Summer inbound/outbound tourism grew, but traditional agencies face misconceptions: equating recovery with profit, old methods failing to retain customers, and underestimating online disruption. Recommendations include transforming into content providers, integrating upstream resources, and diversifying business to hedge risks.
Opus Training, a training operations system for multi-unit brands, released Audits, a feature to streamline store inspection workflows and follow-through. It integrates corrective action into the inspection process, allowing leaders to score locations, attach photos, and assign tasks with deadlines. Early adopters report efficiency gains; Boston's Pizza reduced bi-annual brand standard reviews from three days to about a day and a half.
The European Commission adopted Guidelines on the application of Article 102 TFEU to exclusionary abuses, replacing the 2008 Guidance. The Guidelines are based on EU Courts' case law and provide a modern and economically sound framework, covering predatory pricing, margin squeeze, exclusive dealing, and refusal to supply, aiming to enhance legal certainty and increase enforcement consistency.
BCD Travel published a guide to help travelers and travel managers handle situations where a hotel cannot honor a confirmed reservation. The guide recommends booking through approved channels, using tools like Tripsource for itinerary information, and provides steps when a hotel 'walks' guests, including asking for alternative accommodation, requesting transportation, and confirming reimbursement.
Actabl, a hospitality business intelligence and labor management platform, released initial beta metrics for AI Insights for Hotel Effectiveness, its predictive labor management module. Embedded in Hotel Effectiveness, the platform uses predictive daily coaching to catch labor overages and scheduling gaps before costs hit the P&L. Across 100+ beta properties, overtime share of total hours fell 13% on average, while non-beta properties saw overtime remain flat or increase.
Infrastructure vendor Positron Access Solutions and network integrator UberData Networks have launched an integrated network modernization solution for tribal gaming, casino-resort, and legacy hotel properties. The solution leverages existing coaxial and CAT-3 copper wiring to deliver symmetrical Gigabit Ethernet backbone via G.hn/GAM technology, supporting Wi-Fi 7, IPTV, and IoT services without costly rewiring or room downtime.
Cloud hospitality platform Mews has launched Mews POS in the United States and Canada, following its rollout across Europe and APAC. The platform unifies property management, food and beverage operations, and payment processing into a single software environment. It automates charge posting and reconciliation, eliminating manual shift reconciliation, and syncs guest profiles in real-time.
Short-term rental analytics provider AirDNA has launched Adapt, an AI-native Revenue Management System that sets nightly rates and minimum stay rules across Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com listings. It features an explainable AI engine that generates plain-language explanations for rate decisions, and a conversational AI assistant for natural language queries and strategy adjustments.
Consumer insights platform Azira (formerly Near) launched Azira One, a conversational AI location intelligence interface currently in beta for Destination Marketing Organizations and travel brands. Users can type plain-English prompts to analyze foot traffic, origin markets, visitor behavior, and POI trends without writing SQL or building custom BI dashboards.
At the Restaurant Technology Network's Town Hall, Patrick Bobrukiewicz, VP of AI Strategy and Innovation for Thrive Restaurant Group, shared how they automated their P&L process with AI, reducing manual work from 8-10 hours per brand per period to seconds. He emphasized a mindset shift from ROI to ROA (Return on Attention), measuring the productive human time and focus technology gives back.
Lighthouse has launched Ernest Crews, a forward-deployed services and engineering model designed to embed directly within hotel organizations to integrate, customize, and deploy its AI commercial agent Ernest into daily production within 30 to 60 days. Each crew includes a Captain, Product Builder, Connector Builder, and Field Researcher to address integration challenges in hotel AI adoption.
Frontline enablement platform Axonify has launched Max Coach, a voice-based generative AI roleplay capability integrated into its learning platform. Frontline employees can practice high-stakes guest conversations and upselling scenarios before shifts, receiving instant feedback. The tool supports 24 languages and offers no-code scenario administration.
In a Skift Global Forum preview interview, Amadeus President of Travel Decius Valmorbida argues for a more open travel ecosystem. He advocates a 'longevity-first' investment approach, prioritizing long-term impact over hype. Valmorbida calls for moving from closed, walled ecosystems to an open, collaborative model where travelers are in control, with shared foundations like identity, data standards, and interoperability. He emphasizes trust as a key differentiator and highlights cooperation as the industry's most overlooked opportunity.
