OTAs and Google I/O
Google I/O's AI announcements signal a shift toward assembled, agentic travel planning that could upend how OTAs capture travel discovery and disrupt the top of the booking funnel.
By Martin Soler, Partner, Soler & Associates
Search
AI Safety is About Smaller Permissions, Not Smarter Models
The author argues that AI safety failures stem from over-permissioned systems, not model intelligence, and urges hospitality operators to apply least-privilege access controls before deploying AI agents in production environments.
By Casey Sokach, Technology Lead, Partner Integrations and Security, Curacity
BCD launches Model Context Protocol framework to accelerate agentic AI within its open Tripsource platform
BCD's Model Context Protocol framework enables AI agents to connect across booking, policy, and data systems via natural language, eliminating custom API integrations for corporate travel programs.
Lighthouse Acquires Hotelrank.ai, Adding AI Visibility Intelligence to Connect AI
Lighthouse acquires Hotelrank.ai to add real-time AI visibility analytics to its Connect AI platform, letting hotels track rankings, citations, and direct vs. OTA link distribution across ChatGPT and Gemini.
AI in Hospitality: The Confidence Gap
A new h2c study finds 86% of European hotel chains use AI but 80% lack a formal strategy, with skills gaps and poor data infrastructure blocking meaningful outcomes.
By Terence Ronson, Founder & Managing Director, Pertlink Limited
2026 State of Hostels Report Reveals Pricing Pressure, Rising OTA Dominance, and Uneven Global Performance
Cloudbeds analyzed 32 million bookings across 180 countries, finding dorm ADR fell 8.2% while OTA share rose to 73.7% globally, with cancellation rates more than double those of direct bookings.
Mews unveils the operating system for hospitality
Mews launches five new products at Unfold 2026, completing an AI-native operating system that unifies PMS, RMS, messaging, automations, and accounts receivable on a single data model, citing 476% three-year ROI per IDC research.
Pope Leo Warns of Risks From A.I. in 42,300-Word Encyclical
Pope Leo XIV's 42,300-word encyclical calls for government regulation of AI companies, worker retraining, and safeguards to keep humans in control of decisions involving weapons and children's online safety.
Mews and SiteMinder pioneer native best-in-class distribution inside the hotel operating system
Mews and SiteMinder are embedding SiteMinder's distribution engine natively into the Mews Operating System, giving hotels access to the world's largest distribution network without leaving their PMS.
Mews and SiteMinder
Will guests trust AI with their travel plans?
Revinate CMO Karen Stephens and Highgate VP of CRM Aaron Miller discuss how hotels can adopt AI for search, discovery, and personalization without sacrificing the human connection guests expect.
Karen Stephens, Chief Marketing Officer, Revinate, Inc.
The 20% Revenue Hotels Are Quietly Giving Away to OTAs
Opinion piece arguing Southeast Asia hoteliers can cut OTA dependency from 65-70% to 35-40% within 18 months using AI chatbots, behavioural triggers, and direct-rate advantages now available for under $50/month.
By Dr. Tong Yin, Founder of InsightBridge Global LLC and a doctoral researcher, InsightBridge Global LLC
allO Raises $14M Series A Led by Zigg Capital to Scale the First AI-Native Operating System for Restaurants
allO raised $14M Series A led by Zigg Capital to expand its AI-native POS and operations platform, now active in 1,000+ German restaurant locations, across Europe.
The Hotels That Win the Next Five Years Will Not Have the Most AI. They Will Have the Clearest Signal.
The author argues hotels don't have a data shortage but a signal interpretation problem, with GMs overwhelmed by metrics that lack the intelligence layer needed to drive daily decisions.
By Are Morch, Digital Transformation Coach for Hotels, Are Morch, Digital Transformation Coach
HFTP and RX Reveals Launch of HITEC Paris, Co-Located with EquipHotel Paris
HFTP and RX will launch HITEC Paris on November 5, 2026, co-located with EquipHotel Paris at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, targeting European hospitality technology professionals.
Redefining the Core: What Mews Unfold 2026 Is Really About
Mews Founder Richard Valtr previews Unfold 2026, a 700-hotelier event in Amsterdam on May 27, focused on redefining the hotel operating model around AI, finance automation, and connected ecosystems.
The Convergence of Hospitality, AI, and Robotics - Part Two: Continuing the Conversation
Part two of a series examining AI and robotics in hospitality through expert perspectives on workforce impact, job displacement concerns, and industry preparation for technological transformation.
Magnifica Humanitas — Impact Analysis on Humanity and the Hospitality Industry
An analysis of Pope Leo XIV's 2026 encyclical examines its moral framework around AI, labor, and human dignity, with specific implications for hospitality automation, workforce ethics, and guest data practices.
By Terence Ronson, Founder & Managing Director, Pertlink Limited
Sirma Showcases Connected AI for Real Hospitality Operations at HITEC 2026, San Antonio
Sirma Group will exhibit at HITEC 2026 in San Antonio (June 15-18), showcasing its Vela AI agent and Travel Hospitality 360 Connect framework for enterprise-wide operational intelligence.
Shiji Horizon Distribution and Kismet Partner to Enable AI-Driven Hotel Discovery and Direct Bookings
Shiji Horizon Distribution and Kismet integrate real-time ARI data with AI-readable content structuring, with early results showing a 2.1x direct revenue increase and 17% of bookings via AI channels within 60 days.
The Most Underutilized Revenue Engine in Hospitality — Your Frontline Team
FPG argues that frontline employees outperform digital upsell tools in on-property revenue conversion, citing a Bali hotel achieving 6% RevPAR growth and a Singapore agent generating $80K in upsell revenue.
By Benjamin Seelos, Vice President, Business Development, About FPG