Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
17th of August 2026: Here are a few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some…
Read more
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
10th of August 2026: Here are a few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some…
Why Every OTA Is Suddenly Obsessed with B2B – And What Google Just Broke
Something quietly significant is happening in online travel distribution, and most of the industry commentary is missing it. While the…
Zero-Click, Full Risk: Why Hotel Direct Distribution Needs a New Playbook
Every commercial director I speak to has now seen the same chart: organic sessions to the brand website sliding month…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
3rd of August 2026: Here are a few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
28th of July 2026: Here are a few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some…
Beyond the Lobby: 15 Trends Defining the $40-Billion Golden Era of Branded Residences
Imagine a lifestyle where the impeccable service of a five-star hotel doesn’t end at the check-out desk, but begins at…
How Europe’s Luxury Hotels Manage Wellness and Lifestyle Brand Partnerships
Ask a commercial director at a European luxury hotel where their next point of margin growth is coming from, and…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
21st of July 2026: Here are a few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some…
23 Ways Wellness and Lifestyle Brand Partnerships Are Enhancing the Luxury Guest Experience
We are entering a transformative era of travel, one in which every journey must be optimised – technologically, personally and…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
14th of July 2026: Here are a few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some…
Everyone’s Panicking About AI and Hotel Bookings. The Data Says Something Else.
Every conference panel this year has the same slide: a funnel in flames, an AI chatbot standing over the wreckage.…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
7th of July 2026: Here are a few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some…
20 Ways Luxury Hotels Can Partner with Fitness, Performance and Recovery Brands
The wellness economy hit a record $6.8 trillion in 2024, growing 7.9% year on year, with wellness tourism alone worth…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
30th of June 2026: Here are a few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some…
The New Travel Playbook: Five Trends Reshaping Bookings – and Hotel P&Ls
Every quarter brings a fresh batch of “travel trends” reports, and most of them tell hoteliers very little they didn’t…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
23rd of June 2026: Here are a few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some…
Beat, Meet, Lose, Repeat: Does Rate Parity Still Mean Anything?
TL;DR Europe has dismantled rate parity as a legal obligation – Booking.com waived all wide and narrow parity clauses across…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
16th of June 2026: Here are a few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some…
Why We Built BrandMatch — and What It Can Do for Your Hotel
There is a conversation that happens in hotels all over the world. A general manager sits across the table from…
The AI Booking Shift: What Token Economics, GEO and Agentic Workflows Mean for Your Direct Revenue
We have spent the last few years discussing the velocity gap in hotel commercial strategy. The 14.9-second mobile load time.…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
9th of June 2026: Here are a few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some…
RevPAR Is Lying to You — and It’s Costing You More Than You Think
Here is a question worth sitting with. Two hotels. Same market. Same comp set. Same RevPAR. One is thriving —…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
2nd of June 2026: Here are a few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
26th of May 2026: Here are a few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
19th of May 2026: Here are a few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some…
The Lean European Hotel Social Playbook: What Actually Works in 2026
Here is a prioritised, actionable guide to social media channel selection, platform changes, monetisation strategy, and direct-booking activation for the…
How the World’s Biggest Hotel Chains Are Actually Using AI
For the past two years, the major hotel groups have all said roughly the same thing about artificial intelligence: it…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
12th of May 2026: Here are a few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some…
The Real Uber Threat Isn’t Distribution. It’s Loyalty.
Uber’s April 2026 moves – an Expedia-powered hotel marketplace inside the app and a multi-market ALL Accor loyalty tie-up –…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
5th of May 2026: Here are a few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
28th of April 2026: Here are a few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some…
TikTok Marketing for Hotels: The Complete 2026 Guide
TikTok has stopped being a content-only platform for hotels and become a measurable distribution channel — and most of the…
The $1 Billion Signal: The Hospitality Tech Trajectory to 2030
In the twelve months between April 2025 and March 2026, forty hospitality technology companies raised a combined $1 billion in…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
21st of April 2026: Here are a few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
14th of April 2026: Here are a few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some…
Your Guests Are Already on WhatsApp. Is Your Hotel?
