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📌 EquipHotel 2024, an upcoming event, underscores the accelerating trend in hotel automation, including online check-ins and operations that cut administrative and operational costs, such as PMS, channel manager, and booking engines. This tech suite aims to centralize customer focus, reduce third-party commission fees, and comprises a web engine, reservation systems, metasearch, digital marketing campaigns, and BI (Business Intelligence), crucial for growth and crisis resilience, reducing OTA dependency.

💸 Christmas season can account for up to 40% of annual sales, making an optimized online gift voucher shop essential for hotels to maximize revenue. The article highlights the importance of avoiding common mistakes such as poor organization of offers, which can lead to customer confusion and lost sales. It recommends categorizing gift vouchers clearly and intuitively under headings like "Hotel," "Stay," "Unique Experiences," "Wellness," "Spa," or "Gourmet Restaurant" to facilitate easy access and enhance sales.

🚠 Helsinki, Finlande, tops the Global Destination Sustainability Index with a score of 92.43%, followed by Göteborg, Suède at 90.83%, and Copenhague, Danemark at 88.19%. French cities in the top 40 include Bordeaux at 6th with 83.37%, Lyon at 15th with 80.16%, and Paris at 20th with 77.24%. The index evaluates Destination Management Organizations and others in sustainability across four key areas.

💸 Since 2022, employees in the sector receiving tips benefit from temporary exemption from social contributions for wages less than 1.6 times the SMIC and exclusion from income tax calculations. Tips in cash and card payments are covered. The tax exemption is capped at 20% of the annual gross salary to prevent replacement of wages. To qualify, tips must be under 20% of total salary and the salary must be below 1.6 times the SMIC. An amendment proposed extending the measure until 2025 and 2026.

🏨 In September 2024, Europe's hotel activity declined with 163,135 rooms under construction (-1.0%), 87,779 rooms in final planning (-21.9%), 162,275 rooms in planning (+1.7%), and a total of 413,189 rooms under contract (-5.4%). Germany led with 27,175 rooms under construction, followed by the UK with 24,733. The Asia-Pacific region showed growth, with 509,167 rooms under construction (+1.7%), 55,448 in final planning (-50.1%), 389,689 in planning (+43.1%), and a total of 954,304 rooms under contract (+7.9%), China leading with 322,440 rooms, followed by Vietnam's 35,810. The Middle East and Africa had 110,229 rooms under construction (-4.3%), 30,955 in final planning (+3.3%), 85,178 in planning (+7.3%), and a total of 226,362 rooms under contract (+0.8%).

🛠 The final construction phase of a new 31,000 m² logistics platform with 1,200 m² of offices in Cholet's Cormier V park is nearing completion. Developed by BARJANE for METRO, the leading restaurant supplier, the facility is strategically located near the RD160, N 249, and A87 motorway connections and will be delivered by year-end. This marks BARJANE's second project in Cholet, following a recent logistic building for Thales.

🏨 The 94th Congress of ANETT is scheduled from June 25 to June 27, 2025, at Le Touquet - Paris-Plage, a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department (62). Further information is expected to be provided on the website www.communes-touristiques.net.

🍴 The 10th edition of RESTAU'CO is scheduled for June 11, 2025, in Paris. Celebrating over 50 years, the event represents 60% of direct management catering industry players. Previous edition boasted 210 booked stands, 160 exhibitors, and a start-up area with 12 newcomers. Visitor count reached 2,200, marking a 10% increase from the prior year. The event highlighted 6 entities through the Innovation Trophies for distinct market advancements.

🎰 French physical casinos and the Fédération Addiction triggered a government decision to scrap an amendment for legalizing online casinos in France from the 2025 budget proposal. The amendment, filed last Saturday, aimed to permit online casinos by ordinance—a unique ban in the EU, shared only with Cyprus, while proposing a tax framework. Casinos de France expressed approval in a Sunday statement.

🏖 Arival's study surveyed over 7,000 tour operators worldwide, including France and Belgium. 80% of the industry consists of SMEs with fewer than 10,000 clients annually. 40% of operators lack a modern booking system, potentially hindering growth. From 2010 to 2023, the average number of resellers dropped from 11 to 4, while OTA market share rose from 25% to 41%. Operators' revenues are expected to exceed pre-pandemic levels by 2024, despite uneven recovery and inflation impacting Europe's summer 2024. In 2025, 43% plan to raise prices, down from 53% the previous year.