At the crossroads of finance, technology and quality
Dear Insider,
A ranking of hotel chains has piqued our curiosity: India’s OYO has moved up three places in terms of the number of rooms, placing it between IHG and Accor. OYO has grown by around 350,000 rooms year-on-year in 2025/26. How do you grow so quickly? Through takeovers, yes. But in this case, it's also due to a franchise model that is considerably less rigorous than the American one. Whilst Wyndham and Choice also place importance on room quality, this seems to be less of a priority for OYO. Our author, Macy Marvel, has uncovered this and many more figures on the subject. I’m sure we're all keen to see how a tech company can become a competitive hotel operator in the European market.
A lively discussion on technology and AI lasted two and a half hours at our HITT Think Tank in May. We learnt: AI is not a strategy, but a toolbox. And that the big chains are not neutral players in the data debate. Franchisees therefore find it difficult to familiarise themselves with the entire AI toolkit. Details like these is the spice in the data lake soup. ... More
Magazine
The German hotel investment market is emerging from the crisis in small steps. A lack of trophy asset transactions in the first half of 2026 has caused revenue to stagnate, although the market as a whole has picked up.
Think Tank
Content Partner
The topic of AI dominates today's media. How is AI changing our society, the economy, education, healthcare, and our jobs? Where does its use make sense? Will AI solve everything? Is it taking away jobs or creating new ones? The race is on …
News Mix overview
Marketplace
New flight routes far from major cities, a demand for more than 42,000 jets and a boom in medium-haul flights: this is how the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus envisages the future of air travel.
Saudi has announced the launch of Package Visa, a new digital initiative that integrates tourist visa application directly into curated travel bookings. The launch is currently underway.
The Swiss Federal Supreme Court has upheld the City of Zurich's regulations preventing the conversion of residential space into commercial short-term accommodation. The new rules are set to come into force in autumn and will regulate the market.
Every fifth photo of hotels and other accommodations on travel booking platforms shows evidence of being AI-generated or at least AI-optimised. This is shown by a recent study.
You can reach us directly using this orange chat symbol at the bottom right of your screen. Write to us! The next available team member will be happy to take care of your request. If the icon does not appear, please activate gosquared in your privacy settings (yellow icon at the bottom left on your screen).
HospitalityInside Think Tank HITT, edition 9
Photos from the HITT Think Tank in Brussels
Financial Results
Picked
In the HOSPITALITYINSIDE ARCHIVE you will find 35,000 specialist articles from 25 years on the hotel industry in Europe and global trends. "Those who know the past can understand the present and shape the future."