WhatsApp has moved well beyond experimental curiosity to become a genuinely strategic channel for hotel brands – though its adoption…
Europe’s war on short-term rentals is reshaping travel
The continent’s biggest cities are systematically restricting Airbnb-style accommodation – and the trend is accelerating. Barcelona plans to eliminate all…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
07th of April 2026: Here are a few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
31st March 2026: Here are a few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of…
Tripadvisor at a Crossroad: What Hotel Leaders Need to Know
Tripadvisor is no longer the company it was a decade ago – and within the next twelve months, it may…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
23rd March 2026: Here are a few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of…
Building a Commercial Strategy Around the Bleisure Traveller
Two-thirds of corporate travellers now extend business trips for leisure – yet almost no hotel systematically tracks, prices, or optimises…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
17th March 2026: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways…
Corporate Rate Strategy in 2026: Are You Running the RFP Cycle – or Is It Running You?
The annual hotel RFP is not dying – but it is delivering far less value than the industry assumes. With…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
10th March 2026: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways…
The real cost of a discount: how promotional rate strategies erode RevPAR long-term
Every hotelier has faced the moment. Occupancy is soft, the revenue meeting turns tense, and someone suggests dropping the rate.…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
3rd March 2026: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways…
15 plug-and-play wellness partnership ideas for luxury hotel ancillary revenue
The luxury hospitality sector is currently navigating a fundamental transition from a room-centric business model to a holistic guest-experience ecosystem.…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
24th February 2026: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
17th February 2026: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
10th February 2026: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
From RevPAR to TRevPAR: Building Ancillary Revenue Through Wellness Partnerships
Ancillary revenue from wellness partnerships and non-room services can contribute 10-30% of total hotel revenue across the luxury segment, with…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
3rd February 2026: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
27th January 2026: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Should Your Independent Hotel Join a Soft Brand Collection?
The global hospitality industry has undergone a structural transformation over the last two decades, characterised by the dissolution of the…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
20th January 2026: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Distribution Darwinism: Can Hotel Wholesalers Survive the Age of AI?
Hotel wholesalers remain embedded in global travel distribution but face an existential reckoning. I had asked the question 10 years…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
13th January 2026: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our…
The Backdoor Conquest: How Expedia is Breaking Booking.com’s European Monopoly
The European online travel market, long considered the impregnable fiefdom of Booking Holdings, has undergone a profound structural transformation over…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
06th January 2026: Welcome back to our weekly industry analysis. Here are five stories that caught our attention as we…
The Hotel Owner’s Playbook: Navigating Franchise Agreements in a Consolidating Market
The hotel franchise model has become the dominant business structure for major hotel companies, with total franchise fees now reaching…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
23rd December 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
25 Trends Reshaping Hotel Distribution in 2026
Here’s something we don’t often do – we spend far more time chasing what’s next than examining what just happened.…
The Hotel Distribution Professional’s Guide to 15 Leading Turkey & Middle East OTAs in 2026
The online travel market across Turkey and the Middle East presents hoteliers with a fragmented but rapidly maturing distribution landscape.…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
16th December 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Understanding MakeMyTrip: An Essential Guide to Commissions, Corporate Travel, and India’s OTA Monopoly
Company Overview & Origins Founded in 2000 and NASDAQ-listed since 2010, MakeMyTrip dominates India’s online travel market as the country’s…
The Hotel Distribution Professional’s Guide to 16 Leading Asian OTAs in 2026
The Asian OTA market represents approximately $100 billion in gross bookings annually, dominated by regional champions rather than global players.…
India’s $23 Billion Travel Shake-Up: Why Hotels Hold All the Cards
India’s online travel market, now valued at $23 billion, is undergoing its most significant transformation since digitalisation began. The sector…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
9th December 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
The Ancillary Revenue Revolution: How IHG and Accor are Rewriting Hotel Economics
The hotel industry is undergoing a fundamental revenue model transformation, with ancillary services shifting from supplementary income to strategic priority.…
Hotel brand extensions: Growth strategy or dilution trap?
