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🏠 Major hotel chains like NH Hotel Group, Marriott, and Holiday Inn have adopted virtual tours, a growing marketing tool in the hotel industry. Virtual tours offer a 360-degree view and can be enhanced with sound effects, clickable information, and videos. They provide benefits such as increased search engine visibility, higher chances of room sales, a competitive edge, showcasing of amenities, time and cost savings, and multi-platform usability. These tours can be featured on hotel websites, Google Maps, social media, and email marketing campaigns. An initial investment in professional creation or proper equipment is necessary. Hosting on hotel websites can be managed with tools like Zak from WuBook, which links tours to integrated booking forms.

🏖️ Tourisme Hauts-de-France en août 2024: forte hausse de fréquentation avec un taux d'occupation de 81% (+18 points vs août 2023). Gîtes de France atteignent 96.7% le 15 août. Airbnb/Abritel enregistrent +31% de nuitées; Gîtes de France +3.9%. Croissance suivant une tendance de 3 années: +3.5% de nuitées touristiques en 2023, stimulée par les Jeux Olympiques de Paris 2024 favorisant le retour de la clientèle internationale et un tourisme de proximité axé sur ressourcement et découvertes.

🏆 Olivia Grégoire, the resigning Minister in charge of Tourism, stated the need to redefine the summer season beyond the traditional three months, noting a shift in traveler behavior. The "high season" now spans from April to September, reflecting the actual tourist season in France. Even with a "pessimistic" nature, Grégoire celebrated surpassing the previous year's record, especially during the eventful summer of 2024, highlighted by 1.7 million non-local visitors attending the Paris Olympics.

💳 Booking.com partners with HiJiffy to revamp customer relations, centralizing communication across email, WhatsApp, in-app messaging, chat, and social media, adding WhatsApp as a contact point. The platform now offers hoteliers a single interface to manage client requests, excluding structured requests like check-in/out and parking. Hotels can initiate conversations from booking to 7 days post-departure; clients can reach out up to 66 days post-departure with hotels having 14 days to respond. AI-generated automatic responses for common questions are planned, pending Booking API limitations.

💾 CDS Groupe and Booking.com have been partners since 2015, with CDS integrating Booking.com's Demand API V3 in February 2024, enhancing CDS's strategy for a comprehensive content integration and unified online payment solution. This integration includes Booking.com's affiliated brands like Agoda and Priceline. CDS Groupe, a business hotel marketplace, optimizes corporate travel policies by providing diversified options with a focus on sustainable development. The V3 integration results in greater visibility for travelers, enriched content, and improved productivity for travel management companies (TMCs), without price markups or hotel exclusions.

🏠 2E PRIX DES HÔTEL & LODGE AWARDS 2024, CATÉGORIE PRESTIGE won by "palace des vignes" near Bordeaux. Owners Alice and Jérôme Tourbier also own Sources de Cheverny. The resort features 61 rooms and suites, a 1500 m² Caudalie spa, a Michelin-starred restaurant La Grand’Vigne, and art from Jim Dine, Barry Flanagan, and Mathilde de l’Ecotais. Les Sources de Caudalie received the European Ecolabel in June 2023 and will celebrate ten years under the Palace label next year.

💸 La TVA hôtelière en France pourrait augmenter de 10 à 12,5% d'ici 2025 pour réduire le déficit prévu à -6,2%, selon un rapport de Bercy adressé aux députés et sénateurs. Le gouvernement cherche à économiser ou générer 110 milliards d'euros d'ici 2027, avec 30 milliards dès 2025 et une autre tranche de 100 milliards d'euros d'ici à 2028. Des mesures incluent des hausses de taxes sur l'hôtellerie et la restauration, qui pourraient rapporter 4 milliards d'euros par an.

🎵 Mylène Farmer's concerts on September 27 and 28 at the Stade de France are expected to boost Parisian hotel activity with a 7% increase in rates and a 2% rise in occupancy rates. Doyield predicts an 8-10% revenue growth for local hotels, with those closer to the venue potentially experiencing a more significant surge. The analysis, informed by the impact of Taylor Swift's concert last May, also anticipates a 20% longer reservation lead time around the concert dates.

🏨 Radisson Blu Marseille Vieux-Port, after significant renovations by London-based architect Mike Trevillion, unveils a transformation featuring 189 contemporary, comfortable, and functional rooms with high-quality materials and new amenities. The renovation includes an art-adorned, brighter reception area incorporating local details, aiming to enhance guest experience and immersion in the heart of Marseille, as expressed by General Manager Lionel Van den Haute.

🏨 Sangha Toulouse hotel opened on September 3 in the Cartoucherie district, embodying an inclusive approach dedicated to community service. Founder Muriel Tek Roquejeoffre designed the hotel to integrate with local associations, offering a place for resident interaction and socializing. The concept emphasizes social responsibility, well-being, and active participation in the community, and plans to extend this philosophy to future Sangha Hotels establishments.