News & Stories
Paris.By combining artificial intelligence and smart marketing for the first time in collaboration with a new partner, AccorHotels is seeing a significant impact on the effectiveness of its marketing campaigns and on customer experience. The AI-based tool will be rolled out across all countries in which AccorHotels operates. In Sao Paulo, AccorHotels also experiments with room design. The new project #360ROOM allows guest to design their own environment.
Vienna. Following the recent Supreme Court decision, which was received very positively by Austria’s hotel industry, Austria’s politicians have now also responded with a blow to Airbnb and other platforms.
Vienna. Austria’s Supreme Court has handed down a significant judgement as regards the sharing economy. Anybody subletting their home through a sharing platform risks his or her own tenancy. Italy now also resists Airbnb and demands an ID code for short-term rental providers.
Wiesbaden. The E-bike wave has already been on the move and tourists are now discovering E-fun vehicles such as caterpillar vehicles which can be controlled via joystick. This means fun on holidays. In tourism and the hotel industry, a profitable market has already developed around the topic of E-mobility, which is much more than electric cars. Money can be earned here. The lively hotel Kaiserhof in Anif near Salzburg has become the Mecca for E-mobile drivers, and the recently opened Arborea Hotel at the Baltic Sea in Germany provides an entire E-mobility centre.
San Francisco. Airbnb has signed a partnership with international real estate company Century 21 in Paris in order to make sublets a legal thing. Landlords, tenants and the real estate agency will all share the revenue after each booking. From France to Germany, opinions are divided regarding the benefit of this sublet friendly concept. But all agree that a big question mark remains when it comes to insurance. Paris City Hall is done negotiating with Airbnb and on top of suing the platform it is now proposing to ban short-term rentals in several arrondissements. The gloves are off.
Amsterdam. Skepticism is in hoteliers' nature, especially when it comes to opening their wallet to adapt to an ever-changing operational landscape. Blockchain for instance is one technology they still have doubts about. Using the latest report from Phocuswright about Blockchain and listening to half a dozen startups already active in the hospitality world, Sarah Douag tries to share knowledge about Blockchain benefits here. Even outsiders playing in the retail industry are betting on hospitality next. A sector they qualify as limitless in terms of opportunities.
London. Digital maturity across the hotel industry continues to increase as more and more businesses digitise what they do, giving consumers the opportunity to directly shop, book and engage with brands. But as digital maturity rises, there is a growing downward pressure on revenues and profits; as consumers become exposed to greater choice and the level of competition rises. Rapidly growing digital retailers and media companies have amplified this downward pressure to the detriment of many incumbent suppliers. But is this a signal of demise for hotel brands?
Hamburg. The city of Hamburg is now vigorously and resolutely defending itself against alienated living space. The Senate decided this week severe penalties for portals such as Airbnb & Co. Resistance also stirred up in Hanover in August and previously in Munich.
Amsterdam. "Chinese travelers seek online inspirational content and trust reviews," says Quinten Kemp, Co-founder and Managing Director China e-Commerce and Payments at NextportChina based in Amsterdam. Their core business is basically to help western companies grow an online presence in China. European hoteliers could take advantage of "social commerce", he stresses in an interview with Sarah Douag, also emphasizing the importance of accepting Chinese payment methods.
Beijing. A few years ago, cash was still king in China, now it's all about QR codes and mobile payments, thanks to two market leaders: Alipay and WeChat Pay. Both payment methods are used by millions, not to say a billion people in China and they are both going international now. Supporting Chinese travelers abroad, their goal is to offer their customers/users the most seamless shopping experience. From a train or air ticket to a hotel room, a restaurant, a tourist attraction or a luxury shop, both giants are making sure they retain their users on their respective platforms throughout their journey. Hoteliers have a huge opportunity to capture a new type of clientele that favor customized trips and spend more…on one condition, namely that they accept three inevitable payment methods: Alipay, UnionPay and WeChat Pay. What does the situation look like today?