Brand extensions have become the dominant growth engine for major hotel companies, with portfolios doubling from 13 to 24-25 brands…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
2nd December 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Can the European Club Resort Model Succeed in Asia? TUI’s Expansion Forces a Critical Question
TUI Group’s announcement to introduce its premium Robinson club brand to China—part of an aggressive push to over 50 hotels…
The Bonvoy to Bankruptcy Pipeline: What the Sonder-Marriott Implosion Teaches Us About Risk and Partnership
One of the most consequential headlines currently circulating within our industry is the detailed breakdown of the Sonder collapse, a…
Amex GBT’s potential sale signals seismic shifts in corporate travel
The world’s largest travel management company exploring a sale just three months after completing a major acquisition represents a critical…
Beyond the Hype: 6 Tactical Ways Hotel Sales Teams Can Use AI to Drive Real Revenue
AI fatigue is real. While the hospitality industry buzzes about algorithms and automation, commercial teams are asking a much simpler…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
25th November 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Beyond Points and Tiers: How Eight Hotel Giants Are Rebuilding Loyalty
In our previous analysis of the state of hotel loyalty in 2025, we examined the foundational shifts reshaping the industry—subscription…
How Google Plans to Own the Entire Hotel Booking Journey
Google has just announced its most ambitious move yet into travel booking. The tech giant is no longer content to…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
18th November 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
11th November 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
The OTA Playbook Just Got Rewritten: 5 Trends You Didn’t See Coming from China
For years, the global travel industry held a specific image of the Chinese tourist: a member of a large, flag-following…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
4th November 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
28th October 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
21st October 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
14th October 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
7th October 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
30th September 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Hotel AI Search Readiness Checklist: Role-Based Implementation Guide
AI agents are starting to book hotels, and most properties aren’t really ready for this. ChatGPT, Claude, and Google’s AI…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
23rd September 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
The State of Hotel Loyalty 2025: Trends, Challenges, and Strategic Opportunities
The hotel loyalty landscape is undergoing its most significant transformation since the introduction of frequent guest programmes in the 1980s.…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
16th September 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Breaking the Mould: How Accor Is Reimagining Hotel Loyalty Economics
The subscription economy is projected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2025. Accor, with its global ALL Accor+ launch, is betting…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
9th September 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Beyond Demographics: Google’s Advanced AI Creates Unique Travel Profiles for Every Guest
The era of generic travel recommendations is ending. Google’s advanced AI personalisation and recommendation engines are building sophisticated individual traveller…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
2nd September 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
How Google’s Project Mariner Is Changing Virtual Hotel Property Tours
Google’s Project Mariner represents a fundamental shift in how virtual property tours will work for hotel discovery. This AI agent…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
26th August 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our…
The Hidden Economics of Hotel Loyalty – Who Really Profits From Your Points?
The loyalty programme game has fundamentally changed. What started as simple frequent-stay incentives has evolved into sophisticated revenue engines that…
Google’s AI Review Impact: How Sentiment Analysis is Reshaping Hotel Discovery
The landscape of hotel discovery is shifting beneath our feet. Google’s latest AI-powered review synthesis and sentiment analysis capabilities represent…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
19th August 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
13th August 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Why Hotel Loyalty Has Become the Industry’s Greatest Tension Point
Hotel loyalty programmes have quietly become the hospitality industry’s most lucrative battleground. Whilst guests debate whether their elite status means…
Breaking Down Language Barriers: The Commercial Impact of Google’s Cross-Language Search on Hotel Bookings
The hotel industry has always been global by nature. Yet our digital presence often remains frustratingly local. Google’s latest AI…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
6th August 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
From Keywords to Conversations: What Google’s Natural Language Processing Means for Your Hotel
Google has fundamentally changed how travellers search for hotels. The old world of simple keyword searches is dead. In its…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
30th July 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
23rd July 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our…
Visual Inspiration Meets Smart Algorithms: YouTube’s Impact on Hotel Bookings
The hotel booking journey has shifted dramatically. Travellers no longer start with a simple Google search for “hotels in Paris.”…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
16th July 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
9th July 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Friend, Family and Influencer Impact: Google’s AI Social Graph Changes Hotel Distribution
Google’s AI developments are fundamentally changing how social connections influence hotel booking decisions. The technology now integrates what Google calls…
Five hotel & travel distribution reports that caught our eye this week
2nd July 2025: This week we are focusing on five reports that caught our attention over the last few weeks…
How Google’s AI-Driven Destination Predictions Are Reshaping Hotel Discovery
The travel inspiration game has changed. Google’s predictive destination recommendations now shape where guests even consider travelling before they’ve thought…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
25th June 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
How Google’s Gemini is Reshaping Guest Trip Planning (And What Hotels Could Do About It)
The way your guests discover and plan their trips has changed. Google’s integration of artificial intelligence, particularly through its Gemini…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
