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Travellers Trust AI to Browse But Not to Book, Marriott Plans 100 Hotels in Greater China
Wednesday circles a familiar tension: travellers happily browse with AI but still book with brands they know. Adobe data shows AI-referred visitors engage longer yet convert 28% less, and 62% double-check on Google first. Marriott signed to build around 100 Series hotels in Greater China, while May trading held steady and resort openings stretched from Malaysia to Costa Rica.
How a hotel appears in AI assistants: The three layers of visibility
Hotels must understand three distinct AI visibility layers: model memory, web search, and dynamic data sources, each requiring different strategies and offering different levels of control.
By Félix Pérez, Head of Operations & Business Strategy, Mirai
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From Strategy to Execution: What HSMAI and HITEC Revealed About Hospitality’s Next Chapter
An attendee recap of HSMAI and HITEC in San Antonio finds AI reshaping hotel discovery and commercial alignment, while cautioning operators to prioritize real problems over trend-chasing.
By Kirsten Mosco, CHDM, Vice President of Media and Communications, Newport Hospitality Group
Alila Kothaifaru Maldives, A Hyatt Resort, Earns TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Award 2026 Through the Experiences That Guests Remember Most
Alila Kothaifaru Maldives earns TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice 2026, placing it in the top 10% of hotels globally, backed by guest praise for marine experiences, dining, and personalized service.
Hotel Yearbook Article The Hotel Yearbook 2026 - Technology Edition
The Signal Was Always There. We Just Had No Way to Capture It.
Drawing on a career that moved from reservation phones to housekeeping supervision to manager on duty, Are Morch argues that the real pre-stay challenge has never been technological — it has always been a signal problem. The guest intent is there, the data exists across departments, but without a system to capture and connect it, every interaction starts from scratch and the intelligence is lost.
By Are Morch, Digital Transformation Coach for Hotels, Are Morch, Digital Transformation Coach
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View AllWhy Hotel Linen Management Is Stuck in the Past — and What to Do About It
The article argues that hotel linen management remains stuck on manual counts and clipboard tracking, and makes the case for RFID tagging to deliver item-level visibility, reduce shrinkage, and cut hidden costs.
By Mike Rispoli, VP of Product Management, Laundris
Las Vegas Sands Continues its Commitment to Ending Youth Homelessness in Nevada with a $300,000 Donation to Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth
Las Vegas Sands donates $300,000 to Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth, bringing total contributions to $3.2M since 2014, funding shelter expansion, capacity-building, and statewide advocacy.
OUTRIGGER Kauaʻi Beach Resort & Spa Celebrates Grand Reopening
Transformed oceanfront resort blends culture, cuisine and connection through reimagined accommodations and a brand-new signature dining destination.
How to Run AI Max Without Putting Your Brand at Risk (The Swimlane Architecture)
Google's AI Max for Search shifts campaign logic from keyword matching to intent-based probabilistic targeting, removing direct marketer control over ads, landing pages, and audience selection.
By Influence Society, Agency, Influence Society
Train Your Team To Intentionally Communicate Hospitality Vibes
A hospitality trainer outlines how to teach frontline staff to intentionally project positive energy using proxemics, kinesics, vocalics, and active listening techniques to build guest loyalty.
By Doug Kennedy, President of the Kennedy Training Network, Kennedy Training Network (KTN)
Supplier News
View allMews 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.
Travel Media Group’s Respond & Resolve™ Celebrates 10 Years of Responding to Hotel Guest Reviews
TMG's Respond & Resolve™ has responded to nearly 3 million hotel guest reviews over 10 years, expanding from a review-response service into an AI-powered reputation management platform.
Southern Aluminum Announces Acquisition of Ramler International
Southern Aluminum acquires Ramler International to expand its hospitality and event furniture portfolio, boosting manufacturing capacity and product range across North America and international markets.
Sustainable Procurement in Hospitality: Policy Shifts, Guest Expectations, and the Supplier Response
EU CSRD, CSDDD, France's AGEC Law, and Asia's sustainability roadmaps are pushing hotel procurement teams to verify supplier environmental credentials for compliance and ESG reporting.
