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OTAs Move to Harvest the AI Discovery Layer Hotels Are Building, Marriott Signs 10 Hotels in Saudi Arabia
Thursday brings the week's AI-distribution thread to a sharp point. OTA chiefs at Booking and Expedia are positioning to own the conversion layer of AI travel discovery, even as hotels fund the work that feeds it, and Lighthouse finds 82% of AI hotel recommendations already lean on OTAs and editorial media. Marriott signed for 10 hotels in Saudi Arabia, and WTTC turned its sustainability baseline into a certification.
Confused Customers Don’t Buy
Research from Global Payments finds 63% of consumers feel overwhelmed by large menus, with 37% abandoning orders when rushed, highlighting how complexity kills conversion.
By Shep Hyken, Customer Service and Experience Expert, Keynote Speaker and Bestselling Author, Shepard Presentations, LLC.
Latest
TKo Hospitality Accelerates Mid-Atlantic Growth with New Boutique Hotel Additions and Development Projects
TKo Hospitality adds three properties to its Mid-Atlantic portfolio, including two Rehoboth Beach boutiques and a 50-room luxury hotel under development at New Jersey's Fort Monmouth, plus a Hyatt Studios groundbreaking in Bethlehem, PA.
Elegant Hotels of the World® unveiled as global luxury soft brand with expanding portfolio and evolving value proposition
HotelREZ rebrands Elegant Hotel Collection to Elegant Hotels of the World, adding new UK and Asia Pacific properties and launching a curated five-star tier called Masterpiece.
J.MAK Welcomes CASA METT SITGES
Opening July 1, Casa METT Sitges is a relaxed 5-star luxury resort that captures the spirit of the coast across five historic villas, entertaining spaces and an expansive garden just steps from the Mediterranean Sea and close to the heart of Sitges. Known for its artistic spirit, open-minded atmosphere, and effortless coastal lifestyle, the historic beach town of Sitges is 45 minutes from Barcelona on the coast.
Recent Appointments
View AllEvermore Hospitality Announces Industry-First Partnership with Harvard-Trained Social Scientist Kasley Killam to Advance Relational Wellness
Evermore Orlando Resort partners with Harvard-trained social scientist Kasley Killam to develop a formal "Relational Wellness" program, positioning the resort as the first luxury brand to ground its guest experience strategy in social health research.
Hotel Trinity, Autograph Collection to Open in Late 2026
A Private Hideaway in the Heart of Austin: Hotel Trinity Brings a Seafood Fine Dining Concept, Guest-Only Rooftop, and Residential Luxury.
Hyatt and Parks Hospitality Holdings Share New Details on Upcoming Park Hyatt and Grand Hyatt Hotels in Mexico
Hyatt and Parks Hospitality Holdings will open two all-inclusive luxury resorts in Mexico in H2 2026: the 148-room Park Hyatt Riviera Maya and the 301-room Grand Hyatt Los Cabos.
WTTC Elevates Hotel Sustainability Basics to Independent Global Certification Scheme
WTTC's Hotel Sustainability Basics, adopted by 8,000+ hotels in 85 countries, will become an independent third-party certification aligned with EU green claims rules and the GSTC Accreditation Framework.
Two years on: HOSPA’s tips and troncs guide sets out clear advice for hospitality businesses in the UK
HOSPA has published a practical guide on the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023, covering troncs, written policies, record keeping, tax, VAT, and agency worker inclusion for UK hospitality operators.
Supplier News
View allEmerging Travel Group Strengthens Supply Team in the Middle East
ETG appoints Samyra Krooswijk as Head of Business Development, Direct Supply Middle East, to grow its directly contracted hotel portfolio across the region and Turkey.
Cloudbeds and Vacatia Spotlight Open API-Powered Platform Extensibility at HITEC
Vacatia used Cloudbeds Open API to connect proprietary timeshare tech with a unified hotel platform across 60 resorts and 11,000+ units, reducing tech fragmentation and laying groundwork for AI adoption.
Maestro PMS Reports Strong Engagement and Valuable Industry Insights from HITEC 2026
Maestro PMS shares key takeaways from HITEC 2026, citing operator demand for integrated platforms, tech stack simplification, AI clarity, and modern UI as top hospitality technology priorities.
The Originals Human Hotels & Resorts selects Mews as preferred PMS for its 320+ strong network
Mews becomes a preferred PMS for The Originals Hotels' 320+ member network in France, offering preferential pricing, French-language support, and access to 1,000+ integrations.