18th June 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Visual Search: How Google Lens Is Reshaping Hotel Guest Discovery
The way guests discover your hotel is changing rapidly. Visual search technology, led by Google Lens and Circle to Search,…
Google’s AI Revolution in Hotel Distribution: Why it Will Redefine Every Guest Journey
The hotel industry stands on the edge of its most significant distribution transformation since the advent of online booking. Google’s…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
11th June 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Why Your Hotel Website Isn’t Showing Up in AI Search Results (And How to Fix It)
The way travellers find and book hotels has shifted dramatically over the past year. AI-powered search results now influence how…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
4th June 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our…
Hotel Distribution’s New Battlefield: When OTAs Become Lifestyle Marketplaces
Could the hotel industry be sleepwalking into its next existential crisis? Airbnb isn’t just about apartments anymore. Booking.com isn’t just…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
28th May 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
21st May 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
US Drip Pricing Law vs. UK and EU Hotel Pricing Regulations: What Hoteliers Need to Know
Are you ready for a big shift in hotel pricing transparency? The new US Federal Trade Commission “Drip Pricing” law…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
14th May 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
7th May 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
30th April 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
23rd April 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
16th April 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
9th April 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
2nd April 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
26th March 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
19th March 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
12th March 2025: Here are few of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our…
Understanding the Real Cost of OTA Bookings: A Commercial Imperative
As the travel distribution landscape continues to evolve at breakneck speed, hotels find themselves navigating an increasingly intricate web of…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
05th March 2025: Here are some of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
26th February 2025: Here are some of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Hotel Distribution Channel Audit: What You Don’t Know IS Hurting You
How effectively are you managing your distribution channels? In today’s dynamic hotel landscape, your distribution strategy can make or break…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
19th February 2025: Here are some of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
12th February 2025: Here are some of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
5th February 2025: Here are some of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
29th January 2025: Here are some of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
22nd January 2025: Here are some of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
15th January 2025: Here are some of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
08th January 2025: Here are some of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
1st January 2025: A whole new year kicks off – stories are a bit lean on the ground with everyone…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
25th December 2024: Here are some of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
18th December 2024: Here are some of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Selecting the Right Hotel Management Company: Factors to Consider
Choosing a hotel management company is a critical decision that directly impacts your property’s success and return on investment. Major…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
11th December 2024: Here are some of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Global Travel Trends 2024-25: What Your Guests Aren’t Telling You
Skip the reports and get straight to the insights! In this episode of “Skip the Reports, Get the Insights,” we…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
04th December 2024: Here are some of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
27th November 2024: Here are some of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Hotel Distribution Efficiency Ratio (DER): A Game-Changing Metric for Hoteliers?
We have all been obsessing about the direct v’s major OTA scenario. But what are we doing about other channel…
Learning from Airlines: How ONDC Could Break India’s OTA Monopoly
The travel industry could be witnessing an unusual and fascinating parallel between India’s ONDC and the global airline industry’s New…
Beyond Rate Loading: How OBTs Are Reshaping Hotel-Corporate Relationships
I have always been intrigued by the less known evolution of the corporate Online Booking Tool (OBT) and decided to…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
20th November 2024: Here are some of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our…
Hedna’s findings on The State of Hotel Distribution 2024
We took a closer look at Hedna’s future looking state of distribution report 2024 to extract some of its findings.…
The Absolutely Essential, Totally Ridiculous Guide to Travel Terms You Never Knew You Needed
The travel industry has developed a peculiar habit of smooshing random words together like an overenthusiastic linguistic chef in a…
Seven Leisure Traveller Types in 2024 According to McKinsey
McKinsey published an extensive report as well as a short article earlier this year: “The state of tourism and hospitality…
The Corporate RFP Process for Hotels Explained
For relative newcomers to the hotel industry, the yearly corporate hotel RFP (Request for Proposal) process can seem rather complex…
Has Booking.com failed to comply with EU regulations?
There’s significant debate surrounding Booking.com’s compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Here is a brief analysis: [us_separator size=”small” show_line=”1″…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
13th November 2024: Here are some of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Master Your OTA Presence: A Hotelier’s Guide to Better Rankings
In today’s digital hospitality landscape, optimising your hotel’s presence on Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) is crucial for maximising visibility and…
From Good to Great: 7 Steps to Nail Your OTA Negotiations
Negotiating with Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) especially the major ones, can be frustrating and at best feel like walking a…
Hotel Industry’s Rate Parity Conundrum: Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t
Is rate parity one of the most dreaded phrases in the hotel sector? Why does it occupy centre stage despite…
Why hotel rate parity conversations matter!