Top executives from the U.S. Travel Association, American Airlines, Hilton, Marriott, MGM Resorts, Booking Holdings, and other major travel brands met with President Trump to push for a national goal of over 100 million annual international visitors by 2030, a 46% increase from 2025 and 25% above the pre-pandemic peak. The meeting comes amid a 5.5% decline in inbound travel in 2025 and four consecutive months of overseas visitor declines in 2026, even during the World Cup. International travelers cite costs, politics, and entry policies as deterrents, hitting destinations like Las Vegas and Canadian travel. Despite soft arrivals, the World Cup boosted hotel and rental rates, and industry le…
Uber is laying off 3,300 employees and cutting managerial roles by 20%, consolidating teams to prioritize ridesharing, delivery, and autonomous/robotaxi investments. The company says its product portfolio remains unchanged, but travel partnerships (Hopper, Expedia, Omio) may see reduced focus as resources shift. Remote work policy tightens: only about 1% of staff remain fully remote, with a three-day-a-week in-office mandate.
Hotel investment firm Highline Hospitality Partners, managing a 21-property, $1.7 billion portfolio, has selected Otelier to centralize and normalize its financial and operational data. Otelier provides a clean, normalized data feed that pipes directly into Highline's proprietary internal data warehouse, powering its in-house AI engine, Highline Intelligence.
Journey's white paper, analyzing over one million transactions across 750+ properties, reveals legacy payment stacks stifle high-margin ancillary revenue. One-click checkout via Stripe Link boosts average basket size by 53%, Apple Pay usage rose from 22% to 35%. Only 28% of operators can easily support non-room offerings, and 74% of executives spend excessive time on manual reconciliation.
Steve Demchuk, Chief Product Officer at Restaurant365, writes that AI adoption in the restaurant industry has shifted from exploration to tangible results. Research shows that among operators using back-office AI, 69% are using or piloting it for reporting and analytics; 61% say AI has reduced food costs, 62% say it has reduced labor costs; 88% of AI users say it saves time weekly. However, 38% of operators have no plans to use AI, with top barriers being data privacy/security concerns (37%) and accuracy concerns (34%).
Southwest Airlines is entering the airport lounge business for the first time, announcing plans to open premium lounges in Austin, Baltimore, Nashville, and Honolulu beginning in 2027, with at least seven more locations planned across high-demand business and leisure markets in subsequent years. The carrier is partnering with JPMorganChase on the initiative and will launch a new co-branded credit card that grants access to the spaces. Framed by executives as a strategic investment in the Rapid Rewards loyalty program, the move marks a significant departure from Southwest's traditionally no-frills model and continues a broader transformation of the airline toward premium offerings. Details o…
This article addresses travel management needs of large global groups, highlighting five core capabilities: unified control, local adaptation, cross-border compliance, multi-currency accounting, and finance-business integration. Four case studies demonstrate how Fenbeitong solves data fragmentation and compliance gaps of traditional TMCs and overseas expense systems, achieving cost reduction and efficiency.
The article highlights that global listed companies need travel management to meet multi-entity, cross-border, and audit requirements. Fenbeitong, an AI-driven integrated platform, offers global supply chain, agreement hosting, rigid control, AI intelligence, and multi-currency settlement. It helped a manufacturing group cut travel costs by 22% and reduce monthly closing from 18 to 5 days.
Virgin secured pre-approval from UK regulator ORR for Channel Tunnel track access, planning 20 daily services to Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam from 2030, breaking Eurostar's monopoly since 1994. This could lower fares and promote air-to-rail shift, but analysts note ~36% of traffic is connecting passengers who must still fly. Virgin's edge includes its Virgin Red loyalty ecosystem and secured access to Temple Mills depot.
This report evaluates travel platforms from a financial perspective, categorizing them into OTA TMCs, traditional expense-control patchwork, and native integrated platforms. Scoring across six dimensions, Fenbeitong leads with 8.60, while Ctrip and HeSi have weaknesses. The report highlights native integrated platforms' advantages in resources, control, AI risk, and globalization.
Ryanair cut its FY27 traffic target by 2 million to 214 million passengers, mainly reducing winter flights to avoid unhedged high fuel prices. Summer demand remains strong with August traffic up 6% to 22.2 million, but margins are under pressure. CEO O'Leary believes weaker-hedged rivals may be forced to cut capacity or exit, while Ryanair builds cost advantages via Boeing 737 Max 10 and in-house engine maintenance.
The article analyzes the financial performance of three flight search companies: Skyscanner, Kiwi.com, and Wego. Skyscanner generated approximately $660 million in revenue, up 24%, with a 32% operating margin. Kiwi.com's revenue fell 20% to $264 million, facing debt pressure. Wego doubled revenue to $63.5 million but with near-zero margins. These companies illustrate divergent outcomes in the Google- and AI-exposed travel sector.
Sofitel partners with Nespresso to offer a limited-edition 'Please Disturb' croissant and coffee pairing menu from September 1 to November 26, 2026, at 20 selected hotels worldwide, featuring three signature pairings to elevate in-room dining.
