Cultural Relevance in Marketing
A Conrad New York Downtown executive outlines how hotels can use destination storytelling, co-created itineraries, multilingual content, and local partnerships to build cultural relevance into their marketing.
Sales & Marketing
Shiji's Natalie Kimball: hotels can't outspend OTAs on AI, but they can still win on experience
We didn't go to HITEC 2026 for the demos. We went for the conversations. We sat down with exhibitors right there on the show floor. No script, no prepared questions, just one starting point: tell us what you do, in plain language. This is where it went with Natalie Kimball, VP of Strategic Account Management for Horizon Distribution and Iceportal Content at Shiji.
Keeping an authentic voice when AI can’t read the room
Aparium Hotel Group's SVP of Brand and Marketing argues emotional connection and "reading the room" remain irreplaceable by AI, sharing how lifestyle hotels build authentic, neighborhood-rooted guest experiences.
Karen Stephens, Chief Marketing Officer, Revinate, Inc.
The numbers behind AI's rise as a booking channel for independent hotels
Lighthouse data shows AI referral traffic to hotel websites surged over 50% in weeks after ChatGPT expanded outbound links, with independent hotels best positioned to capture commission-free direct bookings.
By Femke Nollet, Content Specialist, Lighthouse
How to Map the Hotel Customer Journey and Increase Bookings
A practical guide to mapping all six stages of the hotel guest journey, from inspiration to post-stay loyalty, with tactics to increase direct bookings at each step.
Marriott solved the discovery problem. It traded one intermediary for another
Marriott's Google AI Mode partnership lets guests book directly inside Google's interface, bypassing OTA commissions, but cedes discovery data and risks paid "priority" placement fees as the product matures.
By Markus Busch, Editor/Publisher, hospitality.today
Doug Kennedy’s Next Staff Training Webcast: Proactive, Polite, and Productive Hotel Sales Prospecting
Doug Kennedy's free July 24 webcast covers proactive hotel sales prospecting habits, CRM use, and warm-calling tactics, with future sessions on humanification and upselling.
What HSMAI 2026 Kept Saying (Whether It Meant To or Not)
A conference recap from HSMAI 2026 in San Antonio covering four recurring themes: resilient consumer spending, commercial team alignment, AI-driven hotel discovery, and the return to hospitality fundamentals.
By Sonya Taylor, Director of Operations and Marketing, Cogwheel Marketing & Analytics
Hoteliers beware: AI versus search is a false narrative
AI is not replacing search but expanding it, and hoteliers must adapt by optimizing for conversational queries, structured data, and AI-driven recommendation engines alongside traditional SEO.
By Shearly Reyes, Media Director, Cendyn™
Hotel chains built AI for the traveler who comes to them first. That traveler is leaving
Major chains have built AI tools to defend direct booking conversions, but the discovery journey now starts on ChatGPT and Google AI, platforms brands cannot see, measure, or control.
By Markus Busch, Editor/Publisher, hospitality.today
The 2026 RFP Season Is Here – And It’s Unlike Any Before It
Amadeus-backed research finds 63% of hotels struggle to find qualified leads, urging a data-first approach to corporate RFP targeting, pre-season visibility, and post-contract account management.
By Joerg Schuler, Executive Vice President of Hospitality Commercial, Amadeus Hospitality
MIMARU Highlights How International Travelers Are Turning Japan's Marathons into Family Holidays
MIMARU reports nearly 80% of guests at its Tokyo Shinjuku property during marathon season are race participants, reflecting a growing trend of travelers building Japan holidays around marathon events.
Accor and H World Group Expand Long-Term Partnership Across Direct Booking and Loyalty Platforms
Accor and H World Group will give their combined 430 million loyalty members cross-access to each other's properties and select benefits across China, Europe, and the Middle East starting in 2026.
Pullman Hotels & Resorts Brings its Brand Evolution to Life
Pullman Hotels launches a new global brand campaign centered on human connection and cultural exchange, supported by the Pullman xChange event in Paris and a pipeline of 60+ new properties targeting 200+ hotels within five years.
Culture First – The Most Important Investment We Make
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.
By Ingunn Hofseth, President & CEO, HSMAI Europe
AI-native distribution isn't a project you run
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.
By Markus Busch, Editor/Publisher, hospitality.today
Cold Calling in the Hotel Industry: What It Is, Why Hotels Swear by It, and How to Make It Work
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.
By Nasir Zahir
Unlocking the City with GCSTIMES Wooden Key Card: Where Screen Stories Become Real Journeys
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.
Hotels now pay to be looked at
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.
By Markus Busch, Editor/Publisher, hospitality.today
Is Your Hotel Measuring the Right AI Prompts?
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.
By Lynn Patchett, Founder & Head of Marketing, Kollective