The 2026 Leadership Exchange at ITB Berlin explored how AI will redistribute power in travel by 2046, with trust becoming fragmented and some destinations restricting access.
Hyatt's first European Hyatt Select will open in Berlin in 2028, part of a strategy to double Essentials portfolio rooms in EAME by 2030.
Industry leaders at ITB Berlin discuss moving from traditional front desk operations to mobile-first hospitality that follows guests throughout their journey.
The travel industry's AI conversation at ITB Berlin 2026 moved beyond hype toward practical maturity and real-world applications.
Valpas technology prevents bedbugs in real-time and provides verified cleanliness data that ChatGPT can now access for hotel recommendations.
Klaus Kohlmayr discusses AI trust challenges and the evolving role of revenue managers in hospitality technology.
Apaleo's founder demonstrates live hotel booking through ChatGPT, with 15-20 hotel groups already deploying AI agents in production.
Infor's David Poprawka argues hospitality must rebuild its data foundation before AI can succeed, showcasing AR proof-of-concepts for check-in and housekeeping.
TrustYou's CEO envisions moving from fragmented guest communication to unified conversational AI that maintains context across all channels and touchpoints.
HotStats CEO explains why revenue growth doesn't always translate to stronger margins due to rising costs and evolving guest expectations.
Journey executives explain how hotels can generate 50% of revenue from non-room sources by treating experiences as bookable inventory rather than add-ons.
Stripe's James Lemon discusses payment infrastructure challenges in hotels and why AI booking technology is more complex for travel than retail.
Access Hospitality's Navigator uses natural language AI to query unified hotel data, eliminating the need to toggle between multiple systems.
Cendyn's CEO and HOSPITALITY X Co-Founder discuss how social media evolved from brand awareness to direct conversion channel at ITB Berlin.
TRYBE CEO discusses their wristband-based contactless system for spas, arguing specialized software with strong integrations beats all-in-one platforms.
Dr. Willy Legrand discusses why 40 years of sustainability frameworks have failed to prevent environmental decline and explores regenerative tourism as a transformative alternative.
VenueSuite announced demand-based pricing for meetings and events, applying room revenue management logic to meeting spaces with early results showing increased bookings on lower-demand dates.
Sri Lanka's Amba Yaalu Kandalama and Kenya's Nomad Africa won for employing 91 women against cultural norms and implementing comprehensive gender policies respectively.
The 60th anniversary event generated €47 billion in business deals despite Middle East flight disruptions, featuring Angola as host country and announcing Maldives for 2027.
The solution extends dynamic pricing beyond guestrooms to meeting spaces, with early adopter KAS Meeting-Event Location reporting increased bookings on lower-demand dates.