Rate parity is a complex hotly debated and emotive topic in the hotel sector – and everyone has an opinion…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
06th November 2024: Here are some of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
23rd October 2024: Here are some of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
16th October 2024: Here are some of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
9th October 2024: Here are some of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
2nd October 2024: Here are some of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
25th September 2024: Here are some of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our…
Top Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) in Latin America 2024
September 2024: Recent trends indicate strong market growth – the Latin American online travel market is expected to achieve a…
Top Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) in North America 2024
September 2024: The North American market has performed strongly with U.S.-based OTAs passing the $100 billion revenue mark for the…
Top Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) in Asia and Asia Pacific 2024
September 2024: Broad Asia Pacific trends indicate strong market growth driven by rising disposable income, urbanisation, and a growing middle…
Top Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) in Turkey & Middle East 2024
September 2024: Broad Middle East trends show strong market growth. There’s an increasing focus on mobile apps and platforms for…
Top Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) in Europe 2024
September 2024: The European online travel market is expected to grow significantly, reaching USD 89.22 billion in 2024 and projected…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
18th September 2024: Here are some of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
11th September 2024: Here are some of the stories that caught our attention over the week. How to Optimize for…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
04th September 2024: Here are some of the stories that caught our attention over the week. 1 – Has global…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
28th August 2024: Here are some of the stories that caught our attention over the week. The world’s first airport…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
21st August 2024: Here are some of the stories that caught our attention over the week. Travel isn’t dead. It’s…
Five hotel & travel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
14th August 2024: Here are some stories that caught our attention over the week. More funding to enhance the booker…
Five hotel distribution stories that caught our eye this week
7th August 2024: Here are a few stories that caught our attention this week, highlighting emerging trends and shifts in…
Impact of EU digital competition rules on online travel companies (and thereby hotels)
In our detailed article on distribution trends 2023, one of the trends highlighted included the range of EU directives and…
How to work with Metasearch companies
Here are some tips for how boutique hotels can effectively work with metasearch sites: With a thoughtful approach, boutique hotels…
Evolving trends with Wholesalers & Bedbanks 2024
Some of the evolution that we are noticing with wholesalers and bed banks of late include: Many wholesalers appear to…
Trend 18: Availability of actionable data insights improves despite fractured nature of distribution ecosystems
Our industry, with its complex ecosystems, multiple stakeholders and high staff turnover, has struggled to develop an actionable approach to…
Trend 17: Property Management Systems (PMSs) aim to conquer new frontiers
PMSs are at the centre of many industry conversations and debates. I’ve rarely come across a “perfect PMS”. It never…
Trend 16: There are glimmers of change for booking groups online
For many hotels, large and small groups form an important segment in their business mix. The most widely accepted definition…
Trend 15: Companies seek an edge with new-age Travel Booking Platforms
Despite higher airfares and room rates, a Morgan Stanley survey of 100 global corporate travel managers found that many respondents…
Trend 14: Content distribution beyond Availability, Rates & Inventory (ARI) still lags behind but hope on the horizon
As an industry, we’re obsessed with rates and parity – and while there has been more of a focus on…
Trend 13: Range of new marketplace models linking supply & demand, especially with Long Tail
Hotels often struggle with the long tail of travel. The larger demand partners among OTAs, wholesalers and tour operators are…
Trend 12: Legacy distribution technology is being challenged by new players, but they still have a long way to go
The total cost of distribution is increasingly in the spotlight. As hotels face higher operating costs and inflationary pressures, more…
Trend 11: Artificial intelligence (AI) as a service & AI-driven marketing offers new potential
Although there is no single definition of AI, it’s best understood as machines that simulate the thought processes of human…
Trend 10: Voice & Chatbot commerce starts making an impact
We’ve had Alexa, Siri, Cortana and Google Assistant for a while. Expedia has shown in this video how it works…
Trend 9: Fintech & payments finally start to take their rightful place in booker experience
Travel bookers seek different options to pay based on where they live and where they travel. But more often than…
Trend 8: Difficult labour situation continues to be of great concern with no immediate solution in sight
There are several global, decades-long trends at play here, for which COVID -19 wasn’t the cause but an accelerant. The…
Trend 7: Sustainability paints a mixed picture in the distribution landscape
Ambitious. Fragmented. Optimistic. Chaotic. Hopeful. Necessary. The travel and hotel industry has a lot to answer for and needs to…
Trend 6: Tightening Venture Capital (VC) funding pushes for better industry start-ups
