Innovation

🔒 On January 16, 2025, Zataz reported a major data breach involving a CSV file with 16,020,515 lines of detailed hotel information sold for $3,700 on cybercrime forums. The data included hotel names, locations, coordinates, room numbers, and contact details, posing risks of phishing, online scams, and identity theft both to hotels and their clients.

🏖️ Erwan Simon, Co-founder and CEO of Genial, at Net Managers Collection Hiver 2025, discussed the swift integration of generative AI in the tourism sector: from testing phases in 2024 to concrete adoption in 2025 with AI agents automating tasks. He forecasts businesses will see increased efficiency through specialized AI and future collaboration among these AI systems, while raising concerns over technological sovereignty and data control amidst potential American dominance. Simon highlights the opportunity for tourism businesses to enhance processes and maintain direct customer relations using AI, and hints at a competition among major tech companies to lead the AI agent creation and coordination tools market.

🚿 WellZen, a wellness equipment specialist, acquired the activities of Physiotherm France, a distributor of Physiotherm® low-temperature infrared saunas. Physiotherm®, an Austrian brand with over 85,000 installed cabins, leads the infrared wellness niche, featuring patented SENSOcare® technology for a customized heating experience. The innovative saunas, designed in Austria and made in Germany, cater to high-quality standards in both hotels/spas and private spaces. Contact: Abla ALAMI, [email protected], +33 (0)7 49 67 20 45. Visit wellzen.fr for more information.

📈 LinkedIn's "Jobs on the Rise 2025" report shows the "Travel Consultant" role as the fastest-growing job in Italy over the past three years. Similarly, "Travel Advisor" topped the list in Spain. Despite the rise of AI-related jobs, the travel industry is recovering post-pandemic, with a record year for tourism in France and Spain in 2024. Over 80% of these travel job roles are held by women with around 4 years of experience. Many in the industry are now working remotely, with 30% telecommuting. This growth suggests the continued importance of human expertise and personal experience in travel consulting, especially in the age of AI travel itinerary tools like ChatGPT. The analysis was based on LinkedIn job postings from January 1, 2022, to July 31, 2024.

🏨 Kempinski Hotels announced executive appointments with Gordon Drake as CFO and Rasha Lababidi as CPO. Drake, with over 30 years in real estate and hospitality, previously led The Doyle Collection and held senior positions at Six Senses and Mövenpick. Lababidi, with 25 years in luxury marketing, co-founded Meraki & Modus. These roles aim to steer financial operations, global product innovation, customer experience, and position Kempinski for growth in luxury hospitality.

📈 Capfrance, with 75 years of history, launches "Meetings & Events by Capfrance" for professionals and groups seeking unique venues for seminars and events in France. Offering a turnkey solution within its network of holiday villages, hotels, and residences, Capfrance aims to be a key player in the professional events market. The service includes personalized planning and on-site logistics support across nearly 30 establishments in scenic French locations.

📩 Google is testing a new feature that allows customers to contact businesses directly on WhatsApp via their Google Business Profile. Previously, Google Business Messages were used, but this new integration could increase usage. The feature is currently in limited rollout, available only in the United States as mentioned by marketing director Henry Heredia on social network X. If successful, this could become a new way for businesses to connect with customers.

💳 myPOS, a London-based fintech, acquired Toporder, a French leader in cash registers, strengthening its position in retail and restaurant sectors in France. Toporder, established in 2019 in Lyon, will enhance myPOS's integrated payment and management solutions, focusing on small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) growth. Mario Shiliashki, CEO of myPOS, emphasized the move's intent to offer cutting-edge technology to help clients save time and money, boosting their businesses.

💻 Amadeus, a global travel technology leader, invested in hivr.ai, an innovative startup providing AI solutions that automate sales of meetings and group events across distribution channels. The technology enables hotels to streamline processes, shorten sales cycles, and significantly increase revenue from meetings and groups. Meetings and groups account for over one-third of hotel nights worldwide. However, the sales process is manual, resource-intensive, and slow, with proposals often sent after 48 to 96 hours, resulting in only 10-20% of inquiries leading to bookings and up to 70% of meeting planners not receiving any proposal.

🏨 Accor launches Travel Pros, a new B2B online group booking platform, providing access to over 2,000 hotels across more than 75 countries. It supports instant bookings in 1,300+ hotels and tender processes in 700+ hotels, with confirmation within 24 hours using the latest API technologies to display real-time room availability. Travel Pros offers unmatched choice of Accor brands and room options to meet group travel needs.