Hotel Upselling: Motivating Employees to Sell More or Serve Better?
An intern at GRACE La Margna, St. Moritz examines whether commission-based upselling incentives motivate genuine service or just sales, and how to design systems that reward both.
Opinion Articles
Privacy Is Becoming the New Standard for Personalization in Luxury Travel
Ultra-high-net-worth travelers increasingly prioritize privacy over personalization, pushing luxury hotels to rethink data retention practices and invest in exclusive-use villa and private residence products.
Agentic is Booking Travel, But…
The author questions whether agentic AI in travel is ready for real-world disruptions, arguing that booking trips is the easy test and true accountability comes when things go wrong.
By Martin Soler, Partner, Soler & Associates
Your robots may be working, your staff may not
A review of 129 studies finds that hotel robot deployments often succeed operationally while quietly undermining staff engagement, with clear communication, role definition, and supportive leadership as key remedies.
From Runways to Residences: The Evolution of Branded Residences, Opportunities and Challenges
Global branded residence supply has tripled in a decade to 900+ developments, with 835 more in the pipeline, as Dubai, Miami, and NYC lead demand and non-hospitality brands reshape the sector.
By Daphne Gezen, Hotel & Branded Residence Advisor, Cayuga Hospitality Consultants
Six Ways to Win Customers for Life
Six strategies for winning lifelong customers, centered on prioritizing retention over acquisition, aligning employees to a clear CX vision, and consistently delivering experiences that earn loyalty.
By Shep Hyken, Customer Service and Experience Expert, Keynote Speaker and Bestselling Author, Shepard Presentations, LLC.
Booking.com says Europe's hotels don't depend on it
A Booking.com executive's claim that no hotel depends on a single platform is rebutted using the same HOTREC study he cited, with Booking Holdings holding ~70% of European OTA bookings.
By Markus Busch, Editor/Publisher, hospitality.today
Travel Operators Can’t Just Watch as AI Reroutes the Customer Journey
Bain analysis warns travel operators that rising AI referral traffic and agentic booking tools threaten direct bookings and margin, urging proactive content, pricing, and personalization strategies.
By Jon van der Veen and Andrea Alori
The AI guest is still rare
AI-referred traffic to hotel sites quadrupled in a year but remains under 1%, yet conversion rates now match Google organic, making it a metric worth tracking, not rebuilding around.
By Markus Busch, Editor/Publisher, hospitality.today
From Gimmick to Infrastructure: The 2026 Operational Labor Reset and the Rise of Scalable Robotics
The article argues that robotics and automation have become standard hotel infrastructure by 2026, shifting human labor toward high-touch guest experience roles that technology cannot replicate.
By Francesco Derchi, Associate Professor and Director of SPARK, Les Roches
Your Best Guest Can Be Your Worst Guest
An editorial exploring how high-value repeat guests can become a liability through entitlement, review leverage, and extended-stay legal complications, with real case examples.
By Nasir Zahir
Why Warm Lighting Wins Guest Loyalty
An overview of how warm lighting across lobbies, guest rooms, and restaurants shapes guest comfort, perception of quality, and emotional connection to a property.
By Peter Chambers, Associate Editor, Renovated
Buying a PMS: lessons from an ex-hotelier who now works in hotel tech
A former hotelier turned Mews employee shares hard-won advice on PMS procurement: start with operational pain points, involve all staff, and use the switch as a chance to rethink workflows.
Business Travel Is Getting Smarter, More Selective, and More Human
Insights from GBTA 2026 show travel managers consolidating hotel programs around top performers, using AI-driven data, and prioritizing duty of care, compliance, and service quality.
By Kellie Hanselman, VP of Sales, Hospitality America
The Only Room in the Building Expedia Can’t Book
The article argues that targeted email campaigns to outside luxury traveler lists offer hotels a fixed-cost, commission-free alternative to OTAs for acquiring new guests.
By Andrew Paul, Managing Director, Americas Great Resorts
AI Won’t Replace Hospitality. It Might Save It.
Based on h2c's AI Hotel Chain Tech Report 2026, 91% of hotel chains use AI, with 61% focused on efficiency gains and 42% aiming to free staff for higher-value guest interactions.
By Wolfgang Emperger, SVP For Europe, Africa, And UK & Ireland, Shiji
The Invisible Guest: Why Guest Data Needs a Home of Its Own
Ireckonu data shows 22% of hotel guest profiles have no room stay, making the case for a dedicated hospitality CDP to unify and trust guest identity across all touchpoints.
By Hanna Schiller, VP of Sales, Ireckonu
Employees May Stay - But Are They Engaged? Leading Through the Age of Great Uncertainty
Research of 231 US service-sector employees finds social and self-evaluation outcome expectations drive engagement more durably than material benefits, especially during periods of uncertainty.
By Linchi Kwok
Agentic Booking Has an Answer for Travel Agencies: "Out of Scope"
The Universal Commerce Protocol's lodging draft, adopted by Google for AI Mode hotel booking, has no fields for travel agencies, commissions, or group business terms like attrition and room blocks.
As Travelers Research More with AI, Hotel Accuracy Matters More Than Ever
Research with Talker finds 32% of travelers have used AI to book a hotel, but inaccurate content and booking friction remain costly, with unmet expectations costing travelers nearly $1,900 on average.
By Noreen Henry, Chief Revenue Officer, Aven