Innovation

🚬 Since December 2024, hoteliers associated with Booking.com have been targeted by a phishing campaign orchestrated by Storm-1865 aiming to steal credentials and financial information. Microsoft Threat Intelligence has reported that the operation is ongoing as of February 2025, using fraudulent emails to redirect victims to a fake Booking.com site to install malware. Attackers impersonate Booking.com with various email topics like negative reviews, reservation requests, promotions, and account verifications, across North America, Oceania, South and Southeast Asia, and Europe. Microsoft advises hoteliers to verify sender addresses, avoid clicking links, and directly visit the official Booking.com site for safety.

📌 Cyril Guiraud and André-Louis Rochet, co-founders of Theta Travel Tech and TW3 Partners respectively, presented a natural language model at the Future Of Travel Distribution event that queries travel distributor APIs directly. The AI translates natural user requests into computer language, refines proposals based on past preferences for existing clients, and integrates with booking systems to display options. A pilot for flight searches on a major travel distributor's website is imminent, with expansion to packaged travel searches by summer. This AI disrupts traditional travel agency and OTA models by providing personalized offers, potentially assisting agents, and shifting the focus to value-added advice. Concerns about AI replacing human decisions are mitigated by emphasizing augmentation over replacement, addressing sovereignty and the need for travel-specific AI models.

🏨 Influence Society has launched the inaugural edition of Societies Quarterly, a visual report designed to inspire exceptional hospitality through avant-garde design, immersive experiences, and technological innovation. This 30-page publication goes beyond traditional industry reports by incorporating AI in brand strategy, NFTs in travel, luxury experiences, and interior design trends. Aimed at visionary hoteliers, Societies offers a refined look into the future of the luxury hotel industry.

📈 Startups have until April 15, 2025, to apply for the 10th edition of Tremplins by Voyage Privé. Key dates include the application period (March 15 - April 15, 2025), announcement of preselected startups on April 25, 2025, a mandatory in-person speed-meeting in Aix-en-Provence on May 6, 2025, with the laureates announced the following day. A kick-off accelerator event is scheduled for June 3, and a Voyage Privé / Summer camp will run from June 1-9, either in-person in Aix-en-Provence or remotely.

💰 Damien Patureaux, CEO of Lyzi, reported that between June 2022 and the present, they have integrated over 1500 merchants accepting crypto payments across France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the UK. Lyzi's partnerships could potentially cover 400,000 sales points. The company accepts over 500 cryptocurrencies and wallets, with most payments made in BTC, ETH, and USDC. Lyzi aims for significant transaction volume growth and to become an international solution by 2025, with aspirations to lead in physical point-of-sale payment acceptance in Europe and expand to the Middle East and the USA.

🔒 The MOTO (Mail Order/Telephone Order) payment system for hotels is likely to face stricter conditions due to non-compliance with the DSP2 (European Directive on Payment Services), which requires strong authentication for remote payments. The tourism sector has a high global fraud attempt rate at 36%. Lyra, a payment service provider, offers hotels a secure and simple alternative for remote payment collection via a link sent through email, SMS, or WhatsApp.

✈ Vueling's Digital Talent Flight saw 180 developers proposing an in-flight instant translation solution. 27 groups presented solutions, with the offline operational La Joconde emerging as the winner. IAG unveiled IAGi Ventures, a €200 million innovation fund, following Vueling's event. La Joconde utilized lightweight linguistic models including Ollama, Mistral, and Piper. Vueling's digital strategy includes AI, with exploration in quantum computing precision and virtual reality for crew training. By 2025, Vueling aims to develop autonomous agents for customer interactions and internal operations, prioritizing security and starting with internal deployment. Only 7% of airlines have invested in startups, Vueling collaborates with startups in quantum computing and robotics through IAG's Hangar 51, now IAGi Accelerator.

🎯 International Airlines Group (IAG) unveils IAGi Ventures, a €200 million innovation fund, targeting startups in customer experience, ground operations, and sustainability. Launching this five-year initiative, IAG has already invested in technology firms like Assaia, i6, and LanzaJet since 2017. The Hangar51 accelerator program is renamed IAGi Accelerator to test and scale innovative solutions in the airline industry.

🏨 Inno'Tourism, France's leading show on hotel innovation, features Patrick d’Altelis, an AI hospitality pioneer. Livie's AI chatbot offers tailored customer interactions, boosting direct bookings and understanding guest needs. Upcoming features include Google Maps integration and predictive AI to enhance guest experiences. Aimed at forward-thinking hoteliers, the episode provides insights into Livie's roadmap and the future of independent hotels. Contact Patrick for a demo at 06 08 33 16 93 or [email protected].

📝 Positive customer reviews are now a crucial lever for brand trust, image enhancement, and online visibility. Face-to-face requests can see 33% of consumers leaving a review, while email is the most effective channel with a 34% response rate. SMS boasts high open rates, and QR codes can be strategically placed in business locations for easy access. Collecting feedback immediately after a positive experience, known as hot collection, maximizes customer satisfaction. Guest Suite, since February 2023, uses AI (ChatGPT) to automate and personalize responses to customer reviews, simplifying their management and enhancing brand reputation. 92% of French consumers consult customer reviews during their purchasing process, making them a decisive factor in consumer choices.