🏨 Forward Deployed Engineers in Hotels?

Travelers no longer find hotels the way they used to. AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Google now interpret intent, compare options, and decide which properties show up first - and right now, OTAs hold the advantage.

Hosted by Sanjay Vakil, Cofounder and CEO of DirectBooker, and Luke Markesky, EVP of Operations at Cendyn, this on-demand webinar unpacks what is actually happening behind AI-powered hotel search and where hotels should focus right now.

👉 Watch the on-demand webinar now

Actabl is launching early access to a program where its engineers work directly inside hotel companies to build custom analytics, data, and AI tools on top of Actabl’s existing platform. The pitch: because Actabl already normalizes financial, labor, service, and asset data, it can build tailored solutions faster than a typical outside consultant.

🎯 Why it matters: Hotels are under margin pressure as operating costs rise faster than room rates. Actabl is positioning AI not as a generic software feature, but as something operators need to build around their own data and workflows.

🔑 Key takeaway: For hotel owners and managers, the key takeaway is that the next wave of hotel tech may be less about buying another standard product and more about customizing AI on top of trusted operational data. Operators should be asking whether their data foundation is clean enough to support AI, and whether custom workflows could create an advantage in the “20%” of operations that makes their business different. Read More →

Booking.com and Expedia just outlined contrasting strategies for the AI era. Booking.com's interim CTO, Vipul Hingne, argues that AI models will become commoditized and that traveler trust, brand reputation, and execution will be the primary differentiators. Expedia's Chief AI & Data Officer, Xavier Amatriain, is taking a different view: that proprietary travel data, real-time inventory, and specialized AI agents will create defensible advantages as travel planning becomes increasingly automated. Both companies are investing heavily in conversational planning, AI-powered trip assistance, and agent-based travel experiences—but they disagree on where sustainable value will ultimately accrue.

🎯 Why it matters: This debate gets to the heart of what AI means for travel distribution. If Booking is right, AI will erode technical advantages and concentrate power among brands consumers already trust. If Expedia is right, the winners will be companies with the deepest travel data, strongest supply connections, and most sophisticated AI infrastructure. Either way, both companies are signaling that the traditional search-and-filter booking experience is being replaced by conversational and agent-driven discovery.

🔑 Key takeaway: Hotel executives should pay less attention to which AI model wins and more attention to what both companies agree on: structured data is becoming the new distribution currency. Whether travelers interact through ChatGPT, an OTA agent, Google AI Mode, or a future travel assistant, hotels with rich content, accurate attributes, real-time inventory, and machine-readable pricing will be surfaced more often. The emerging battle isn't just for bookings—it's for inclusion in the AI systems that increasingly decide which hotels travelers ever see.

TikTok is steadily expanding beyond short-form video into shopping, local discovery, travel booking, payments, and services, following the same playbook that transformed China’s Douyin into a commerce powerhouse. Recent launches include TikTok GO for hotel, attraction, and tour bookings, a Local Feed for nearby businesses and experiences, and continued expansion of TikTok Shop. The platform now reaches more than 200 million Americans, while TikTok Shop generated more than $500 million in U.S. sales during the 2025 Black Friday–Cyber Monday period alone.

🎯 Why it matters: Most hotel distribution strategies still assume travelers move from inspiration to Google to OTA to booking. TikTok is trying to collapse that entire journey into a single platform. If successful, travelers could discover a destination, watch hotel content, plan an itinerary, book accommodations, reserve attractions, and make purchases without ever leaving the app.

🔑 Key takeaway: Hotel executives should stop thinking of TikTok as a marketing channel and start viewing it as an emerging distribution platform. As AI, social commerce, and booking converge, success will increasingly depend on structured content, creator partnerships, and API-accessible inventory that can surface inside platforms travelers already use every day. The next battle for hotel demand may happen in feeds, not search results. Read More →

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

✅ IDeaS: Forecast demand accurately to increase occupancy and room profitability.

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

✅ Eleanor: Manage your resort’s daily guest service related tasks.

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

✅ Hireology: Find and hire reliable staff faster to fill key hotel roles.

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

✅ Gcommerce: Drive more direct bookings through paid media and smart web strategy.

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

✅ Siteminder: Capture direct bookings, syncs rate and reduce OTA commissions.

1️⃣ How to Close the Gap Between Commercial Insight and Commercial Action

See what hotel commercial teams can do when they stop digging through dashboards and start asking questions like: where ADR is leaking, where pricing is off across the portfolio, and where the comp set is about to move.

2️⃣ From AI Hype to Results: What 2026 Hotel Leaders Do Differently

To keep up with changing guest needs and rising expectations, hotels are adopting AI at scale. Dive into Canary’s research to see how AI is driving revenue growth, operational efficiency, improved guest experiences, and much more.

3️⃣ How Your Property Can Win on Google Hotel Ads

Learn how to turn Google Hotel Ads into a high-performing direct booking channel. This ebook breaks down how hotel metasearch works, the metrics that matter most, and the strategies hotels use to reduce OTA dependence and grow profitable direct revenue.

☕ Starbucks scraps AI inventory tool after failing to deliver results

📏 Billionaire Behind Japan's Tiny-Room Hotel Empire Bets on US

🔗 Mews and SiteMinder announce channel management partnership

💰 Pricepoint raises $6.6M to automate hotel revenue management

📊 Starbucks ties tech worker rewards to AI adoption and usage

🤖 Startup faces scrutiny after allegedly using Airbnb rentals to test robots

🔐 Langham upgrades core systems as hotel cyber threats rise

⚠️ Hotel CEOs may be overstating AI’s competitive advantage

🔍 Lighthouse acquires HotelRankAI to boost AI-driven hotel visibility

🏨 Hotels continue battling OTAs for direct booking control

🏊 Marriott expands day-use strategy through ResortPass partnership

🇬🇧 Independent UK hotels face mounting cost and profit pressures

🏡 Hotels see new revenue opportunities by borrowing Airbnb tactics

💸 Travel companies ramp up AI spending as search behavior shifts

💻 OpenAI launches tools aimed at automating white-collar work

📈 U.S. hotel outlook improves as stronger demand boosts RevPAR forecasts

🎰 Investors pursue $18B bid to take MGM Resorts private

🌍 International tourism grows despite economic and geopolitical uncertainty

🦾 Robot-operated hotels move closer to large-scale deployment

With Conduit, AI agents handle calls, messages, emails, booking inquiries, and upsell opportunities across every guest channel while pulling live data from your PMS, availability systems, and knowledge base to deliver accurate, personalized responses.

👉 Deliver instant service 24/7 with Conduit

The best operators don’t just keep up they stay curious. They demo new tools, test ideas in real workflows, and talk to peers to see what’s actually working. That’s how you find the small changes that compound into meaningful results. Pick your department below and commit to trying at least one new tool this week. Even a single demo can spark an idea that improves performance, saves time, or unlocks new revenue.

What happens when a boutique hotel director builds a fully personalized “signature tech stack” from the ground up and proves you don’t need to be a tech native to run one of the most digitally advanced 70-key properties in Berlin? In this episode, Tini Diekmann, Hotel Director at the acclaimed Hotel Oderberger, reveals the real-world tools, workflows, and mindsets that transformed her operations. This episode is designed for experienced hoteliers, GMs, and department heads who have lived through multiple system overhauls, survived legacy tech, and are looking for practical, proven strategies to modernize their operations without the chaos.

👉🏼 Check out our interview with Tini Diekmann on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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