When Four Paws Check In: Sustainable Pet-Friendly Touchpoints for Hotels & Resorts
GCSTIMES offers eco-conscious pet amenities including wood key cards, detachable pet tags, and branded door hangers to enhance pet-friendly hospitality experiences.
Sales & Marketing
ITB 2026 Recap: Bet on Nature: How Airbnb’s Innovation is Shaping the Next Era of Travel
Airbnb co-founder discusses how nature-based stays drive rural economic development and the platform's AI innovation strategy at ITB 2026.
ITB Berlin and Airbnb
Welcoming Every Guest, Including the Ones with Paws: GCSTIMES Pet-Themed Wooden Key Cards and Paper Card Holders for Hotels & Resorts
GCSTIMES offers wooden key cards with detachable pet tags for hotels, targeting the growing pet travel market.
The One Word to Describe What You Do for Your Customers
The author advocates distilling your customer problem-solving into one word for marketing clarity, using "retention" and "inconsistency" as examples.
By Shep Hyken, Customer Service and Experience Expert, Keynote Speaker and Bestselling Author, Shepard Presentations, LLC.
ITB 2026 Recap: Turn Real Hotel Data into Unreal Performance
Michael Grove will analyze the gap between hotel revenue growth and profit margins using global data, sharing strategies to optimize both metrics.
The 2026 Revinate Hospitality Benchmark report is live — with channel-level insights
The report analyzed 2.8 billion emails and 4.3 million calls globally, revealing newsletters achieve 33.6% open rates and cart abandonment campaigns convert at 5-6%.
Karen Stephens, Chief Marketing Officer, Revinate, Inc.
Lighthouse launches Review Agent to help independent hotels boost OTA rankings and bookings as AI search reshapes travel discovery
Lighthouse's new tool aggregates reviews from Booking.com and Expedia with AI-powered response automation to help independent hotels improve visibility on search platforms.
Beyond the Water Bowl: The Key Strategy of Pet-Friendly Hospitality
The $500 billion global pet industry is driving hotels to create premium pet experiences as revenue streams, moving beyond basic pet tolerance to curated amenities and services.
Why Indie Hotels Need a North Star More Than Ever
The article argues independent hotels need clear strategic positioning beyond aesthetic appeal to compete effectively in an oversaturated boutique market.
By Sean Danson, Founder, CBO, Brand Architect, New Pantheon
Intent, Representation, and the Future of Direct Booking: A Conversation with Aven Hospitality at ITB Berlin
Aven Hospitality's Mark Hollyhead discusses how AI-driven search shifts booking from filling forms to expressing intent, requiring hotels to control their own representation.
Mastering Profiling, Personalisation and Targeting Needs More Than Data at Whittlebury Park
Bradley Spielman at Whittlebury Park shares strategies for marketing to diverse audiences including spa guests, golfers, motorsport fans, and corporate groups using data-driven personas.
By Ryan Haynes, Director/Lead Consultant, Hoteliers' Voice Podcast/ Haynes MarComs Ltd
The rumors about the end of Google Search are highly exaggerated
Google's 2025 revenue grew 15% to $403B despite AI search rise, with traditional search still receiving 34 times more visits than AI platforms.
Commission-Free and Crushing It: The CRM Playbook in Hospitality
The article argues hotels need dedicated CRMs for prospecting since traditional sales systems only manage booked business, citing one property's $1.2M in direct group revenue from nurturing campaigns.
By Susan Tucker, Partner & COO, The Lure Agency, Lure Agency
Social, Search, and the Fight for Direct Bookings: A Conversation with Cendyn and HOSPITALITY X at ITB Berlin
Cendyn's CEO and HOSPITALITY X Co-Founder discuss how social media evolved from brand awareness to direct conversion channel at ITB Berlin.
Changing the Spark Plugs Won’t Start a Car That’s Out of Gas
Hotels waste marketing spend chasing demand instead of creating it, allowing OTAs and intermediaries to control traveler decisions from the start.
By Andrew Paul, Managing Director, Americas Great Resorts
Doug Kennedy’s Next Staff Training Webcast: Five Crucial Things Hotel Group & Event Salespeople Should Do With Every Inbound Lead
Kennedy's free 40-minute webcast focuses on lead response best practices for hotel sales teams in a challenging market.
Why Guests Abandon Direct Booking for OTAs, and How to Stop it!
The article explains how most hotel websites convert only 2% of visitors, losing guests to OTAs due to decision friction rather than traffic problems.
By Joao Trindade, VP of Marketing & Product, GuestCentric Systems
OpenAI just saved Booking.com
OpenAI's decision to scale back direct booking in ChatGPT benefits Booking.com by keeping AI platforms in discovery rather than transaction completion.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup: Strategic Sales Positioning for Hotels Beyond Host Cities
Hotels outside FIFA 2026 host cities can capture significant demand through early positioning as strategic bases for teams, corporations, and multi-city travelers.
By Muhammad Tanveer, Author - The Sales Leadership Brief (Linkedin Newsletter), The Sales Leadership Brief
Visit Hungary expands use of Amadeus Media Solutions to drive demand to the destination
The partnership delivered a 20% increase in bookings via travel agents year over year using targeted campaigns and comprehensive travel data.