Set-Jetting: The Travel Trend Turning Screen Dreams into Real Journeys
Expedia data shows 53% of travelers are interested in screen-inspired travel, with 81% of Gen Z and Millennials citing TV and film as influences, creating packaging and marketing opportunities for hotels.
Duetto and Triptease Launch Integration to Automate Marketing Activity Based on Occupancy.
Duetto and Triptease's Auto Date Boost integration uses occupancy forecast data to automatically increase Google Hotel Ads spend when bookings fall below a hotel's set threshold.
HotelRunner Founders Arden Agopyan and Ali Beklen Shortlisted for Global Entrepreneur of the Year at The Allica Bank Great British Entrepreneur Awards
HotelRunner founders Arden Agopyan and Ali Beklen were shortlisted among 5,000+ applicants for Global Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2026 Allica Bank Great British Entrepreneur Awards.
Radisson Hotel Group shapes the future of healthcare meeting design
Report from RHG's Florence summit with 75 pharma and agency experts argues healthcare meetings must shift from logistical execution to structured, methodology-driven systems with measurable outcomes.
IHG debuts voco hotels in Malaysia
A new chapter in Sarawak's hospitality landscape begins as voco Kuching welcomes its first guests, marking the debut of IHG Hotels & Resorts' premium voco brand in Malaysia.
A New Chapter for Faraway: Brand Debuts in Sag Harbor and Jackson Hole
Blue Flag Capital and Collared Martin Hospitality open two new Faraway-branded hotels in Sag Harbor, NY (67 rooms) and Jackson Hole, WY (90 rooms, 48 residences), marking the brand's first expansion beyond New England.
Hotel Yearbook Article The Hotel Yearbook 2026 - Technology Edition
Synthetic Persuasion: AI and the Evolution of Marketing
Neil Foster maps the collision between hospitality's two tectonic forces — human connection and operational optimization — and argues that AI has become the primary mechanism through which synthetic persuasion now operates: shaping discovery, engineering desire, and guiding decisions through systems so seamlessly embedded that they no longer feel like persuasion at all. The critical question he leaves open is whether that same technology can amplify genuine care rather than replace it.
By Neil Foster, Hospitality Technology Advisor, Techtonic Hospitality Services
Marriott International and CG Hospitality Global Sign Strategic Agreement to Introduce Series by Marriott in Great China
Marriott and CG Hospitality Global will jointly develop around 100 Series by Marriott hotels in Greater China over 10 years, with four Arro Khampa boutique resorts joining the portfolio by end of 2026.
The Operating Layer
Drawing on Amadeus survey data from 500 hotel leaders globally and 100 in APAC, this viewpoint argues hotels must sequence data unification, AI integration, and human orchestration to turn 2026 cost and tech pressures into competitive advantage.
By Terence Ronson, Founder & Managing Director, Pertlink Limited
Canada hotels post highest rate growth since 2024
Canada's May 2026 ADR rose 9.5% and RevPAR 10.5% year over year, with Quebec and Montreal leading gains driven by the Canadian Grand Prix moving from June to May.
U.S. hotel performance for May 2026
U.S. hotel occupancy reached 65.7% in May 2026, with RevPAR up 4.0% year over year; Las Vegas led Top 25 Markets with a 17.9% RevPAR gain driven by event demand.
Travelers trust AI enough to start. Not enough to book
Adobe May 2026 data shows AI-referred travel site visitors engage 70% longer and bounce 41% less, yet convert 28% less, with 62% of consumers immediately Googling AI recommendations before booking.
By Markus Busch, Editor/Publisher, hospitality.today
The Warmth Behind the Technology — Why AI Will Make Hospitality More Human, Not Less
An industry strategist argues AI will shrink headcount but raise wages for remaining frontline roles by 18–30%, creating a bimodal industry split between tech-led back-of-house and human-led guest experience.
By Dr. Tong Yin, Founder of InsightBridge Global LLC and a doctoral researcher, InsightBridge Global LLC