This is not an argument against AI in hospitality — regular readers of these Viewpoints will know I am unambiguously in favor of aggressive, well-governed adoption. ... The properties that will look foolish in twelve months are not the ones that moved slowly on AI.
News has placed Wyndham Rewards first among hotel loyalty programmes in its 2026 to 2027 rankings, alongside Marriott, and has added a new ranking aimed at business travellers. See the rankings . ... Skyscanner's 2026 trends work names travellers who build beauty and wellness into their trips, and finds 37% already treat it as part of a regular self-care routine. More in this piece .
If Google Overviews are resolving travel queries without clicks, and AI assistants are building recommendations from aggregated third-party signals, then the hotel website as a destination is becoming ... The Gallivant adopted and iterated on AI tools, PMS integrations, and guest communication platforms in weeks rather than years, producing measurable gains in direct booking conversion and guest satisfaction
what hotel marketers can do today to stay visible in an AI-first world. ... You’ll discover: How travelers are using conversational AI to research and plan hotel stays. What makes hotel content more likely to be referenced by AI assistants.
Lesson 2: Travelers aren’t making a hotel decision in a vacuum The World Cup reminded hoteliers that a guest’s lodging decision is only one part of a World Cup travel itinerary that includes transportation ... for travelers in Monterrey was orders of magnitude smaller.
Payment technology is rarely the most exciting topic in hospitality, yet he described it in a way that made me think differently about its role in the guest journey. ... It reflects a broader shift in guest expectations. Today’s travelers increasingly expect convenience, but they also expect transparency and control.
An AI system does not ask which hotel looks nicest. It asks which hotel it can safely recommend. Safety, in this context, is not about risk in the human sense. It is about data certainty. ... The real change in 2026 is the move from AI that talks to AI that acts. Agentic AI systems are designed to execute multi-step tasks across systems. They do not just flag an issue.
Share your perspective → Your Wholesaler Isn't Worried About AI hospitality.today and reconline AG profile the structural position of wholesalers, specifically RateHawk parent Emerging Travel Group, in ... While hotel brands and OTAs are building AI interfaces, visibility tools, and connectivity infrastructure in response to the perceived threat from AI agents, wholesalers are largely unmoved: their model
When AI recommends a hotel, it leans heavily on online travel agencies and metasearch, and nearly as heavily on editorial and destination travel media. ... Move the same property up-market and the spots change, but the logic does not: a lifestyle or luxury independent earns it in Travel and Leisure , Condé Nast Traveler , or a design and destination title
As travelers scramble for the perfect vantage point, hotel markets in Iceland and Northwestern Spain are seeing an intense, hyper-localized surge in demand . ... Prices in Bilbao and Reykjavik have likely peaked, while Santiago de Compostela should see demand strengthen as travelers seek affordable options near the eclipse path.
holidays,” “citizen-science expeditions” are core growth categories for Gen Z and Millennial HNW travelers in Western markets over the next decade. ... This solves both the “lack of urban amenity” problem in the polar zone and the “weather anxiety” problem for high-end travelers.
of leisure travel behavior in America. ... Increased use of AI in planning is driving more informed choices.
Everyone in distribution is bracing for the agent — the assistant that plans the trip, picks the hotel, and books it while the traveler watches. Everyone except the people who sell you wholesale. ... Felix Shpilman runs Emerging Travel Group, the B2B wholesaler behind RateHawk, and asked about AI he sounds like a man watching weather he's seen before. Travelers use it to brainstorm, he says.
The point was that travel is personal in a way few other things are. A stay is not only a bed for the night. ... And many owners arrive already sure that AI will cut their costs, without a clear idea of how. As one person put it, "every owner walks in certain that AI will save them money.
Kollective has completed the initial data collection phase of the Boutique Hotel AI Index , an independent research project examining how leading AI platforms recommend boutique hotels to travellers. ... As AI-assisted travel planning continues to grow, hotel marketers increasingly need to understand how AI platforms, including ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Google AI Overviews and Microsoft Copilot,
In other words, the raw material of your AI reputation is not locked away in newspaper archives the way a person's is. Much of it sits in surfaces you can reach. ... Reviews invite the traveler to judge. The AI summary has already been judged.
It is no doubt that technology and data have reshaped how travelers find and book hotels, which has in turn complicated the question around who actually “owns” the guest relationship. ... Without the complexity of global databases, they can establish nimble data policies rooted in authenticity and accountability - traits that resonate deeply with modern travelers.
As more travellers use AI tools to plan trips, he argued the industry is moving from distribution to recommendation. ... 2030 operating models—technology‑enabled but anchored in distinctive, human‑centred guest experiences that stand up to scrutiny by both algorithms and travellers.
doesn't exist in the AI commerce layer that is forming around it. ... Properties Faraway Hotels debuted in two markets simultaneously: Faraway Sag Harbor in the Hamptons and Faraway Jackson Hole in Wyoming.
Nicole Sideris, Founder & CEO, X Hospitality The Blue Hotel Bondi is a non-traditional 33-room hotel located in the centre of Bondi Beach, surrounded by some of the best bars, restaurants, and cafes in ... The team mapped dozens of booking scenarios, from OTA reservations and travel agents to international guests, and designed communication flows that felt personal rather than automated.