News & Stories

The EU's "AI Act" is the world's first cross-national piece of legislation on the use of artificial intelligence. After a transitional phase, a number of rules are now being tightened up.

Serious cyber-attacks can paralyse companies - even to the point of insolvency. This can also affect individual hotels and hotel groups. However, according to a survey of managers, only just under half are aware of their responsibility for cyber security.

Technology is changing distribution and sales. Even with existing systems, hoteliers for example, can push guest satisfaction by boosting the Net RevPAR. Even happy employees drive profitability. At FITUR, Spanish industry leader and tech experts reported on their everyday lives. 

Italian hotels have been fighting Booking.com since 2014. Most recently, the Italian competition authority (AGCM) warned the OTA not to give preference to hotels in the Preferred Partner programmes. The industry fears that this will reintroduce the dreaded parity clause through the back door.

Former OpenAI researcher Suchir Balaji has been found dead at the age of 26. Even if it was presumably suicide, the whistleblower, who severely criticised OpenAI, must have been under massive pressure.  

Google experiment: hotel search "like it used to be" / AI eats up electricity / Mews goes mobile: Atomize takeover / Apaleo secures capital / Chinese robots overtake German ones

Direct booking is accelerating. A brand-new study reflects the changes and trends for 2024. Mobile bookings are rapidly overtaking desktop sales, with app revenue dominated by large chains through loyalty programs. Ancillary revenue potential remains underutilized.

Since the global financial crisis, the luxury market has experienced considerable growth. The luxury hotel segment benefits from this. The growing number of millionaires worldwide means that a solvent clientele can be expected.

The new provisions of the Digital Market Act (DMA) came into force on 14 November. Booking.com claims to comply with the new regulations. However, HOTREC and the German Hotel Association (IHA) strongly doubt this. Hoteliers can ask their questions in two workshops.

Bad news for Mark Zuckerberg: according to the EU Commission, the Facebook group Meta has broken competition law and must pay a fine of almost 800 million euros. In addition, the rights of users in Germany have been strengthened following the Facebook data theft.