🤯 BCG "Leisure Travel Will 3x by 2040"

Long lines at check-in, missed upsell opportunities, and unrecognized staff? Surfside Hotel and Suites transformed these challenges into wins with Canary’s Guest Management System.

Canary's all-in-one solution modernized Surfside’s guest experience and operations—boosting satisfaction across the board.

👉 Discover how you can streamline and monetize your guest journey today.

In a major shift, Google has begun indexing Instagram content from Business and Creator accounts, including captions, alt-text, carousels, and Reels. Travel marketers are calling it a game-changer: Instagram is no longer just a social platform, it’s also a searchable, SEO-leveraged discovery engine. For hotels, this unlocks a powerful new way to show up in organic search results, especially as younger travelers increasingly use platforms like Google, TikTok, and Instagram to plan trips without ever visiting brand websites.

🎯 Why it matters: Instagram posts can now surface in Google results for high-intent travel searches, everything from “best hotel in Tulum” to “rooftop bar New York City.” That means Reels, captions, and even alt-text now function like mini landing pages. Hotels that treat Instagram like an SEO channel (optimizing content for keywords, location tags, and traveler queries) can leapfrog into the top of the search results without relying solely on your website or OTAs.

🔑 Key takeaway: The social content you’re already creating can now drive organic discovery at scale, but only if it’s optimized. Hotels should audit their Instagram presence, tighten captions, enrich alt-text with search-friendly detail, and align posts with target keywords and geographies. Treat every post like a searchable asset. With AI agents and social search shaping how travelers find and book hotels, this is a low-lift, high-impact way to future-proof your visibility. Read More →

A new BCG report highlights that 70% of leisure travelers under 35 are now using AI tools to plan and book trips, marking a tectonic shift in how decisions are made across a $15 trillion leisure travel market. Travelers aren’t just asking ChatGPT for inspiration, they’re letting AI compare flights, build itineraries, suggest hotels, and even handle bookings. As travel planning behavior tilts toward conversational AI and non-traditional search tools, the old rules of brand discovery and booking no longer apply.

🎯 Why it matters: Hotels that rely solely on SEO, paid ads, and OTA visibility are at risk of being bypassed by travelers who are increasingly guided by AI agents. AI tools, which are trained on public content, review data, and meta sources, are becoming the new front door to travel decision-making. And many hotels simply aren’t represented clearly or consistently enough in these AI environments to be recommended.

🔑 Key takeaway: Hotels need an AI-readiness plan. That means optimizing content for AI discovery, strengthening brand mentions across third-party sources, and rethinking how they distribute structured data. If AI is now the traveler’s concierge, you need to make sure it knows your property exists—and can articulate why it’s the right fit. Failing to show up in these new planning flows isn’t just a visibility issue—it’s a booking one. Read More →

Guest satisfaction is rising across the hotel industry, according to J.D. Power’s 2025 Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index, but the drivers are shifting. Traditional perks like free breakfast or room upgrades are no longer enough. Instead, travelers are prioritizing convenient, tech-enabled experiences, from mobile check-in to streaming-capable TVs and responsive digital communication. Hotels that invested in user-friendly tech and personalized service offerings saw the highest gains in satisfaction scores and stronger brand affinity.

🎯 Why it matters: The new guest expectation is seamless, not just serviceable. Whether it’s using a mobile app to request more towels, or streaming Netflix in-room without a login headache, the hotels winning today are those that blend human service with intuitive tech. Amenities that used to be “nice-to-have” are now make-or-break for guest perception and repeat bookings.

🔑 Key takeaway: Hoteliers looking to elevate guest satisfaction should prioritize investments in tech that removes friction, not just flashy upgrades. Think digital key access, easy mobile service requests, voice-controlled lighting, and personalized content. In a market where guests equate ease with value, the best amenity may be the one that simply works. Read More →

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

✅ Otelier: Optimize hotel budgets and forecasts with precise, data-driven insights.

✅ MeetingPackage: Simplify MICE bookings and boost event revenue.

✅ Roompulse: Simplify rate shopping with actionable insights and intelligent alerts.

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

🏗️ Marriott’s first electric net-zero hotel breaks ground as key U.S. tax incentives for green projects fade.

📈 Hotel stocks rose for second straight month in June, boosted by strong summer demand.

🤖 Many European hoteliers are considering AI, but only 41% of hotels say they’re actually using it today.

📉 AI and automation may shrink travel workforce, demanding new skills from hospitality employees.

🛋️ Guests link bland hotel lobbies to poor service and weak company culture.

💬 AI hiring chatbot used by McDonald's exposed 64M+ applicant records due to laughably weak security.

💡 Sales and revenue teams must better align strategies to drive smarter, data-led hotel growth.

🏨 London GM leverages dual-branded hotel model to blend global efficiencies with local character.

💆‍♀️ UK hotel spas boost profits by bundling treatments, refining guest journeys, and targeting locals.

🌍 UK’s AI ambitions risk undermining net-zero goals, highlighting tech’s climate tradeoffs.

🚪 Hotels embracing AI distribution can reduce OTA reliance and boost direct bookings long term.

🎭 Airbnb leans into experiences and services, showing the company’s move beyond the accommodation sector.

Arjun Balji, President of Royal Orchid Hotels, shares insights on leveraging technology to drive growth and efficiency in a competitive market. Learn how Royal Orchid is piloting virtual tools for banqueting and mobile check-in solutions to enhance operational efficiency and guest satisfaction.

Key Points:

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

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