Lighthouse and Bowerbird Technologies give hotels the first end-to-end solution to rate parity
Lighthouse and Bowerbird Technologies have combined AI-powered rate parity monitoring with copyright enforcement, with a Radisson Hotel Group pilot showing 25% parity loss reduction and 20% improvement in parity meet rates.
Set-Jetting and Hospitality: How Hotels Are Adapting to Screen-Inspired Travel
Hotels are capitalizing on screen-inspired travel through three strategies: leveraging filming-location status, curating set-related guest itineraries, and maintaining long-term cinematic identity.
Mews named preferred PMS supplier for Resorts of Ontario
Mews becomes the sole preferred PMS supplier for Resorts of Ontario, giving 100+ independent resorts and lodges across the province access to its cloud-native platform.
Profit beyond rooms: What the future of revenue management actually looks like
Industry leaders from Dragonfly Strategists and Duetto argue that hotels must move beyond RevPAR to profitability metrics like GOPAR, with smarter segmentation, ancillary strategy, and personalization at scale.
WTTC Encourages Barcelona to Reconsider Proposed Cruise Tourist Tax Increase
WTTC warns that raising Barcelona's cruise tourist tax risks reducing visitor spend, cutting jobs, and eroding the city's edge over rival Mediterranean ports.
New Report: Hotels Generate $12 Billion for San Francisco’s Tourism Economy
An Oxford Economics study for AHLA and CHLA finds San Francisco hotels generated $12B in economic impact in 2025, supporting nearly 50,000 jobs and $2B in tax revenue, with ADRs at 92% of 2019 levels.
The connectivity gap: what sets high-performing hotels apart
Expedia Group and Censuswide surveyed 1,500 hotel decision makers across six markets, finding fully connected properties are 1.6x more likely to report improved occupancy, ADR, or RevPAR than basic-connectivity peers.
By Chris Hodges, Vice President, Global Connectivity & Partner Solutions, Expedia Group, Expedia Group Media Solutions
Newport Hospitality Group Offers First Look at Coastal-Inspired Transformation Underway at Hampton Inn Jacksonville Beach Oceanfront
Roch Capital's renovation of Hampton Inn Jacksonville Beach Oceanfront, running March to August 2026, overhauls public areas, bars, dining, and meeting spaces with a coastal design theme managed by Newport Hospitality Group.
Hotel Yearbook Article The Hotel Yearbook 2026 - Technology Edition
When AI Becomes the Travel Agent
Pablo Delgado argues that AI assistants are not simply adding another channel to hotel distribution — they are compressing the entire travel funnel into a single conversation, potentially owning discovery, consideration, and transaction in one pass. The hotels that wait for certainty before adapting, he warns, risk repeating the same mistake they made when OTAs arrived.
By Pablo Delgado, Managing Partner & CEO America, Mirai
The Standard, Brussels Joins World of Hyatt
The Standard, Brussels becomes the first Hyatt-affiliated hotel in Belgium, allowing World of Hyatt members to earn and redeem points at nearly the full Standard portfolio.
Big Dreams, Meaningful Impact: Meet Hilton’s 2026 Thrive Winners
Hilton named 30 global team members as recipients of its 2026 Thrive Sabbatical and Thrive Reset programs, offering up to one month of paid leave and grants of up to $5,000 for personal growth, caregiving, or community impact.
IHG Hotels & Resorts reaches over 50 open and pipeline properties in Italy with four new hotel signings
IHG's four new signings in Italy include a dual-branded Crowne Plaza and Staybridge Suites in Milan, a Hotel Indigo in Alberobello, and a Garner in Turin, bringing its Italian portfolio past 50 open and pipeline properties.
IHG Hotels & Resorts expands luxury footprint in Portugal with InterContinental Vilamoura – Algarve signing
IHG Hotels & Resorts (IHG), one of the world’s leading hotel companies, announces the signing of InterContinental Vilamoura – Algarve in Vilamoura, Portugal, in partnership with HDP Algarve SA. The signing reinforces the continued appeal of the Algarve as a top luxury resort destination in Southern Europe and marks the fourth InterContinental property in Portugal, further strengthening IHG’s leading Luxury & Lifestyle presence in the country.
GAIN Advisors and Crowdpowder Partner to Bring Community-Based Equity Financing to Travel and Hospitality Startups
GAIN Advisors and Crowdpowder will offer hospitality and travel tech startups a structured route to raise EUR 350K to EUR 5M per round via community-based equity campaigns across the UK, EU, and Canada.