating Problem, Not a Software One. PHAL Launches in Singapore to Close It.

PHAL launches in Singapore as an embedded advisory firm arguing that stalled hotel AI programs fail due to lack of operational execution, not software, offering 12-month retainer engagements.

PHAL

Opinion Article Technology

May 21

The One We’ve All Been Waiting For: Google’s Agentic Shift and the Reality of Distribution

Google's 2026 agentic search overhaul, built on Gemini 3.5 Flash and autonomous agents, threatens OTA dominance by routing high-intent travelers directly to brand.com via structured hotel data APIs.

By Mark Fancourt, Co-Founder & Principal Consultant, TRAVHOTECH

External Article Wellness & Wellbeing

May 21

Sleep tracking and longevity claims: The new era of wellness retreats

McKinsey data shows 60% of consumers prioritise healthy ageing, fuelling demand for diagnostic-led retreat programmes, though experts warn "longevity" is largely a marketing claim with limited clinical backing.

bbc.com

Press Release Food & Beverage

May 21

Sofitel launches limited-edition croissant collection ‘Fruit Kiss’, inspired by fruit, freshness and indulgence across Asia

Sofitel's second La Haute Croissanterie collection features 10 fruit-filled croissants available at 36 properties worldwide, including 11 in Asia, from June 1 to August 28, 2026.

Accor

Singapore

Report Markets & Performance

May 21

The Growth and Reinvention of Jersey City in Northern New Jersey

HVS analysis of Jersey City's hotel market shows 2025 occupancy at 80% and ADR at $260, with constrained Manhattan supply and residential growth expected to support continued hotel demand.

By Patricia Shih, Director, HVS

Jersey City, United States

Markets & Performance 6 hours ago

Connected, optimistic, human: a snapshot of hospitality's future from 750 hoteliers at Mews Unfold

A live poll of 750+ hoteliers at Mews Unfold 2026 found 80% excited about new technology, with broader Mews research showing 92% optimistic about hospitality's future.

Mews

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Sustainability 7 hours ago

HBX Group strengthens inclusive travel standards with Queer Destinations Committed distinction

HBX Group earned the Queer Destinations Committed distinction after rolling out an LGBTQ+ inclusion training programme with nearly 90% staff participation, building on its 2025 alliance with Queer Destinations.

HBX Group

Technology 7 hours ago

CHMWarnick Expands Proph+IT Platform with New Performance Analytics and Select-Service Capabilities

CHMWarnick's Proph+IT platform gains a Performance Quadrants Dashboard for portfolio-wide visualization and a new Select module for select-service assets, covering 22,000 rooms and $12B in managed value.

CHMWarnick

Technology 9 hours ago

Actabl Hires Global Hotel Engineering Leader as SVP of AI Asset Management

Actabl appoints Rob Bahl, former Marriott Global VP of Engineering, as SVP of AI Asset Management to lead AI-driven asset and operational strategy across its platform.

Actabl

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