HSMAI Europe President Ingunn Hofseth reflects on lessons from mentor Mike Leven, arguing that culture and people-first leadership are the foundation of lasting business success.
Hotels face a hard deadline on AI-native distribution as AI shopping assistants already query inventory in real time, making machine-readable availability and direct booking pipes a competitive necessity, not a future option.
An explainer on cold calling for hotel sales teams, covering targeted outreach to corporate travel managers, event planners, and travel agencies to drive group and event bookings.
GCSTIMES promotes a wooden key card shaped like a cat's head featuring cityscape designs that doubles as a 3D fridge magnet, framed around the "set-jetting" travel trend.
As AI agents run thousands of hotel searches per session, the cost of being "looked at" shifts from OTAs to hotels that go direct, exposing a hidden infrastructure cost once buried in commissions.
Kollective argues hotels are tracking too many low-value AI prompts and should focus on destination-contextualised, commercially meaningful queries to influence actual booking behaviour.
With 33% of AI responses about hotels containing factual errors and only 16% of hotels appearing in AI recommendations, the article outlines six steps to make hotel websites AI-ready and drive direct bookings.
A fractional CMO argues that hotel tech vendors over-invest in product features while underinvesting in marketing, citing data showing winning SaaS companies spend 44% on sales and marketing vs. 31% on product.
Amadeus' Travel Dreams 2026 research shows travelers pay more when hotels deliver relevant, personalized experiences, making AI-powered personalization a direct driver of conversion, spend, and loyalty.
The Standard, Brussels becomes the first Hyatt-affiliated hotel in Belgium, allowing World of Hyatt members to earn and redeem points at nearly the full Standard portfolio.
Lighthouse and Bowerbird Technologies have combined AI-powered rate parity monitoring with copyright enforcement, with a Radisson Hotel Group pilot showing 25% parity loss reduction and 20% improvement in parity meet rates.
OTA CEOs at Booking Holdings and Expedia have publicly positioned their companies to own the conversion layer of AI-driven travel discovery, while hotels invest in eligibility infrastructure that feeds demand into OTA-controlled funnels.
Hotels are capitalizing on screen-inspired travel through three strategies: leveraging filming-location status, curating set-related guest itineraries, and maintaining long-term cinematic identity.
Lighthouse research finds 82% of AI hotel recommendations draw from OTAs and editorial media, meaning press coverage in outlets like Condé Nast Traveler now directly drives booking visibility, not just brand awareness.
Alila Kothaifaru Maldives earns TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice 2026, placing it in the top 10% of hotels globally, backed by guest praise for marine experiences, dining, and personalized service.
Google's AI Max for Search shifts campaign logic from keyword matching to intent-based probabilistic targeting, removing direct marketer control over ads, landing pages, and audience selection.
Adobe May 2026 data shows AI-referred travel site visitors engage 70% longer and bounce 41% less, yet convert 28% less, with 62% of consumers immediately Googling AI recommendations before booking.
Expedia data shows 53% of travelers are interested in screen-inspired travel, with 81% of Gen Z and Millennials citing TV and film as influences, creating packaging and marketing opportunities for hotels.
The HMA named winners across seven categories at its 2026 ceremony, recognising UK hotel marketing campaigns spanning AI content, social media, partnerships, and conservation-linked brand storytelling.