Saudi Arabia's Tourism Authority has appointed Ageel Alshaibani as CEO, succeeding Fahd Hamidaddin who left in May. Alshaibani, a former deputy tourism minister and ex-McKinsey executive, inherits the goal of attracting 150 million annual visitors by 2030. However, the Public Investment Fund is pivoting toward AI infrastructure, scaling back giga-projects like Neom (The Line reduced to 2.4km), postponing the 2029 Asian Winter Games, and ending LIV Golf funding after 2026.
Intrepid Travel has partnered with Air Canada Vacations to offer eight small-group Canadian adventure itineraries through its booking platform and advisor network. The launch coincides with U.S.-Canada trade tensions and political calls for Canadians to travel domestically. Travel from Canada to the U.S. is down about 25% in 2025, while domestic tourism spending rises. Intrepid's CEO says timing is coincidental, but Canada is its fastest-growing market with 2026 bookings up 26%.
European Commission President von der Leyen met NATO Secretary-General to discuss Russia's attempted attack on cargo planes at Leipzig/Halle Airport. The German government identified Russia as behind it, using military-grade material, which could have caused enormous damage.
Trip.com Group announced it will release its Q2 and first half 2026 financial results after market close on September 15, 2026, followed by a conference call at 8 PM ET.
UAE short-term rental occupancy gains are largely supply-driven, not demand-driven, according to AirDNA. Available listings fell nearly 5% in July as hosts exited after weak returns, and Q3 booked nights are pacing about 13% behind last year even as occupancy rose roughly 4%. Early Q4 ADR is running 17% ahead year-over-year, reflecting hosts holding rate on a smaller, earlier-booking pool. Operators report stronger performance, but market data remains cautious.
A Restaurant365 study reveals that among operators using back-office AI, 69% use it for reporting and analytics, 61% report reduced food costs, and 62% report lower labor costs. About one-third of AI users see cost reductions of 6% or more, and 88% save time weekly. However, 38% of operators have no AI plans, citing data privacy (37%) and accuracy (34%) concerns.
The eighth annual SAP Concur Global Business Travel Survey reveals that 48% of business travelers have bent or broken policy, but more controls aren't the answer. Travelers need to understand the rationale behind policies. Data should reveal context, not just exceptions. While 82% of CFOs plan to increase travel budgets, 84% of travel leaders need more support justifying travel's value. Cross-functional collaboration and human-centric communication are key.
At a WiT panel, executives from Booking.com, Expedia, Trip.com, and Webjet discussed AI's role in OTAs. Expedia's AI-drafted responses are accepted over 75% of the time; Trip.com's AI Trip Planner handles about 18% of itinerary planning. OTAs collectively process nearly half a trillion USD in transactions annually. AI excels in discovery, but trust remains crucial for transactions. Experience bundling shows potential, e.g., Trip.com sold ~20,000 hotel+concert packages in Hong Kong.
At KREATORVERSE 2026, Klook announced rolling out its upgraded Kreator Shops feature to all 30,000+ creators across 88 markets. The feature lets creators consolidate travel recommendations into a single storefront page, eliminating separate links per post. Citing its Travel Pulse 2026 study, Klook said four in five travelers have booked based on a creator's recommendation. Creator-led bookings rose 246% in 2025.
ACI World hosts the 8th Airport Experience Summit in Istanbul with nearly 800 delegates, themed 'Airport Experience: The New Era.' The summit explores human-centric travel and presents ASQ Customer Experience Awards, marking the 20th anniversary of the ASQ program. ACI's Director General emphasizes that as global passenger traffic is forecast to nearly double in two decades, airports must invest in infrastructure and genuine hospitality.
Acai Travel launches Acai Desk, an AI helpdesk that integrates GDS, NDC content, flight booking tool Lleego, and Microsoft 365, allowing agency teams to work from a single system. AI routing manages case queues. Acai says the average travel advisor spends 20 minutes per case, mostly finding context. TMCs like Campbell Travel, Nautalia, and Connections Group have adopted it.
A Healix report warns of a worsening security environment for LGBTQ+ travelers in Africa and the Middle East, with new criminalizing laws. Senegal increased penalties for same-sex activity, and Ghana's president may sign a bill criminalizing LGBTQ+ identity. Repressive measures continue or intensify in MENA. Companies should ensure travel risk policies support LGBTQ+ employees, proactively providing resources rather than relying on disclosure.
J.D. Power's 2026 North America Third-Party Hotel Management Guest Satisfaction Benchmark shows average satisfaction rose to 696 from 682 last year (out of 1000). Guest room improvements drove gains, but common area perceptions remain low: only 43% of guests found them inviting, 48% modern. Cost pressures led some owners to delay renovations. Columbia Sussex led with 739.
Emburse will launch its spend management platform, Emburse Spend, in Australia on Sept. 15, marking its first market outside the U.S. The platform connects with clients' existing cards and accounting workflows to provide visibility and control. Emburse plans to announce additional countries later this year.