Innovation

🌎 Agoda, a Singaporean OTA under Booking Holdings, launched an AI-powered travel planner with Bollywood star Ayushmann Khurrana for the Indian market. Available until June 30, 2025, the planner personalizes itineraries using Gemini and Imagen, bypassing 5 million properties, 130,000 flights, and 300,000 activities. India's travel sector, worth over $221 billion in GDP in 2023, is projected to reach $500 billion by 2034, with digital bookings hitting 60% by 2029.

📈 Mews reached over 5 million weekly consultations with its AI Smart Tips, used in more than 6,000 hotels worldwide. This growth highlights a shift in using AI for customer personalization and management. AI Smart Tips, part of Mews' cloud-based PMS, analyzes guest data to enhance hotel services. In Belgium, Hotel St Pol experienced a service transformation with this tool, improving operational efficiency and customer satisfaction during critical moments like check-in and room service.

💰 Console SecretBox revolutionizes e-commerce for hospitality and culinary sectors by offering a direct sales solution for gift vouchers and packages without commission. It features over 100 advanced functionalities, including AI-driven content generation, facilitating rapid creation of SEO-optimized descriptions tailored to your brand. Gain 100% of your sales revenue directly into your account. Targeted at hotels, restaurants, and artisans, Console SecretBox maximizes visibility and efficiency, supporting even seasonal and rural businesses.

📈 2024 European Hotel Industry & Investment Survey highlights persistent staff shortages and rising costs as key concerns for hoteliers by 2025. Mews technology enhancements aim to boost direct bookings, reduce OTA fees that reached $266 billion globally. Mews Guest Portal, Digital Key, and RMS with Atomize integration improve operational efficiency and personalization. Mews Events and Amadeus integration diversify revenue sources. Over the past year, Mews released numerous updates to aid modern hoteliers in growing with agility.

📶 WiFi 6, or IEEE 802.11ax, was certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance in September 2019. It offers 40% faster speeds than WiFi 5, enhanced capacity, less congestion, and improved energy efficiency, particularly in dense environments. Adoption started slowly in 2020 due to limited device compatibility, with only a few high-end smartphones and PCs supporting it. WiFi 6 competes with 5G but remains essential for local networks, especially where cellular signals struggle to penetrate buildings.

📹 Projo, a startup incubated by TUI, leverages AI to automate video production for travel professionals, addressing the challenge of producing diverse, high-quality promotional content. Founded by Fabien Roques in 2025, Projo customizes video formats like Instagram ads and newsletters, enhancing travel experience visualization. Collaborating closely with TUI, Projo aims to integrate its solution across TUI's digital platforms, enriching customer engagement through multimedia content. The service focuses on video due to its visual and experiential importance in the travel industry.

📱 HCN, a leading AI-powered hotel solution provider, acquires Crave Interactive, a UK-based digital experience innovator for luxury hotels, on an undisclosed date for an undisclosed amount. Founded in 2009, Crave is known for in-room tablets and AI services, catering to high-end clients like MGM Resorts, Fairmont, and Hyatt. This strategic move enhances HCN's global presence in the four and five-star hotel market, aiming to redefine customer engagement and expand its advertising network.

📈 SuiteOp, co-founded by Simon Seroussi and Jean-Emmanuel Losi, partners with French rental software Smily to automate operations for thousands of real estate managers across France and Europe. This integration marks a significant step in SuiteOp's European expansion, enhancing its presence in a highly professionalized short-term rental market. The partnership aims to streamline processes for local operators, leveraging SuiteOp’s platform to meet the year-round demand in the region.

🗺 Cocohop, 2025, launches its B2B2C platform for customized travel planning, accessible to travel agencies and travelers. The platform integrates AI to automate travel organization, featuring 50 million tourist points of interest. 500 beta testers helped refine the tool, enhancing human expertise. Theya, an AI agent, utilizes Gemini and various servers like Airbnb and Amadeus. Cocohop tests Google's Agent2Agent (A2A) protocol, streamlining multi-agent systems and automating tasks like flight catalog consultation.

💻 HiJiffy a introduit Aplysia 3, un chatbot innovant basé sur la technologie RAG, permettant aux hôtels de répondre précisément à des questions illimitées. Les équipes hôtelières peuvent utiliser deux documents pour mettre à jour instantanément le contenu, facilitant le déploiement et la gestion. Conçu pour les groupes hôteliers, Aplysia 3 offre une cohérence globale avec une personnalisation locale, garantissant des réponses intelligentes et pertinentes en comprenant l’intention des clients.