Our day at Mews Unfold 2026
Davy and Jill reflect on Mews Unfold 2026 in Amsterdam, weighing AI's promise to free staff for human connection against the industry's oldest unsolved frustration: recognising returning guests at check-in.
Opinion Articles
Technification Is Accelerating Commoditization
The author argues that replacing human touchpoints with technology risks commoditizing hotels, leaving price as the only differentiator, and urges a "humanification" approach that blends automation with genuine guest interaction.
By Doug Kennedy, President of the Kennedy Training Network, Kennedy Training Network (KTN)
If Search and Display Had a Baby: Why Demand Gen is the New Hybrid You Actually Want
A practical breakdown of Google's Demand Gen campaigns vs. Paid Search and Display, covering placements, targeting, creatives, and when to use each in a hotel marketing mix.
By Kylie Chen, Director of Paid Strategy, Cogwheel Marketing & Analytics
The Hotels Leading the Industry in 2026: Trends, Brands & Why They're Winning
A 2026 industry overview identifies luxury, lifestyle, wellness, extended stay, tech-forward, and adaptive reuse hotels as the six leading segments, with revenue forecast to reach $940B.
By Nasir Zahir, Founder and President, NZ Hospitality
Maximizing Project Value Through Design
Rising construction costs and evolving guest priorities are pushing luxury hospitality developers toward strategic, experience-led design that balances aspiration with financial efficiency across all price points.
Placement, not commission - Google built a hotel checkout it takes no cut of and, that's exactly the point
Google's commission-free Universal Cart is a placement play: by owning the AI surface where travel decisions are made, Google charges for consideration rather than transactions, shifting auction dynamics against hotels and OTAs alike.
By Markus Busch, Editor/Publisher, hospitality.today
OTAs and Google I/O
Google I/O's AI announcements signal a shift toward assembled, agentic travel planning that could upend how OTAs capture travel discovery and disrupt the top of the booking funnel.
By Martin Soler, Partner, Soler & Associates
AI Safety is About Smaller Permissions, Not Smarter Models
The author argues that AI safety failures stem from over-permissioned systems, not model intelligence, and urges hospitality operators to apply least-privilege access controls before deploying AI agents in production environments.
By Casey Sokach, Technology Lead, Partner Integrations and Security, Curacity
Why the wellness industry needs a new operating system
The authors argue that wellness must evolve from episodic spa experiences into continuous behavioral infrastructure, proposing a new "operating system" built on cognitive load management and adaptive environments.
By Alina M. Hernandez and Nigel Franklyn
AI in Hospitality: The Confidence Gap
A new h2c study finds 86% of European hotel chains use AI but 80% lack a formal strategy, with skills gaps and poor data infrastructure blocking meaningful outcomes.
By Terence Ronson, Founder & Managing Director, Pertlink Limited
Nobody gets bypassed - Agentic commerce was supposed to route around the OTAs. Google's partner list routes straight through them
Google's agentic booking partners include Booking.com and Expedia, suggesting agentic AI adds a new distribution layer above OTAs rather than bypassing them, shifting who owns the traveler relationship.
By Markus Busch, Editor/Publisher, hospitality.today
NFC Tipping vs. QR Code Tipping: Which Is Better?
NFC tipping outperforms QR code tipping in friction reduction, portability, and security, with NTAG 424 DNA chip technology offering banking-grade authentication for hotel and service environments.
By Doron Dreyer, Co-Founder and CEO, GratifID
The 2026 Hotel Profit Story Will Be Won in the Space Between Demand and Discipline
Q1 2026 U.S. hotel data from ~5,000 properties shows ADR up 6%, RevPAR up 8.7%, and GOP margin up 4 points, but the Q2-Q4 forecast signals a revenue reset with RevPAR expected to fall 1.3%.
By Sarah McCay Tams, Head of Editorial, Actabl
The One Word That Explains Why Some Companies Fail
Using a simple pretzel story, CX expert Shep Hyken argues that inconsistent service erodes customer confidence and trust, making consistency the single biggest driver of retention.
By Shep Hyken, Customer Service and Experience Expert, Keynote Speaker and Bestselling Author, Shepard Presentations, LLC.
A lake full of fish: how to take direct bookings from zero to 60%
Orea Hotels CEO Gorjan Lazarov shares how the Czech group grew direct bookings from near zero to 60% of revenue by combining brand investment, data infrastructure, and technology-driven guest experience.
The Experience Economy Playbook: Monetizing Beyond the Stay
Hotels must shift from selling rooms to curating experiences, creating revenue streams that don't depend on occupancy through experience marketplaces and destination expertise.
By Julia Krebs, Senior Lecturer and Hospitality Consultant, Les Roches-Marbella
The 20% Revenue Hotels Are Quietly Giving Away to OTAs
Opinion piece arguing Southeast Asia hoteliers can cut OTA dependency from 65-70% to 35-40% within 18 months using AI chatbots, behavioural triggers, and direct-rate advantages now available for under $50/month.
By Dr. Tong Yin, Founder of InsightBridge Global LLC and a doctoral researcher, Auburn University
Hotels in the cart - Google just filed lodging under the same commerce rail as sneakers and groceries
Google's Universal Commerce Protocol now lists hotel booking as a retail vertical alongside Nike and Walmart, raising structural questions about whether lodging's complex cancellation, pricing, and merchant-of-record rules can survive a retail-shaped commerce rail.
By Markus Busch, Editor/Publisher, hospitality.today
The Hotels That Win the Next Five Years Will Not Have the Most AI. They Will Have the Clearest Signal.
The author argues hotels don't have a data shortage but a signal interpretation problem, with GMs overwhelmed by metrics that lack the intelligence layer needed to drive daily decisions.
By Are Morch, Digital Transformation Coach for Hotels, Are Morch, Digital Transformation Coach
Redefining the Core: What Mews Unfold 2026 Is Really About
Mews Founder Richard Valtr previews Unfold 2026, a 700-hotelier event in Amsterdam on May 27, focused on redefining the hotel operating model around AI, finance automation, and connected ecosystems.