Running a hotel portfolio means being in a constant balancing act. One property might be chasing group business, another is battling seasonal dips, and a third is pushing to lift guest satisfaction scores. Decisions pile up fast, and too often leaders only get clarity when the numbers are already in and the chance to act has passed.
A new research report, based on a global survey of more than 250 hotel IT decision makers, reveals that the hospitality industry's much-talked-about "data problem" is still far from solved. The research was conducted by Starfleet Research, the IT market research arm of Starfleet Media and a leading source of best-practices content for hospitality technology decision makers, and underwritten by IBS Software, a global provider of SaaS solutions for the travel and hospitality industry. iStay, from IBS Software, is a cloud-native hospitality management platform that unifies reservations, revenue, operations, sales and distribution, marketing, and loyalty functions on a single system to support the entire guest journey.
Guest behaviours are changing fast, and marketing strategies need to keep pace. At Bookboost, we wanted to see how hotels are really using their data, running campaigns, and connecting with guests today.
Paris, the global capital of tourism, prestige, and hospitality, finally receives the landmark hotel ranking it truly deserves — built solely on the voices of over 800,000 guests.
New international flight routes are set to supercharge Australia's hotel sector, creating demand for potentially 1.9 million room nights annually according to a new CBRE analysis.
This playbook dives into the biggest challenges in hospitality training and offers a smart, scalable approach to equipping your staff with the knowledge and confidence they need to succeed.
The third edition of Sun, Sand and Ceilings analyses the representation of women in leadership roles across four key industry sectors. We compare the data to our 2013 and 2018 reports, as well as presenting the business case for improving gender equality and a 10-step action plan for organisations to implement change.
From major chains to independent hotels, HiJiffy's latest survey shows that AI is no longer a future trend, it's a present-day reality. But as automation becomes more deeply embedded in hotel operations, a more nuanced question is emerging: where is the line?
Knowing what makes the industry tick and how it should deal with challenges: as the world's leading tourism trade show kicks off, interested parties can look forward to the publication of the ITB Travel & Tourism Report 2025/2026. Totalling 32 pages, it offers far-reaching insights into how the tourism industry views digitalisation and disruption and provides 20 takeaways with specific recommendations for action on the future role of marketing in tourism. The report was based on a three-part survey by the global travel community carried out between summer 2024 and the beginning of 2025, in collaboration with Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences and a number of industry experts.
CHTA's annual Caribbean Tourism Industry Performance & Outlook Report includes key insights on revenue growth, visitor trends, labor challenges, and investment activity across 20 Caribbean destinations. This data-driven report helps members navigate challenges, identify opportunities, and refine strategies for sustained success in 2025 and beyond.
As the Asia-Pacific (APAC) tourism sector experiences a robust recovery, with many regions reaching pre-pandemic levels in early 2023, hoteliers face a unique opportunity to redefine guest satisfaction and improve financial performance.
The cost of living has sky-rocketed in the UK, with 92% of households reporting a rise in their living costs.
Our research reveals an industry poised for transformation, with 82% of hospitality executives recognizing the game-changing potential of going beyond measuring performance by standard measures such as Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR) alone to effectively measure and optimize Revenue per Available Guest (RevPAG). More importantly, 72% of hospitality executives are willing to invest in enhancing their current technology to tap into this potential. This metric isn't just a number; it's a fundamental reimagining of how we create value andmeasure success in our field.
So what are hoteliers doing to remain competitive in this climate, and what opportunities and challenges are they facing in the road ahead?
HiJiffy and Booking.com are joining forces to provide a more streamlined and efficient communication experience between hotels and their guests. This new two-way integration enables hotels to manage and respond to guest inquiries from Booking.com directly within HiJiffy's Console. By centralising communications on a single platform, this integration makes it easier and faster for hotel staff to manage guest interactions efficiently with the help of AI. Key features of the integration include: Centralised messaging: Hotels can manage reservation-related messages from Booking.com within HiJiffy's Console. This, however, does not include structured requests such as: Check-in/out, data changes, cancellation, parking, bed preferences. Proactive engagement: Hotels can initiate conversations with guests from the time of reservation until seven days after check-out. This proactive communication ensures guests receive timely and relevant information throughout their stay. Extended response period: Following Booking.com's guidelines, guests can contact the hotel up to 66 days after departure, and hotels have an additional 14 days to respond, ensuring comprehensive post-stay support. AI-driven efficiency: HiJiffy's advanced AI optimises guest communication interactions. With a simple click, agents can translate, expand, shorten, rewrite, change tone, and check the grammar of their messages before responding. Furthermore, they can utilise saved canned message templates. This reduces hotel response times and allows for more personalised and engaging interactions. The integration allows hotels to directly engage with guests through targeted campaigns, improving communication effectiveness. What is more, it facilitates a shift in communication from Booking.com to WhatsApp, offering a more convenient and familiar platform for guests. Automatically answering FAQs with AI will soon be possible While the first phase of this integration does not yet support automated FAQ responses with AI due to API limitations, it marks a significant improvement over traditional email-based interactions by centralising and managing communications in one place, except for the previously mentioned structured requests. However, HiJiffy's technical team is actively working on the second phase of the integration, and very soon it will be possible to enable AI to directly answer guests' frequently asked questions automatically. "If this first phase of this integration already brings substantial benefits to hotel operations by reducing the communication burden on staff and improving response times, I just can't imagine how drastically we will be able to reduce the workload on the agents once our AI gets deployed", states Tiago Araújo, CEO at HiJiffy. "We're really excited. This can definitely be a game-changer not only for hotels but also for all sorts of accommodation providers of all sizes," underlines Araújo. The new communication channel is already available to all current and new clients. Soon, HiJiffy intends to add other OTAs to its solution.
As the hotel industry matures, unit growth slows, costs increase and competition for guests becomes more challenging, driving higher same-store sales becomes an important avenue for increasing returns on investment.
Slowly Falling Interest Rates Should Boost Investment Activity.
The final quarter of 2023 painted a rosy picture for the DACH hotel sector, with high demand sending revenues 13.7% higher year-on-year compared to a modest 0.3% increase for serviced apartments.
Clear M&C Saatchi, the global growth strategy consultancy, releases their latest thought piece: the "Beyond Travel & Hospitality 2030" report. This publication marks the second installment in Clear's future focused "Beyond" series, following the successful winter launch of "Beyond Retail 2030." "We've seen the Travel & Hospitality industry evolve quite rapidly over the last few years thanks to digital & tech innovation as well as consumer demand for new and differentiated experiences" says Rhonda Hiatt, Clear's Chief Strategy Officer. "This report seeks to imagine what the future of travel could really look like - a call to action for T&H brands to focus on CX and Innovation as true levers for growth."
The concept of total profit optimization has grown in significance within the hospitality industry. Not just a focus on profit margins, this approach embraces all revenue-generating areas in a hotel, including ancillary outlets. By harnessing the power of data, hoteliers measure the performance of each outlet to identify the most profitable strategies, setting a new standard for business optimization.