🍔 Wyndham Outsources 6k F&B Outlets

Struggling to reduce labor costs and unify fragmented hotel operations? Mid‑Continent Hospitality did—and they did it with Actabl’s ProfitSword and Hotel Effectiveness.

Actabl unites financial reporting and labor management so hotel teams can operate smarter, faster, and more profitably.

👉 Learn how Actabl helped Mid‑Continent save $350K

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has teamed up with Grubhub to offer in-room ordering and delivery of meals and essentials like chargers and toiletries at approximately 6,000 U.S. properties. Guests also receive a six‑month complimentary Grubhub+ membership, including free delivery and credits.

🎯 Why it matters: The deal covers Wyndham’s entire U.S. footprint—its largest food‑delivery collaboration yet—surpassing Hilton and Choice in scale, and underscores how hotel brands are integrating third‑party services to enhance guest experience. It taps into the ongoing guest preference for convenience and contact‑less experiences accelerated by the pandemic.

🔑 Key takeaway: For hotel operators, this signals that partnerships with food‑delivery platforms can be scaled across full portfolios, not just select properties—making them a viable revenue and guest‑engagement strategy now. To stay competitive, consider exploring similar alliances or enhancing your own in‑house delivery and digital ordering options to match evolving guest expectations. Read More →

Since April 2025, U.S. tariffs and government cuts have triggered a wave of event cancellations—even large ones like a £150K car conference—but early adopters of RFP-filtering tools (e.g., Tripleseat, MeetingPackage) are uncovering frequent, smaller bookings to offset losses. Canada is emerging as a group demand hotspot, with secondary cities seeing an 18.4% revenue jump.

🎯 Why it matters: Rising RFP volume doesn’t always translate into actualized revenue. With shorter booking windows, smaller group sizes, and heightened cancellation risk, hotels relying on manual or siloed processes are struggling to respond fast enough or price accurately. Volatility is now a built-in feature of the M&E segment—and operators need smarter systems to manage it.

🔑 Key takeaway: Hotel operators should adopt RFP-management tools to quickly filter and respond to leads, ensuring they don't miss smaller but high-frequency opportunities. Targeting Canadian cities—especially secondary markets—can provide a buffer against U.S.-driven demand swings. Read More →

Hotel giants are unlocking new revenue streams through live events, in-app social bookings, and personalized loyalty rewards. Event-driven income—like branded festivals and culinary pop-ups—is up 14% YoY, while Hilton and IHG’s social commerce tools deliver 21% higher conversion rates. Marriott and Accor’s AI-enhanced loyalty programs now drive over 55% of direct bookings.

🎯 Why it matters: Live entertainment—like concerts, sports, and festivals—is now a major travel driver, especially among Millennials and Gen Z. Hotels that tailor packages around these events and show up authentically in social channels are capturing outsized demand. Meanwhile, traditional loyalty is losing ground to programs that offer true personalization, flexibility, and emotional connection.

🔑 Key takeaway: Hotel executives should invest in growth strategies that mirror modern guest behavior. That means activating live event partnerships, leveraging social commerce to reach travelers where they scroll, and evolving loyalty programs to feel less transactional and more tailored. Read More →

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

✅ FLYR: Dynamically update hotel rates with smarter demand-driven pricing tools.

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

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

✅ Tripleseat: Manages group bookings, tracks leads, and simplifies event communications.

✅ MeetingPackage: Simplify MICE bookings and boost event revenue.

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

📊 Actabl’s HotelData.com launches as a free tool to benchmark hotel performance across 50K+ properties.

🧠 Ex-Google and Tripadvisor execs launch AI startup to help hoteliers reclaim bookings from OTAs.

🚧 U.S. hotel construction hits its lowest point since 2015, signaling a development slowdown.

⚽ World Cup 2026 expected to drive surging demand across host city hotel markets.

🧾 Hotels adopt smarter IT cost tracking tools as digital systems grow more complex and expensive to maintain.

💸 Procurement startup Folio raises $14M to streamline hotel purchasing and reduce back-office friction.

🌍 GBTA data shows global business travel outlook remains mixed amid shifting U.S. policies and economic uncertainty.

💰 Hotels are rethinking back-office labor and outsourced finance

🔐 Experts urge caution as AI data sharing raises new privacy and security risks for travelers.

💆 Hotels turn to high-tech spa treatments like neurofeedback and cryotherapy to attract wellness-driven guests.

🧠 Personalization, not AI, may define the next big travel tech shift, say industry leaders.

🎧 Lake Como’s Il Sereno debuts AI-powered Listening Suite offering immersive sound therapy for luxury travelers.

🧾 U.S. senators scrutinize Delta’s AI pricing, raising concerns about algorithmic fairness in airfare.

🧑‍💼 U.S. hotels expand background checks amid increasing migrant worker scrutiny.

🔋 Hilton slashes emissions thanks to clean energy upgrades and operational efficiency gains.

💰 Firmdale Hotels posts record 3.4% revenue growth as ADRs climb as a result of upsell strategies.

🏨 Peachtree targets $250M to invest in U.S. hotels, focused on value-add opportunities.

🇮🇪 Pandox acquires Dalata, Ireland’s largest hotel group, for €1.4B in strategic expansion move.

🛃 Tariff talks and election uncertainty weigh on hotel sales ahead of earnings season.

🛡️ Remington Hospitality adopts live safety platform for smarter, tech-driven emergency response.

🔥 Airbnb sued for price gouging during LA wildfires, spotlighting risk of unchecked pricing practices.

BOB Hotels converted 70% OTA reliance to nearly 50% direct bookings in under a year—partly by using an AI phone agent (GoodCall) to convert phone inquiries into instant SMS-driven bookings.

Can a roadside motel really outperform the compset—and become the #1 value property in an entire city—within a year? In this episode, Janis Krums, Managing Partner at BOB Hotels, reveals how his team transformed a run-down Sleep Inn into a top-rated boutique brand using a fresh tech stack, street-smart branding, and startup-level hustle.

This episode is for experienced hoteliers, GMs, and asset managers looking to revitalize underperforming assets, modernize their tech stack, and rethink guest engagement for today’s traveler without breaking the bank.

Takeaways:
• How to build a modern tech stack from scratch: Janis walks through the exact vendors and decision-making logic behind Bob Hotels’ PMS, booking engine, CRM, guest messaging, revenue tools, and even an AI-powered phone agent.
• Using social proof and reviews as growth engines: Learn how the team grew to 1,100+ Google reviews with a 4.8-star rating in less than a year and how that impacted OTAs, pricing, and occupancy.
• Why legacy vendors are getting left behind: Hear Janis’ frank take on why most hotel tech incumbents miss the mark, and why younger, hungrier companies are earning his business.

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

Want to advertise with us?

💌 Sponsor this newsletter (here) or a dedicated eblast (here) to our 50k subscribers

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

⭐️ 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)