If you follow the start-up ecosystem even a little bit (not just in the travel industry), you’ll have heard that…
Trend 5: Extended stay and short-term rental (STR) sector powers ahead despite regulatory challenges
The STR sector is thriving despite some regulatory challenges. This growth is due to the increasing demand for short-term rentals…
Trend 4: Path to more direct bookings and loyalty continues to challenge and intrigue
Everyone loves the idea of direct bookings and increasing their share. Simply put, it’s about lower sales costs and the…
Trend 3: Cybersecurity is more important than ever & distribution infrastructure can be a weak link
Hotel chains and travel technology companies are increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacks. They are key targets because of the amount of…
Trend 2: Regulatory environment grows in ambition, capability, and complexity
Regulators in Europe and elsewhere are in overdrive – they have a lot of catching up to do. Technology companies…
Trend 1: Post-Covid, the blending of Business & Leisure travel is evolving to a whole new level
In the past, it was relatively easy for hotels to categorise travellers and travel bookers and treat them differently during…
18 Trends to Watch in Hotel Distribution: 2023 and beyond
“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn,…
Infographic – How to generate more direct bookings
We wanted to come up with a way to visually represent the key elements of a direct booking strategy. This…
How to generate more direct bookings for your hotel
Achieving a steady increase in direct bookings is the holy grail of hotel marketing and distribution teams. However, this quest…
Increase direct bookings by getting hotel photos right
Photos play a key role in marketing the hotel – whether it is through the hotel website or through 3rd…
How to choose the right booking engine for your hotel
Your hotel website booking engine is a key element in achieving more direct bookings and maximising conversion. It allows you to…
How to plan your hotel’s distribution strategy
Distribution of hotel rooms has evolved rapidly and continues to do so at some pace. There are disruptive business models…
Top Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) in Russia
The last few years have seen massive growth in Russian outbound tourism. Countries in demand continue to be Turkey, Thailand,…
Top Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) for sustainable travel
The importance of sustainability is increasing in the world of tourism and raises both challenges and opportunities for hotels, travel…
Top Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) in Japan
The Asia Pacific market has gone through some rapid growth in pockets and also followed a familiar trend of consolidation.…
The Giant A-Z List of Online Travel Companies 2019
A few years ago in 2015, we collated a massive list of online travel companies that ranged from the giant…
How to use WhatsApp to market your hotel
Most of us know that WhatsApp is a free to download messenger app for smartphones used around the world –…
Top Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) in the UK
A lot has changed in the online travel industry in the UK – and this continues to evolve. From OTAs…
Top Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) for boutique hotels
Here is a list of the most popular OTAs for high-end boutique hotels. Splendia Splendia offers a curated selection…
25 checks to maximise direct hotel website bookings
Does your boutique hotel website offer a great booking experience? And equally importantly, is it reflected in the conversion ratio…
20 ways to maximise your hotel website navigation
1 – Keep it simple The art of a really good hotel website is how it shares the benefits of…
How to plan your hotel’s social media strategy
All hotels are aware of the need for an active social media presence – it helps you engage with current…
Study guest booking journey to maximise revenue
Boutique hotels tell a story. These stories inspire, motivate and attract prospective guests to book your lovely boutique hotel. This…
How to localise your boutique hotel website
Boutique hotels attract travellers from around the world. To reach this far-flung audience, the hotel’s content marketing strategy needs to…
9 essentials of a catchy hotel description
As a boutique hotel, you have your own unique story to tell. And this needs to be visible in your…
How to target global corporate travellers
Being accepted on to one of the high profile, global hotel programmes such as Goldman Sachs, UBS, McKinsey or BP…
25 ideas to generate more hotel reviews
Quality and quantity are both important when it comes to reviews for your boutique hotel. When your hotel provides great…
How to start planning a boutique hotel website
There is a lot to think about when it comes to planning your hotel website and especially so with a…
10 key attributes of a boutique hotel website
Direct website traffic and conversion are critical – and you have maximum control over your own website, presentation, information flow,…
Top Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) in India
The size of the online bookings industry by 2020 in India is estimated to be about 4 billion. The supplier…
How to price your boutique hotel
Pricing is one of the most challenging aspects of running a successful hotel – or for that matter any successful…
How to set up e-mail marketing campaigns for your hotel
E-mail continues to be a very popular and effective means of reaching travellers. Typically they can take on two formats…
How to plan reputation management at your hotel
When it comes to making choices about hotel destinations, travellers are deeply and increasingly invested in online reviews. At the…
How to audit your current reputation management
If you are looking at the bigger picture, you could start with using the Net Promoter Score (NPS). It is one…
The ABC of creating a package for your hotel
Packages are an integral part of the hotel and travel industry. Yet, it is also seen as one of the…
How does seasonality affect your hotel pricing strategy?
