News & Stories

The Welcome Hotel Darmstadt has launched a pilot project. Together with Hotelbird and Vingcard, NFC-based wallet keys have been introduced in the hotel. These work without a separate app – and even when your smartphone battery is flat.

Hospitality meets technology – and worlds are colliding. The tech chaos among the hotels and hotel groups is enormous. Global chains are putting operators and franchisees under pressure through their brands. The wave of acquisitions is increasing the helplessness. A discussion at the Hogan Lovells Hotel Day reflected this.

On this week's Wednesday, the European Commission presented proposed amendments to key European digital regulations. This so-called Digital Omnibus affects, among other things, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the AI Act. There has been criticism on many fronts.

The hotel tech market is in a fast consolidation phase, and AI is the center of gravity. Major financial moves have underscored this shift. The International Monetary Fund warns: The AI bubble, which is 17 times bigger than the Internet bubble, will kill unprepared businesses, not if, but when it bursts. Hotels need to move with care.

Google is now targeting hotels – and wants to further develop AI-driven booking processes together with major US chains and Booking.com. A video shows how Google's AI Mode works: it's frighteningly simple.

With more and more main holidays shifting to October, secondary trips are disappearing and new trends such as bleisure and workation are shaping the future of digital travel. Michael Buller, Chairman of the Verband Internet Reisevertrieb e.V. (VIR), encourages more AI-driven tourism. He knows a number of companies that offer many opportunities.

Cybercrime causes financial damage amounting to 8.46 trillion euros worldwide, and the trend is rising. Companies are increasingly becoming victims of hacker attacks, as is currently the case with Motel One, for example. 

Hotels used to watch RevPAR first. Today the spotlight shifts: after Revenue per square meter (RevPSM), comes Revenue per Available Guest (RevPAG), a metric that values the entire wallet of the traveller across the stay, beyond the room. 

OpenAI moves from chat to platform. With new partnerships in travel, the company behind ChatGPT is opening a new distribution channel to plan and book trips.

Austria is already investing heavily in the digital future. But there could be even more and progress could be faster. The hotel industry is therefore hoping for support from politicians, e.g. through tax incentives and less bureaucracy.