Innovation

📺 Magic On, founded in 2021 by Geoffrey Masson, showcases immersive tech for cultural spaces, including escape rooms and museums. In 2026, they’ll exhibit at Museum Connections. Notable projects include a Lascaux-themed immersive restaurant in Dordogne and a hologram exhibit at the Hôtel Départemental des Expositions du Var, Draguignan. They prefer bespoke projects, avoiding mass production. At Museum Connections, stand E53 will feature interactive art, animatronics, and 3D-printed accessories.

🛩 Lufthansa Group, in partnership with Amadeus, will implement the Nevio modular AI solutions across nine of its airlines, including Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa, and Swiss, as of 2026. The new "Order ID" system will replace traditional reservation numbers, consolidating flight, seat, baggage, and additional service details into a single order. This transition streamlines travel management and enhances passenger experience, aligning with IATA standards for modern retailing.

🏨 Hilton strategically organizes its portfolio with a focus on strong brand identities and global reliability. Key brands include Waldorf Astoria, known for luxury and iconic locations like New York; Conrad Hotels & Resorts, offering modern luxury; and LXR Hotels & Resorts, providing independent luxury with local identity, as seen in Mango House Seychelles. Hilton emphasizes consistent luxury, integrating technology like Digital Key and Connected Room for seamless experiences while maintaining human touch.

📱 Amazon, 2026, Global: Amazon partners with Expedia to integrate into Alexa+ by 2026, allowing voice-command hotel bookings globally. Alongside, partnerships with Yelp, Angi, and Square enhance services in home and wellness. Expedia users can discover, compare, and book hotels via Alexa, refining choices by location, room type, and budget. This marks a shift in travel booking, leveraging Expedia's vast inventory and AI efforts, highlighted by appointing Xavier Amatriain as AI director.

💻 2026 will see digital ecosystem shifts, demanding optimized direct sales tools. In 2025, Mirai enhanced its direct sales engine with a new Business Intelligence dashboard, high-quality data, a 3D Booking Engine, and AI with Sarai. A new booking engine boosts speed and conversion, offering a 1% conversion increase with unavailable room transparency. Multi-acquirer payments cut costs. Integration with Mews ensures secure data transfer. Monthly sales reports began in April, enhancing real-time decision-making.

📶 Airbnb, in its fifth year, activated its AI "anti-party" tech for New Year's, blocking 20,000 U.S. users in 2024. This AI assesses hundreds of signals to preemptively block risky bookings, allowing only 0.1% of 2024 reservations to be flagged. Initially trialed in Australia in October 2021, it now operates in the U.S., Canada, UK, Spain, and France. This effort aims to prevent disturbances and protect Airbnb's reputation.

🗺 Thomas Cook India introduces TACY, an AI travel assistant, launching with 1,000 guaranteed departures for Europe Summer 2026. United Airlines enhances its app with AI features, with over 84% user engagement. Almosafer and Amadeus strengthen AI-focused travel offerings in Saudi Arabia, supporting Vision 2030. CarzRent deploys self-service kiosks at Tenerife South Airport for rental efficiency. Riyadh Air partners with Huawei to develop a digital ecosystem targeting China's market, supporting Saudi's 2030 tourism goal of 150 million tourists.

🚀 Secrétaire américain aux Transports, Sean Duffy, dévoile à Washington le 17 décembre, la stratégie AAM pour 2026-2036. Prévoit premiers vols eVTOL en 2027, déploiement urbain et rural d'ici 2030. Archer, BETA Technologies, Eve Air Mobility, Joby Aviation, et Wisk soutiennent l’initiative. Autonomie essentielle pour succès, avec réutilisation d'infrastructures existantes, partage de données et formation du personnel. Archer collabore avec Californie pour taxis aériens aux Jeux olympiques de Los Angeles 2028. Joby Aviation finalise certification FAA.

🛫 Calgary International Airport launched a geo-intelligent chatbot developed by Mappedin in December 2025. Available on yyc.com, it provides real-time, personalized assistance in English and French without needing an app. The AI-powered chatbot addresses flight punctuality queries and guides users using spatial context, reducing staff workload. Mappedin's technology integrates with partners like Satisfi Labs, promising a unified passenger experience amid increasing airport passenger volumes. Future plans may include holographic assistance.

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