There was a time when hotel prices, especially with independent hotels were set based on seasons – a high, low…
How to choose the right rate plans for your hotel
Rate Plans form part of the crucial infrastructure for your hotel’s pricing strategy – the different rates you sell on…
How to plan room types for your hotel
Room types and their names are critical. They can make or break your pricing and revenue ambitions. It should be…
How to research competition for boutique hotels
Competitive intelligence provides actionable insights to develop a new hotel product and also maximise hotel revenue. With the emergence of…
What makes a perfect boutique hotel bedroom?
In a boutique hotel, guest rooms need to be unique environments. They need to be able to deliver a range…
How to differentiate your boutique hotel
Product differentiation is key to the success of your boutique hotel. It will define the way in which your hotel…
Is there a market for your boutique hotel?
As a first step and before proceeding to identify opportunities in the different source markets, It is important to “really”…
What do travellers want from your boutique hotel?
To best cater to the right type of travellers, optimise marketing and increase bookings, hotels need a good understanding of…
Situation analysis for a boutique hotel
The first step to developing a plan to promote your boutique hotel is to understand the current scenario. Answering the…
How do you segment the market for your hotel?
Market segmentation is the process of dividing a market into distinct groups of buyers who might require separate products and/or…
How to do a feasibility study for a boutique hotel
All such studies start with an executive summary which typically outlines the following. Where possible sample text gives you an…
7 attributes of a boutique hotel
Travellers searching for authenticity and experiential travel is driving a massive demand and growth in boutique hotels. They want hotels…
17 ideas to attract business travellers to your boutique hotel
Every city hotel depends on some form of business travel. Some properties take this for granted and others fight hard…
Top Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) in South Korea
The Asia Pacific market has gone through some rapid growth in pockets and also followed a familiar trend of consolidation.…
Top Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) in the Middle East
The Middle East has recently seen the emergence of some strong regional OTAs especially in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.…
All you need to know about Global Distribution Systems (GDS)
If you thought the age of GDS is over – too expensive, too clunky and in its sunset years, think…
Reputation and the travel booker
TripAdvisor made itself a fearsome name in the travel industry by capturing, analysing and sharing views and opinions from travellers…
Does hotel loyalty drive the modern traveller anymore?
Hotel loyalty is and has always been a hot topic of debate. However, it’s influence on travel bookers has been…
The powerful magic of travel advertising
Travel to far-flung exotic destinations is considered special by most people. Who can resist the pull of a billboard with…
How can your hotel attract families?
Requirements of family travel can be complex based on the age group of the children. In general, families usually do have to…
How do peers influence travel booking decisions?
What influences a traveller’s decision on where to go, which hotel to book and how you do it? Is it your…
How to segment the market for your hotel
For your hotel to have a targeted approach, it is important to break down the broader market into key segments…
Estimating demand and supply for your hotel destination
As a first step and before proceeding to identify opportunities in the different source markets, It is important to “really”…
Capturing the traveller of necessity
In general, once the decision to take a leisure trip is made, there are three simple decisions involved: where to…
The secret influences on hotel bookings online
While providing great hospitality is at the heart of the hotel industry, achieving commercial success is key to providing it…
What Travellers Look for in a Hotel (And Why You Should Pay Attention)
To best cater to travellers, optimise marketing and increase bookings, hotels need a good understanding of what travellers want and…
How to get started with big data in your hotel
The whole conversation around big data is exhausting. The possibilities are endless. But here we are, every day, worried that…
8 hotel online booking trends to watch in 2017/18 and why!
Last year, we reflected on the counter-intuitive way of looking at growing clusters of businesses as a way of identifying…
Blockchain to transform loyalty and improve booking margins
ONLINE HOTEL BOOKING TREND 8 – 2017: According to the Harvard Business Review “Blockchains ensure integrity and trust between strangers.…
Companies leverage Uberisation to maximise bookings
ONLINE HOTEL BOOKING TREND 7 – 2017: The sharing economy model has made such an impact that it is increasingly…
Business travel is really, finally, truly ready for disruption
ONLINE HOTEL BOOKING TREND 6 – 2017: Business travel continues to grow, confuse and excite. Everyone gets excited about the…
Experience in virtual reality and 360 degree video before booking
ONLINE HOTEL BOOKING TREND 5 – 2017: Travel has always been about the experience – and explains the huge amount…
An explosion in demand for boutique hotel experiences
ONLINE HOTEL BOOKING TREND 4 – 2017: You may well wonder why boutique hotels feature in an online booking trend…
Big data = Big (better) marketing
ONLINE HOTEL BOOKING TREND 3 – 2017: There are more visible signs of big data being utilised more effectively in…
The traditional hotel internet booking engine is dying
ONLINE HOTEL BOOKING TREND 2 – 2017: The massive proliferation of interactive technologies like messenger apps, chat bots, robots, cobots…
Trip planning websites on a rocky path but stubborn
ONLINE HOTEL BOOKING TREND 1 – 2017: Trip planning websites address the inherent need of a traveller to “book everything”…
40 trip planning websites to change the way you travel in 2017
Trip planning websites inspire travel with the promise of experiences rather than just a trip. They offer a faster, more…
Is your hotel sending emails with moment of open personalisation?
