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⚽ Zinédine Zidane, a football legend and World Champion in 1998, has become the ambassador for Italy's first medical spa, Palace Merano, after a nearly 30-year association. The venue, honored to have Zidane, previously won the "Wellness & Spa Award 2025" by Condé Nast Traveller and was titled “Best Global Spa Hotel” by The Luxury Spa Edit. Zidane will aid in developing new wellness programs and initiatives.

🍴 Chakaiseki Akiyoshi, recently awarded its first Michelin star in 2025, launched an online shop for gift boxes as a strategy to manage demand and maintain service quality. Michelin-starred restaurants often face booking saturation post-award, leading to potential customer disappointment. The restaurant's gift boxes distribute customer influx over months or years, securing immediate cash flow and ensuring personalized, delayed experiences for patrons, addressing notoriety management, cash optimization, and customer satisfaction.

🏖️ In February 2025, Madrid welcomed 379,430 international travelers, 51.3% of 739,938 total visitors, marking a 7.8% increase from the previous year. The city saw a 4.5% visitor growth over 12 months, with international tourists up by 7.8% compared to just 0.7% for domestic tourists. Despite a stable population of 7,001,715 in 2024, the surge in tourism highlights the issue of overtourism. Madrid, which lacks a tourist tax unlike Barcelona and the Balearic Islands, considered implementing one in 2023 to manage visitor influx and combat overtourism, facing opposition from the local hotel association.

🏈 Palace Merano, Italy's pioneer of medical spas and creator of Méthode Revital® over 20 years ago, celebrates having football icon Zinédine Zidane as its new ambassador. Winner of the "Wellness & Spa Award 2025" by Condé Nast Traveller and "Best Global Spa Hotel" by The Luxury Spa Edit, Palace Merano has been a retreat for Zidane for nearly 30 years, who visits at least twice annually for a week or ten days with family or friends. Zidane credits the spa for his sustained high-level performance and well-being.

📝 Online customer reviews influence 92% of consumers, as noted by the IFOP x Guest Suite study. In 2019, a franchisee's contract was terminated due to numerous negative customer reviews, marking a legal precedent where online feedback was used as evidence of severe contractual breaches. This case remains relevant in 2025, highlighting the importance of managing online reputations, where positive experiences can strengthen a brand, while negative feedback can expose risks and drive improvements. Guest Suite offers tools for businesses to collect, distribute, and analyze customer feedback, ensuring a consistent and positive customer experience across franchises.

💲 In March 2025, Business Travel Show Europe surveyed 115 travel and procurement professionals, revealing that 60% believe business travel can be more sustainable. France aims for a 50% carbon emission reduction by 2030. Around 73% of buyers have incorporated sustainability into their travel policies, yet a TravelSmart poll found almost half of 326 multinationals lack carbon reduction targets for travel. Popular strategies include investing in sustainable aviation fuels (55%), reducing travel (50%), choosing carbon-neutral suppliers (42%), and adopting emission compensation mechanisms (36%). However, 27% don’t prioritize sustainability due to perceived management disinterest (26%), costs (15%), and incompatible booking systems (14%).

📈 Covivio disclosed a first quarter 2025 revenue increase of 5.4%, reaching €162 million, with occupancy rates in their office portfolio climbing to 95.7%. Key sectors like hospitality and residential properties contributed to this growth, with residential rents in Germany seeing a 24% rise upon relocations, especially in cities like Berlin. The company invested €52 million in the renovation of ten newly acquired hotels in France and Belgium, anticipating a return of over 20% by 2026.

📅 En 2020, la pandémie a provoqué la fermeture des écoles et un arrêt des activités économiques en France. Les écoles post-bac se sont adaptées au digital pour recruter des étudiants, guidés par des canaux digitaux vers de meilleures formations. Les étudiants effectuent des recherches en ligne avant de choisir une école, avec des outils digitaux devenant essentiels pour les établissements. Google enregistre plus de 6 600 requêtes mensuelles pour des écoles de commerce à Paris. Les avis étudiants en ligne jouent un rôle crucial dans la décision des futurs étudiants, avec des exemples d'avis concrets qui répondent à leurs préoccupations. Guest Suite offre des solutions d’e-réputation pour améliorer la présence en ligne des écoles et fidéliser les étudiants.

🏨 On April 16, 2025, the European Commission approved PAI Partners' acquisition of Munich-based Motel One. Motel One operates 99 affordable design hotels with 27,928 rooms in 13 countries, including Germany, Austria, France, Spain, the UK, and the USA. The acquisition, via Moonrise Hospitality Group GmbH, a company indirectly controlled by PAI Partners' funds, poses no competition risks in the European market.

💱 Fabienne Carrasco, with over 20 years of leadership experience across tourism, real estate, finance, and postproduction, embodies MMV's commitment to sustainable alpine tourism. Her strategic vision and operational excellence have driven transformations within MMV and its integration into the Compagnie des Alpes' strategic approach. Recognized by the Compagnie des Alpes CEO Dominique Thillaud for her societal responsibility expertise, Carrasco is now MMV's General Director, tasked with fostering a tourism model respectful of local territories.