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📌 Global Business Travel Association predicts business travel expenses to hit $1.64 trillion in 2025, up from $1.48 trillion the previous year. The travel sector's evolution reflects in employees' mobility and companies' travel management. Amadeus Cytric and trend-forecasting agency Globetrender highlight "mobile meetings," Agentic AI technology, and biometrics as key impacts in 2025. Investments in AI-driven technology make business travel more flexible, streamlined, and personalized. By 2025, business travelers increasingly prioritize their well-being and environmental impact, opting for sustainable travel options.

🏨 Solenne Ojea Devys leads OKKO Hotels and has transitioned the company to a mission-driven enterprise, focusing on sustainable and responsible hotel management. Under her direction, OKKO Hotels is evolving to align with the significant changes in the hospitality industry since its inception in 2014. The hotel chain's strategy is built on three pillars: consolidating existing practices, adapting, and aiming for new RSE (Corporate Social Responsibility) goals by 2025.

🏨 After 25 years of self-managing her 29-room Parisian hotel near the Louvre, a manager doubled her revenue by outsourcing commercialization, which involved a full audit, optimizing yield management, revising distribution, and reducing operational costs. This strategic approach allowed for real-time pricing adjustments, reducing last-minute discounts, and stabilizing occupancy rates, ultimately leading to improved revenue and reduced mental load for the manager.

🏨 Successful hotels go beyond just providing rooms; they offer an array of services aimed at enhancing guest experiences, leading to repeat visits and referrals. Essential hotel services include 24/7 reception, cleaning, dining, wellness facilities like spa and gym, as well as business and pet-friendly amenities. Leveraging AI, such as chatbots and personalized WhatsApp campaigns, hotels like the La Butte in Brittany can promote services effectively, resulting in high engagement rates (93% open rate on WhatsApp) and increased revenue. With tools like HiJiffy's Campaigns Manager, hotels can streamline their marketing efforts, driving more bookings without overburdening staff.

🏠 Cannes will host the HTL Connection from March 11-13, featuring discussions on hotel investment topics like hybrid spaces, leases, and destination evolution. Key speakers include Sophie Donabedian from B&B HOTELS, Stéphane BENSIMON, CEO of Wojo, and Pierre-Etienne DE MONTGRAND from Kasada Capital Management. Cities such as Blackpool, Calais, Nice, Ottawa, Porto, and Warsaw will pitch investment opportunities on March 11 at 4:00 pm and March 12 at 11:30 am.

🏖 Club Keravel in Carnac spans 10 hectares, offering 173 lodgings and 88 camping spots, featuring a vast aqua park, sports fields, health trail, mini-golf, and a 900m² spa. It hosts events with 5 restaurants, a 450-seat auditorium, and 10 modular meeting rooms totaling 1,100m². Vacances Bleues plans a €5.8 million renovation from 2026, aiming for modernization and an energy transition.

📈 Inno'Tourism, France's leading show on hotel innovation, features Patrick d’Altelis revealing how the AI chatbot livie is revolutionizing customer service and increasing direct bookings. The exclusive interview covers integration of Google Maps, predictive AI, and an upcoming game-changing feature, promising advancements for the independent hotel industry. Watch to learn about staying ahead in AI adoption. Contact Patrick for a demo at 06 08 33 16 93 or p.guillaume@altelis.com. Interview by Tony Loeb. Sponsored episode.

📚 A Google Business Profile (GBP) can become invisible due to lack of validation, suspension, or poor optimization. An unvalidated GBP won't show in search results or on Google Maps. Suspensions may occur for misleading information, duplicate profiles, suspected fraud, user reports, or inconsistent changes. A poorly optimized GBP is less likely to appear against direct and indirect competition on Google Search or Maps. A complete GBP has 7 times more chances of appearing in local searches. High-quality photos can increase direction requests by 42% and clicks to the website by 35%. Frequent Google Posts and precise Google My Business categories are recommended for better engagement and activity signals to Google. Guest Suite offers tools for local marketing and managing customer reviews to improve GBP visibility.

💰 The Conseil d'Etat ruled that vacation rental owners who selectively accept rental requests must pay the residence tax, even if they believed they were exempt. A couple in Finistère was taxed for their three gites despite a high reservation rate due to their discretionary acceptance rights. The initial ruling by the Rennes Administrative Tribunal was overturned on appeal by the Ministry of Finance in December 2022, leading to a potential widespread reinstatement of taxes for similar practices across France.

🏨 PAI Partners becomes the majority shareholder of Motel One, holding about 80%. Dieter Müller, Motel One's founder, regains control in April 2024 after buying back shares from Proprium Capital Partners. The partnership aims to boost international growth and maintain brand identity. Since 2000, Motel One has thrived in Europe's design economy hotel sector, boasting affordable prices, central locations, high customer satisfaction, and quality design, with over 10 million guests. Müller continues to lead and expand the real estate branch post-transaction.