The check-in experience is perennially under the microscope because first impressions are everything. When you consider the context of the guest that’s arriving – jetlagged, lower back pain from being crammed like sardines into an airplane, stressed from being in a foreign city – it makes sense to prioritize upgrading this aspect of the hotel stay, particularly when there are so many tech vendors who can help you solve the challenges of long lineups and disgruntled travelers who may not want to deal with a front desk agent.

Belial, Behemoth, Beelzebub, Asmodeus, Satanas, Lucifer

Despite the push toward digital transformation, hoteliers continue to struggle with offering guests more than a baseline experience.

As the calendar pages turn, we bid farewell to 2023, a year that saw our steady stride back to normalcy within the hospitality sector.

With high hopes, your hotel marketing team sends out a targeted email campaign to promote a special golf package for a specific guest segment.

Recently, I had the privilege of speaking at a conference in Nanjing, China, where I delved into the revolutionary impact of the integration of Artificial Intelligence Generated Content (AIGC) and Virtual Reality (VR) in education and training.

I am optimistic about what the future of travel holds in store for all of us - for our partners, our industry, and for the travelers we serve.

Imagine a guest arriving at your hotel only to find their room isn’t ready, the restaurant is closed, and there’s nowhere to store their luggage while they wait.

The winds of change are blowing through the hotel industry, reshaping landscapes, disrupting the status quo, and redefining what it means to deliver exceptional guest experiences.

On April 26th, 2021 the Apple iOS 14.5 update rocked the marketing world by letting users opt out of sharing their data with Facebook and other third parties.

Luxury is the new black. Post the pandemic, the global luxury industry recorded sales of €1.15 trillion in 2021, and continued its growth in 2022 by 19%-21% (Bain & Company, 2023).

Back when a real-life travel agent was involved, trip planning had a personal, human touch. These seasoned experts tailored recommendations based on your specific needs as opposed to the masses.

With hotels focused on increasing revenue per available room (RevPAR), food and beverage (F&B) revenue is often an overlooked source of financial opportunity for properties.

Nowadays, we see sustainability touted across trade publication headlines and social media. But beyond the buzzword, what does sustainability actually mean, in practical terms, for your hotel?

Increasingly, HOTEL robots are being considered For various hotel tasks, especially those that are repetitive and accomplishable by a machine, versus an ever increasingly difficult-to-find and costly human.

A palace or a 5-star hotel? Hotels around the world are often referred to as palaces or ‘grand dames’ – vestiges of a bygone era when grand hotels were associated with luxury and glamour.

Automation can make a significant difference to businesses in the travel and hospitality sector. After all, this is a sector with a high volume of manual processes, ripe for transformation through automation.

Short-term rentals offer lucrative opportunities. Renting apartments for short stays continues to gain popularity among travelers, allowing individuals to generate a substantial income.

Like with any new technology, a number of hospitality industry experts predicted that Apple’s new headset would have a huge impact on travel and hospitality.

This year we’ve all been talking about AI, Chat GPT, a cookie-less future (someday), and traveler insights. Social media has been a bit less buzzy than in times past.

The reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is a pressing challenge in combating climate change and achieving sustainability.

Within the hospitality world, a new phenomenon is circulating – “revenge travel.” The concept is simple, albeit impactful for the industry; after 2+ years of pandemic-related restrictions, travelers are eager to make up for lost time and canceled trips.

Prioritizing sustainability is becoming increasingly more central to the destination travel industry’s overall business plans as companies look to save natural resources, manage costs, yield returns, and appeal to more environmentally conscious consumers.

Inflation, labour issues, and rising cost to meet the needs of an increasingly tech-savvy and sophisticated guest journey.

“Tech has to solve a ‘pain point’,” explains Tyann Marcink Hammond, who runs 13 rental properties in Missouri using remote digital management.

Today, we’re talking about everyone’s favorite new small-talk tidbit: ChatGPT. Whether you’re an avid user or answer with a determined “no” when someone asks you if you’ve tried it, there’s no denying the buzz it’s created — especially with marketing.

The marketing department in a hotel has a crucial role in increasing revenue. Not only has to do with creating initiatives to attract new guests but also with communicating with previous guests and making them come back.

We’re only a few weeks away from Unfold and its smorgasbord of exciting hospitality topics. Top industry leaders are joining us in Amsterdam on April 4th to explore this year’s theme: The New Standard in Hospitality.

Despite economic headwinds that have stoked fears of a recession in 2023, the hospitality industry continues to defy expectations and post strong numbers.

Blockchain technology, known for its decentralized nature, is closely associated with the idea of a utopian internet, where the ideal version of the web can only be realized through decentralization.

What are the latest trends in the hospitality industry? Circumstances over the past few years have triggered a transformation within the hospitality industry.

This research utilized an online survey questionnaire and specifically asked whether people considered quiet quitting, and the responses overwhelmingly fit with the themes identified in the literature as well as what has been published in newspapers and articles.

In late November 2022, OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT to the world, calling it a trained model that interacts in a conversational way.

The practice of Stay home and stay safe is constantly being replaced by revenge travel and socialising. The new sense of freedom is encouraging a majority of people to step out and get the best of what they couldn’t enjoy during the global pandemic.

2022 was something of a rollercoaster for the hotel industry. While travel demand surged from its pandemic lows, hoteliers faced new challenges such as persistent labor shortages, and new ways of interacting with technology and their guests.

As 2022 draws to an end, we can all agree that it has been, once more, a roller-coaster ride for the hospitality industry. However, there is no time to reflect on this year as everyone is already looking ahead to 2023 and predicting which trends will impact our industry.