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💸 French auto-entrepreneurs sighed in relief as Finance Minister Eric Lombard announced the postponement of the VAT threshold reform, initially set to drop to €25,000, to 2026 at the earliest. The controversial reform, part of the Bayrou government's finance bill, faced criticism for not achieving consensus. Further discussions with federations will resume on May 6. Despite the potential to raise €400 million in fiscal revenue, the ministry chose to delay, risking the reform's abandonment or adjustment by September.

📋 Key staff training in hotels ensures quality service and can focus on customer service, management, or sales. Training can be internal, led by experienced team members, or external, for specialized knowledge like software or soft skills. Properly trained staff lead to more autonomy, team cohesion, reduced errors, customer satisfaction, and overall economic growth. Avoid training mistakes like outside working hours without pay, ignoring team dynamics, last-minute scheduling, unclear goals, and disregarding staff feedback. WuBook offers customized training for their PMS Zak via phone or videoconference, allowing for flexible learning.

🎉 Pâques 2025 in Spain saw the tourism and hospitality sector's evolution, hinting at post-pandemic recovery continuation. National figures show increases in international arrivals, tourist spending, and job creation, though cities like Barcelona, Madrid, Sevilla, and Valencia displayed mixed results. Tourism Minister Jordi Hereu reported expected records for Easter 2025, with international tourist spending to exceed €20 billion, up by 13% from 2024, and 15 million international tourists anticipated, marking a 9% increase from the previous year.

🏨 In April 2025, the hotel industry maintained momentum with notable activity in the United States, multiple signings in India, and Europe focusing on renovations and selective openings. European hotel operators are investing in modernization to stay competitive on a mature market, emphasizing customer experience and sustainable features.

💰 April 2025 saw 16 travel startups raising over €151 million, focusing on automation and ecological technologies. Unravel, specializing in social shopping in travel, raised €6.9 million. Limitless Travel, enhancing accessibility for travelers with disabilities, secured €7.7 million. Juno obtained €1.8 million to simplify business travel management. Indian fintech Scapia raised €36 million for travel financial services. SuiteOp garnered €2.7 million for automating hotel management. Headbox, in the MICE sector, raised €3.4 million. Diamo, for hotel revenue management, secured €3.6 million. Goodwings, aiming for greener business travel, raised €2.6 million. Vacation rental startup Conduit entered real estate with €2.7 million. Onfly raised €35 million to modernize travel & expenses in Latin America. Roh secured €8 million for automating hotel payments. Rimigo, using AI for customized travel, raised €484,000. Fora Travel raised €35 million to revolutionize travel agencies. Roamr, reducing business travel costs by 30%, garnered €2.6 million. Visa2Fly obtained €1.7 million for automating visa applications. CleanMob raised €1.3 million to enhance fleet management with AI.

🌞 The first May bank holiday in France sees a surge in reservation rates, up by 8.5%. Paris leads with a 17.5% increase, followed by eastern Mediterranean coast (14.5%) and western Mediterranean coast (11.8%). Predicted near-summer temperatures by France Météo are driving travelers to coastal destinations. This holiday is expected to be the best weather-wise among May 2025 bank holidays. Inland South-West and non-coastal, non-Parisian metropolitan areas also enjoy an 8.5%-8.9% rise. However, Northern France's Brittany coast and North Atlantic front experience declines of 11.5% and 7.4%, respectively, whereas the English Channel coast bookings rise by 3.4%. Despite a less favorable trend for the second May holiday, Paris still sees a 4.1% increase.

💰 Sabre Corporation (NASDAQ: SABR) sells its Hospitality Solutions division to investment firm TPG for $1.1 billion, marking a strategic milestone for the Texan company. This cash transaction, approved by Sabre's board, enables TPG Capital, part of the TPG group, to take over and transform Hospitality Solutions into an independent entity focused on hotel technology. Hospitality Solutions serves over 40% of global hotel brands, indicating a pivotal shift in the TravelTech industry towards consolidation and specialization.

🏠 Mandelieu-La Napoule recorded over 4.5 million overnight stays in 2024, with professional beds (hotels, tourist residences, campgrounds) accounting for 834,300 stays. The annual calendar featured significant events like the Mimosa Festival, MIPIM, and Cannes Film Festival, contributing to high weekly attendance peaks. February occupancy rates increased by 9% from 2019 to 2025 due to the "mimosa effect." Summer high season saw average occupancy rates of 74.4% in July and 87.2% in August. Second homes contributed with owners staying 80 days per year, while tourist furnished rentals accounted for nearly 350,000 stays. Foreign clientele made up 22% of general overnight stays, with hotels specifically at 33%, led by visitors from Italy, Germany, the US, the UK, Switzerland, and Belgium.

📢 During the Food Hotel Tech event on March 19-20, 2025, a study involving around 900 hospitality professionals revealed that 75% of hoteliers and 77% of restaurateurs are already using AI. Common applications include content and image generation tools, used by 46% of hoteliers and 36% of restaurateurs. This indicates a significant adoption of AI in the hospitality sector, shaping its future.

🏤 Julien Nicolas, digital and AI director at SNCF, aims to facilitate and accelerate AI deployment, leveraging market solutions, internal tools, and LLMs. SNCF's AI strategy focuses on employee enablement, performance improvement, and customer experience enhancement, driven by a committee including SNCF Réseau, SNCF Gares et Connexions, SNCF Voyageurs, Rail Logistics Europe, Geodis, and Keolis. Groupe SNCF GPT, powered by Chat GPT, Le Chat, and Claude, is now utilized by 100,000 employees for efficiency and access to 70,000 reference documents. AI assists in predictive maintenance by analyzing images and satellite data, and optimizing customer relations with bots and conversational interfaces. Collaborations like the one with XXII through 574 Invest and initiatives like the AI and optimization chair with École polytechnique support open innovation. SNCF's AI tools seek to double train modal share from 10% to 20% in France, reduce electricity consumption by 7-12% through AI-assisted eco-driving, and further the goal of transport decarbonization.