🙅 Amazon Blocks Perplexity (Will OTAs Follow?)

Manual payments are costing hotels up to 6% of monthly revenue—new research from Sertifi by Flywire reveals what’s holding operators back and how to fix it.

Flywire’s new hotel payment report uncovers how outdated workflows and fragmented systems are eroding profitability—and what operators can do to turn things around with automation, security, and smart integration.

👉 Read the full report to learn how top hotels are protecting revenue and empowering staff

Google has launched agentic booking in Search Labs, enabling AI to find and book restaurants, events, and wellness appointments from a single prompt. The AI bypasses traditional search results and lists, surfacing curated options with direct booking links. This shift removes brand discovery if your hotel isn’t in the AI’s response, it’s invisible. For hotels, we’ve all expected this for a while and I’m surprised hotels aren’t the first use case but perhaps there’s just too much at stake to test on our industry.

🎯 Why it matters: People have said that AI will kill top of the funnel in hotel search. With no scrolling or comparison, hotel choice becomes whatever the AI agent recommends based on structured data and conversational compatibility, not brand or SEO. At least that’s the thought. In reality, GEO is mostly an extension of SEO so the same concepts of brand building, authority, data structure, UI/UX, etc. still apply.

🔑 Key takeaway: Hotel operators should try restaurant booking within Google Search Labs and think about how this might impact our industry when it comes. We need to make sure hotel websites are AI-readable regardless of whether you are a doomsayer who thinks SEO is dead or someone like me who has seen much more of an evolution in search than a revolution to date. This means optimizing for natural language, cleaning data, and designing booking flows that AI agents can parse. Those who delay risk being completely cut out of the guest journey. Read More →

Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills has partnered with Epic Cleantec to install an innovative on-site water-reuse system that treats and repurposes wastewater from showers and laundry for use in rooftop landscaping irrigation. The system handles approximately 1,200 gallons a day, equating to around 438,000 gallons recycled annually.

🎯 Why it matters: As hotel operations come under increasing pressure from sustainability mandates and resource costs (especially in drought-prone regions) this move highlights how technology and infrastructure investments can serve both environmental goals and operational efficiency. Instead of simply installing guest-facing “green” features, the property is embedding technology into its core systems to reduce utility costs and strengthen brand positioning in luxury and sustainability.

🔑 Key takeaway: For hotel executives, this signals a shift: sustainability tech isn’t just PR, but also an operational lever. When assessing CapEx, consider technologies that enhance resource resilience (like water reuse systems), integrate seamlessly into existing buildings, and deliver measurable impact. These investments may increasingly influence investor and guest perception alike. Read More →

Perplexity AI made headlines this week by calling out Amazon for blocking its agentic shopping assistant—arguing that “bullying is not innovation.” At the same time, Google rolled out new agentic capabilities in its AI Mode, letting users directly book events and appointments via natural-language prompts. Together, these developments highlight a shift toward AI-driven commerce, where digital agents—not traditional search or OTA channels—mediate transactions.

🎯 Why it matters: The battle between Perplexity and Amazon signals a new distribution challenge for hotels: who owns guest access in an AI-first world? As platforms like Google evolve from displaying results to executing bookings, the travel funnel is collapsing. Instead of browsing OTAs or brand sites, travelers may soon book through AI agents that deliver instant, personalized recommendations. Hotels that don’t prepare risk being invisible in this new landscape.

🔑 Key takeaway: Like Perplexity, hotels should advocate for openness and interoperability—ensuring their data, pricing, and inventory are ready for AI integration. Google’s expanding agentic booking tools show that discoverability will soon depend less on SEO and more on structured, machine-readable content. Hotels that act now to become “agent-friendly” will gain visibility and direct bookings as AI-driven travel planning goes mainstream. Read More →

✅ Sertifi: Simplify hotel check-ins and payments with secure digital solutions.

✅ Tripleseat: Manage hotel group bookings, catering and event sales with AI.

✅ Cloudbeds: All-in-one hotel management software at the speed of AI.

✅ Canary Technologies: Powerful but simple AI powered digital guest journey platform.

✅ Actabl: Turn powerful BI data into actionable insights that maximize profits.

✅ Ivvy: Elevate venue bookings, manage events, and track revenue easily.

✅ Clickmaint: Simplify maintenance tasks with user-friendly software for hotel operations.

✅ ROH: Automate sales and finance to save time and capture more revenue.

💬 Mews acquires DataChat, a leading generative AI analytics platform

🏢 Marriott is cutting staff as AI reshapes hotel operations, signaling a broader move toward automation-driven efficiency.

💳 Hotels are embracing next-gen payment tech to cut fees and streamline digital transactions.

🤝 A new Uber–Toast partnership links delivery and POS systems, simplifying restaurant order management.

🎥 Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano is betting on personalization and place to redefine guest experience through AI and design.

🔁 Tripadvisor’s merger with Viator marks a new phase of consolidation (and impending layoffs) in tours and activities.

🧠 Anthropic’s Claude AI is reshaping travel personalization with predictive trip planning.

🌍 Accor’s growth push focuses on AI, the Middle East, and live events to blend tech and culture.

💸 Kayak’s $457M write-down highlights Google’s grip on travel search and shrinking OTA margins.

⚕️ A new virtual GP service gives UK hospitality workers instant access to healthcare support.

🧾 Google’s latest AI Mode update expands “agentic” tools to handle event and service bookings.

🏨 Hotels are turning into AI-powered travel retailers, unbundling stays into personalized add-ons, but only 14% of guests say they’ll pay extra for a better view.

🤖 Wyndham’s new agentic platform automates guest requests and upsells to boost efficiency.

🔐 Cybersecurity risks are growing as restaurants expand digital ordering and payment tools.

📈 Marriott’s Q3 results show steady global growth despite softer U.S. demand.

Did you know 30–40% of guest calls to hotels go unanswered? In this episode, Harman Singh Narula, CEO and co-founder of Canary Technologies, shares how his team is tackling this operational gap while redefining the entire digital guest journey—backed by $80M in funding and multiple HotelTechAwards wins.

This episode is for veteran hoteliers, brand executives, and asset managers who want to understand where guest-facing technology is headed and how AI-driven innovations, tipping solutions, and digital workflows can translate into higher revenue and better guest satisfaction.

Episode Highlights:

👉🏼 Check out the interview on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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