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🏩 Booking reported an 11% revenue growth to 165 billion § (gross) and a 37% profit increase in its annual report for 2024. The Netherlands-based platform sold 1.144 billion room nights globally, up from 1.049 billion in 2023, netting 24 billion $ in revenue and approximately 6 billion $ in profit. The "Agency" model, where only customer credit card guarantees are taken, declined by 11%, now making up 37% of Booking's transactions, as the "Merchant" model gains ground. Glenn Fogel, Booking's CEO, looks optimistically at 2025, emphasizing growth in profitability and investment in AI technology.

📓 The French hospitality sector faces recruitment challenges, worsened post-Covid-19 and despite its inclusion in the "jobs in tension" list. Workers, especially the "digital natives" (born 1995-2012), seek better work-life balance, deterred by precarious conditions like fragmented schedules, weekend work without extra pay (99% cases), resulting in high turnover and team instability. The crisis highlights the mismatch between working conditions and workforce needs, questioning the effectiveness of training policies.

🏖 In 2023, Tourisme Lab Nouvelle-Aquitaine won the "Appel à Manifestation d’Intérêt" (AMI) led by Atout France, funded by DGE under the recovery plan. Functioning as a "trusted third party," it coordinated relations, secured experimentation frameworks, and provided engineering and communication support. The lab launched 5 experiments addressing tourism issues: mobility, recruitment, purchasing power, energy savings, carbon-neutral food, and reuse. These led to partnerships with regional stakeholders and startups offering innovative solutions, with potential for permanent adoption by 2025.

🏖️ The AI revolution in tourism personalizes travel experiences and transforms digital marketing. Predictive tourism utilizes AI to anticipate travelers' needs and provide tailored experiences, with key technologies like Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and Natural Language Processing. Social media and Google's ecosystem play pivotal roles as data sources and platforms for AI analysis and targeted advertising. For travelers, AI promises personalized experiences, time savings, and new discovery opportunities. Meanwhile, businesses benefit from increased customer satisfaction and retention, optimized resources, improved operational efficiency, and higher profitability. Practical AI applications in tourism include platforms like Lumo for flight delay predictions, chatbots for customer support, and intelligent room and service automation in hotels. Despite challenges like data protection and AI bias, advancements and adoption rates are impressive. Personalization through AI is becoming essential in the tourism sector, driving efficiency and customer satisfaction.

🏨 Les programmes de fidélité gratuits dans l'hôtellerie offrent des avantages dès la première réservation, incitant à réserver en direct et à être recontacté par l'hôtel. Exemples incluent Genius de Booking.com avec des réductions de 10% à 20% et le statut Genius acquis à vie, et SLH Club de Small Luxury Hotels of the World offrant tarifs exclusifs et surclassements dès le premier séjour. Les programmes d'accumulation de points tels que ALL d'Accor et Best Western Rewards permettent d’utiliser les points pour des nuits gratuites et autres services. Marriott Bonvoy offre des points utilisables dans 30 enseignes hôtelières. Les programmes payants, comme ALL Plus d'Accor à 199 €/an, donnent accès à des réductions et un statut privilégié. TabletPlus propose un abonnement annuel de 99$ avec des privilèges VIP. Ces programmes visent à reconnaitre les clients et à offrir une expérience personnalisée et simplifiée, étant particulièrement attrayants pour les voyageurs d'affaires, la clientèle de luxe et les clients loisirs.

🏨 Over half (52%) of travellers require the ability to cancel their hotel stay for free within 24 to 48 hours of arrival. Hotels must offer flexible pricing to meet the new traveller expectations post-pandemic. Flexible rates can improve conversion, increase direct bookings, and optimize RevPAR. Strategies include exclusive website offers, multiple cancellation options, and clear communication. AI can further enhance flexible pricing strategies, as seen with the Elysée Val d’Europe hotel tripling its direct bookings. Balancing flexibility and profitability is crucial to mitigate risks such as last-minute cancellations.

🏨 The 30th Hospitality Operator Forum is scheduled for June 12, 2025, at the InterContinental Paris - Le Grand. Alix Boulnois, General Manager Business, Digital & Tech at Accor, with a Master from HEC Paris and an MBA from Columbia Business School, started her career in 2008. Joined Amazon in 2012, contributed to launching "Prime Now", moved to Accor as SVP Digital & Innovation in February 2020, and took over the Digital Factory in May 2021. Since June 2024, oversees Business, Digital, and Tech at Accor, driving major transformation initiatives.

🏨 Hospitality ON lists new hotel openings and upcoming inaugurations worldwide, with a focus on group hotels, chains, and voluntary networks. The provided map highlights recent openings (yellow), announced future openings (blue), rebrands (green), and newly signed hotel projects (orange). The summary includes photos, location, and key details for a quick overview of the hospitality landscape over the past 10 days.

💎 Over 3,600 European hotel guests during Valentine's weekend selected champagne, wine, or prosecco as an extra, spending up to €500 per bottle. In France, these sales represented 20% of all hotel extras. More than 1,800 customers opted for late check-outs, among the most popular services in key European markets, according to RoomRaccoon data.

🍺 On February 15, ten students qualified for the finals of the 23rd Trophy of the Club of Directors of Restoration and Operation France. The contest will take place on March 27-28, 2025, at the Lycée Polyvalent d'Hôtellerie et de Tourisme de Gascogne in Talence. Candidates will assume the role of the Director of Operations for a 4-star, 40-room hotel open year-round.