As technology has improved and data has become more accessible, hotel marketers are looking to personalising email content in more…
How to maximise in-hotel marketing opportunities with big data
Hotels have always known the importance of personalisation in guest inter-actions at the hotel. And equally importantly, hotels have worked…
Improve hotel guest experience during stay with big data
Here are a few ways in which big data can improve the guest experience. At the Four Seasons, guests choose…
Use big data to micro-segment customers at your hotel
Segmenting has always been important for hotels. Typically they fell into broad groups, the largest being corporate, leisure, groups and airlines.…
Warning: Your hotel is losing money by not using big data
The implicit potential of data brings along with it a massive frustration for hotels. Every hotelier knows that they are…
Use big data to initiate timely hotel marketing campaigns
Use big data to initiate timely hotel marketing campaigns based on weather, airline and web-shopping data. Are you familiar with “weather…
47 ways to make big data work for your hotel
Why stop at 47? An overdose of big data and its immense possibilities I suspect! I had to stop and…
Are tourism universities flushing money away with their research?
Think about the amazing people with excellent ideas and powerful intellect spending hundreds and hundreds of man hours carefully analysing…
10 hotel group booking trends you’d rather not miss in 2016
Group business is vital to hotels large and small, independent or chain. Is your hotel ready for the next wave…
9 online hotel booking trends to watch in 2016 and why!
As the world of hotel online bookings moves forward at a furious pace, it has become harder to track changes…
Hotel wholesalers soon to be extinct! Or have we got that all wrong?
Jan 26, 2016: What is the future of hotel wholesalers? There are a lot of prophecies out there, but what…
Business Travel turning to Bleisure a lot of blah blah?
Over the last two years, Bleisure has been in the news. A whole new segment with business travellers are increasingly…
8 definitive steps to master your hotel Online Travel Agency strategy
Are OTAs ruling your world? Do you feel that as an independent hotel or small chain, you don’t know who…
Hotels and the secrets of real success
The other day, I was reflecting on the constant barrage of information that we deal with. And how easy it…
THE GIANT LIST of Online Travel Agencies – Part 5
Oyster calls itself the Hotel Tell-All site and has a unique approach. Responsible Travel leads the market in promoting accommodation…
THE GIANT LIST of Online Travel Agencies – Part 4
With its complexity, group booking websites have struggled to complete the full booking cycle online. And it continues to evolve.…
THE GIANT LIST of Online Travel Agencies – Part 3
Flash sales have become increasingly popular. More and more hotels are using them to sell distressed inventory and in low…
THE GIANT LIST of Online Travel Agencies – Part 2
These are soft branded collection of hotels and promoted primarily online. Exclusivity is key in most cases and boutique hotels…
THE GIANT LIST of Online Travel Agencies – Part 1
Many leading airlines have a section which allows travellers to book hotels. Very few of them manage their own hotel…
THE GIANT list of Online Travel Agencies – An Introduction
I think we are all agreed that the world of hotels and travel is constantly changing. New ideas and business…
Are hotels ready for the new convergence era?
The world of hotels and travel is changing and changing fast. There is a lot of understandable excitement. But there…
3D Printing and the restaurant business
Kinneir Dufort, award winning research and product development company challenged themselves to develop “an interactive eating experience that takes the…
Finally, a hotel group booking site that works?
Everyone knows that this is a multi-billion dollar market. Everyone wants a slice of this pie, but very few have…
Does Triptease help increase hotel website bookings? Or is it just a tease?
Triptease takes a partial meta search model to the booking process on a hotel website. The main reason cited is…
The only travel app you will ever need?
Online travel buying is all about getting the best deals. Dreamcheaper takes a rather interesting but controversial approach. Here is…
Hotels asleep at the wheel?
There has been much debate about the role of an OTA and the love-hate relationship between them and hotels. So…