Exactly one week ago, we had the pleasure of attending Mews Unfold 2025 in Amsterdam. Now in its sixth edition, Unfold has grown into one of the most anticipated hospitality events in Europe, drawing over 700 hoteliers, tech partners, and innovators from around the world. What began in a single room just a few years ago has evolved into a multi-floor experience, full of energy, insight, and meaningful connection.
Planning a vacation should be exciting — yet for many travelers, it’s anything but. Faced with endless options for destinations, accommodations, flights, and activities, consumers quickly encounter “choice stress,” leading to decision fatigue and dissatisfaction. As hospitality managers, this isn’t just a customer experience issue but it’s a business one. Stressful planning leads to abandoned bookings, lower satisfaction, and lost loyalty.
You know the feeling: you're trying to answer a simple question – "How's next month pacing compared to this time last year?" – and suddenly you're juggling five logins, two spreadsheets, and a half-hour delay while someone pulls the latest report.
The French hospitality industry is at a crossroads. Between stricter regulations, rising operational costs, and increasing guest demands, hotels across France are under pressure to evolve. At FHT Paris 2025, industry leaders gathered to explore how Digital Transformation is transforming hospitality operations, moving beyond buzzwords and into real-world impact.
As was explored in a recent article about how Bolt Business can get used to offer guests courtesy rides in a frictionless manner, what I want to tie this back to is the psychological principle of the ‘peak-end rule’ put forward by Daniel Kahneman and Barbara Fredrickson.
Walk into any hotel today, and the front desk will likely greet you with a smile and a stack of paperwork. But increasingly, that ritual is being replaced by something very different: a seamless interaction powered by biometrics. It begs the question: are we witnessing the end of the traditional front desk?
Last week, we had the chance to attend the inaugural CIO Summit EMEA, hosted by HFTP at the Renaissance Barcelona Hotel. Against the vibrant backdrop of Barcelona, the event brought together hospitality technology leaders for 24 hours of open conversations and valuable insights, all in a refreshing non-sales environment.
Ever played Microsoft Flight Simulator on an Xbox? It’s fun. You sit in the cockpit, press buttons, take off, and land like a pro. I personally am more from the Commodore 64 time so my joysticks and games looked a bit .... well....basic I believe was the language
Last week, a client contacted me in visible perplexity: "We received a booking for a two-bedroom suite that does not exist." There was no record to corroborate this reservation: no website transaction, OTA listing, or direct inquiry. The source was eventually traced to an obscure AI-driven booking platform, whose name we withhold for professional discretion, which had fabricated an entirely plausible yet wholly fictional description of the property. The guest arrived altogether convinced. The staff? Utterly baffled...
Your hotel website is a crucial pillar of your revenue and profitability. Whether you stay independent or have a hotel brand powering your distribution, a dedicated website is always the best investment you can make in securing a revenue future for your asset.
The hotel industry has not only bounced back from the challenges of the pandemic — it’s thriving. In 2024, the global hospitality market expanded to an estimated $4.9 trillion, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.8%. This growth has been fuelled by rising international tourism, increased “bleisure” travel, and strong demand recovery in key regions such as the Middle East and Europe. With global spending on travel and holidays reaching record highs year after year, hospitality is once again a dynamic and fast-growing sector.
The Wall Street Journal recently discovered that Meta's AI companions—those chatbots hanging out on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp—have been engaging in some decidedly NOT family-friendly conversations with users who identified themselves as minors.
The $50 room service hamburger wasn’t memorable for its Wagyu beef or truffle aioli. What made it extraordinary was the moment it arrived at 2 a.m., delivered to a jet-lagged executive by John, the room service attendant. With a quiet smile, John said, “I noticed you ordered this same meal during a late arrival last time. I’ve added extra pickles and that spicy sauce you liked.”
Remember the days when a personalized hotel experience meant a chocolate on your pillow? We've come a long way. Today, hotels can personalize the guest experience with the help of AI to create unforgettable moments at every turn. Imagine walking into your room to find your favorite music playing softly, the temperature set just right, and the curtains opening to reveal a breathtaking view – all before you've said a word.
In 1879, Edison didn’t just create illumination—he eclipsed an entire industry. Candlemakers didn’t merely fear change; they feared extinction. Sound familiar?
On paper, hotel management often looks at labor as a cost center. I’m not saying they shouldn’t look at this way; only that there is a bigger concern nowadays than pay scale – lack of replacement labor altogether.
It’s inevitable that modern advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and automation will impact the hotel industry. While much has been rightfully said about use cases like machine learning (ML) impacting personalized guest offers or microsegmentation and generative AI (genAI) helping with contextual marketing or summarization for staff, for this focused article let’s shift gears from the rooms division into the spa and wellness facilities.
As a candidate for the position of Secretary General of UN Tourism, I am honored to support the important work of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre in Jamaica and other parts of the world and contribute to this critical effort with learnings from my own experience. I had the hard job of guiding the tourism industry of Greece through the COVID-19 pandemic as Minister of Tourism and we did that by leveraging the power of data and that excites me to share my vision of a UN Tourism Resilience data centre.
Today, AI dominates many conversations across different industries, and AI in hospitality is no exception. It is redefining the notion of a ‘norm’ and what guests expect. The volume of AI-related news continues to grow exponentially, making it difficult to filter through the noise and understand its impact. However, being informed is critical for business success, as the ability to adapt will form a sustainable competitive advantage. Based on recent media insights, the key AI moves in hospitality can be classified into two interrelated areas: customer-facing innovation and backend operational transformations.
In this article, Tim examines why technology architecture has become the critical enabler of competitive advantage, identifies key opportunities for value creation, addresses common implementation barriers, and importantly provides a pragmatic pathway for transformation.