💸 AI Hotel Lending and Voice Agents

Insider Highlights

• Wyndham cites tech focus as a key factor in a successful 2024

• Google’s new AI Assistant calls businesses on your behalf

• Do geo-fenced rates do more harm than good?

• Four Seasons and Anantara brands play up White Lotus connections

• Luxury brands like Mandarin Oriental lean into residential development

• 🛠️ Tech tools spotlight: 6 products you should check out

• 🎧 Podcast: Schulte's VP of Operations Strategy on The Future of Digital Tipping in Hotels

3 TOP NEWS STORIES

1. Google’s AI Assistant Can Call Businesses for You

Google is rolling out “Ask for Me,” an AI-powered assistant that can call businesses to check prices, availability, and other details on behalf of users. While not yet available to hotels, this innovation could streamline guest inquiries for hotels, enabling faster and more efficient booking experiences while reducing staff workloads.

🎯 Why it matters: AI-powered agents are reshaping customer interactions, making information more accessible while freeing up hotel staff for high-value tasks. As AI adoption grows, hoteliers must prepare for a future where automated guest interactions are the norm.

🔑 Key takeaway: Hotels should optimize their digital presence and ensure accurate business listings, as AI assistants like Google’s "Ask for Me" will become a key source of information for travelers. Being prepared for AI-driven inquiries can help capture demand and enhance customer satisfaction. LLMs are trained on public data so review responses are more important than ever and AI review management tools like Everguest and Mara Solutions are plug and play for hotels at an affordable cost. Read More →

2. AI Lending Tool Unlocks New Financing Options for Hotel Owners

Bridge, a digital lending platform, has introduced a new AI-powered tool aimed at simplifying the commercial loan process for small- and mid-sized hotel developers. By automating the creation of offering memorandums, Bridge enables developers to connect with active lenders more efficiently. With partnerships already in place with Hilton and Choice Hotels, the platform is gaining traction as a game-changer for securing capital.

🎯 Why it matters: Access to financing remains a major hurdle for smaller hotel developers, who often lack dedicated capital markets teams. AI-driven lending solutions like Bridge can level the playing field, accelerating loan approvals and expanding funding opportunities.

🔑 Key takeaway: Hotel executives and developers should explore AI-powered financing tools to streamline the lending process. As the industry moves toward greater digitization, leveraging technology for capital access can provide a competitive edge in funding growth and expansion. Read More →

3. Wyndham’s 2024 Results Show the Benefits of Tech

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts capped off a banner year with strong financial performance and expansion, driven by rising global travel demand. The company remains focused on growth through strategic development, loyalty program enhancements, and technology investments, positioning itself for continued success in 2025.

🎯 Why it matters: Wyndham’s strong performance signals confidence in the hospitality sector’s ongoing recovery. A focus on technology also contributed to Wyndham’s strong 2024, including implementing a B2B rewards program and rolling out its AI guest engagement solution powered by Canary Technologies which handles messaging, upsells, mobile check-in and check-out, mobile tipping and more.

🔑 Key takeaway: Hoteliers should take note of Wyndham’s strategy. Leveraging brand strength, loyalty programs, and technology initiatives can drive long-term success in an increasingly competitive market. Read More →

PRESENTED BY CANARY TECHNOLOGIES

Sneak Peek at Canary’s New AI-Powered✨ Voice Assistants for Hotels

Missing calls and overwhelming staff with repetitive questions? With Canary AI Voice, hotels can provide instant, 24/7 guest support while freeing up staff for high-value interactions.

• ✅ Automated Upsells: Capture more direct bookings and upsell opportunities with AI-driven calls that never go unanswered.

• ✅ 24/7 Instant Service: Deliver personalized, real-time responses in 100+ languages, ensuring seamless service anytime.

• ✅ Reduce Staff Workload: Automate up to 70% of guest calls, from reservations to FAQs, so your team can focus on hospitality.

Powered by Canary’s industry-leading AI, Canary AI Voice handles everything from room service requests to check-in inquiries, reducing wait times, cutting call abandonment rates, and improving operational efficiency. Never miss a call—let AI handle the routine, so your staff can deliver exceptional service.

👉 Learn how to automate guest requests now

AROUND THE HOTEL INDUSTRY

What’s Happening in Hospitality this Week

🤝 Hotel chains like Best Western and Sonesta rethink tech partnerships, balancing AI innovation with flexibility and integration.

📈 Marriott CEO Capuano Outlines Strategy for Next Phase of Growth

💰 Geo-based hotel pricing sparks debate: smart revenue strategy or unfair discrimination?

🧠 AI is reshaping travel planning, but human expertise still plays a key role.

🎥 Anantara and Four Seasons brands capitalize on the "White Lotus" effect, as travelers want to visit the series’ filming locations.

🔄 The Hotels Network new Swaps product replaces booking engine content to create hyper-personalized user experiences.

🏡 Luxury hospitality investors, with brands like Mandarin Oriental and Four Seasons, expand into residential sectors for lower costs, higher margins, and flexibility.

🇪🇺 European AI Alliance launches OpenEuroLLM to challenge U.S. and China’s AI dominance.

🔥 Tripadvisor layoffs continue with another 4% trim as it prepares to buy out parent Liberty

TOOLS & TACTICS

⚒️ 6 Hotel Tech Tools You’ve Gotta Try

✅ Canary Technologies: Simplify guest management with innovative digital solutions.

✅ RMS Cloud: Boost hotel revenue with smart booking and management solutions.

✅ MARA Solutions: Tap insightful feedback analysis and automate review management with AI.

✅ Everguest: Improve the guest experience with valuable feedback insights.

✅ Cloudbeds: Simplify hotel operations and boost bookings.

✅ SuitePad: Boost hotel revenue with in-room tablets for guest communication.

HOTELIER SPOTLIGHT
🎙 Schulte's VP of Ops Strategy on The Future of Digital Tipping in Hotels

What if embracing digital transformation could unlock new revenue streams for your hotel? In this episode, Jason Jackson, Vice President of Operational Strategy and Integration at Schulte Hospitality, reveals how innovative technology is reshaping the hospitality landscape.

Key Takeaways:

• Discover the impact of digital tipping software on employee satisfaction and guest experience, with over $120,000 in tips distributed in just seven months.

• Learn about the critical role of business intelligence tools like ProfitSword and Hotel Effectiveness in optimizing labor management and financial performance across a diverse portfolio of nearly 200 hotels.

• Understand the importance of adaptability and engagement in the hospitality industry, and how these traits can drive success in an ever-evolving market.

👉🏼 Check out the interview on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

Want to advertise with us?

⭐️ Become a premium member, join the best companies in the industry (here)

🎯 Set up a PPC campaign to drive high-intent traffic from our homepage and category pages straight to your website in under 3-minutes (here)

💌 Sponsor this newsletter (here) or a dedicated eblast (here) to our 100k subscribers

👀  Run a site takeover campaign (here) to drive downloads of your lead magnet