Top News

💰 Booking.com introduced new General Terms of Service (CGP) in December 2024, with clauses 2.1.5 and 2.1.6 raising concerns, the latter not creating a contractual obligation for hoteliers to provide availability. The CGP may be updated to correct grammatical errors by summer. Hotels with different commercial names face technical issues with Booking's Know Your Partner (KYP) form, risking invisibility on the platform after January 28, 2025, if unresolved. A new rating system was implemented on January 23, expected to maintain or improve most scores.

🛫 Booking.com, Google, and OpenAI are competing in travel bookings using AI tools such as Trip Planner, chatbot Gemini, and Operator. OpenAI's Operator, in Beta for pro subscribers, connects with platforms like TripAdvisor, Booking.com, Priceline, and more, offering complete reservation capabilities. Travelers face a choice between sticking with familiar platforms or switching to AI assistants from Google or OpenAI. Operator allows for setting preferences and direct booking through partner platforms. Tripadvisor has also partnered with Perplexity, showcasing the intensifying rivalry.

💸 The new U.S. President denounced the OECD/G20 agreement on a global minimum tax of 15%, previously concluded by 140 countries in 2021. This accord applied to multinationals with over €750 million in revenue and was ratified by France (transposed into the 2024 Finance Law). It aimed at ensuring a minimum 15% tax rate on profits globally, projected to yield over $220 billion annually worldwide and between €1.5 to €5 billion for France. The U.S. withdrawal may lead to intensified tax competition among countries and impact international trade.

🏢 On January 30, 2025, the first "live recorded" show on "New Technologies and Hospitality" will feature Franco-Swiss actress Anne Richard, from "Rentrée 42" at Comédie Bastille, original from École Hôtelière de Lausanne. Hosted by Eric Rajaud and Pierre Ferchaud, join the 45-minute session at 12:00 PM with Magali Elhage, Laurent Larochelle, Christophe Gamon, and Léa de Chambure. Sneak peeks will be broadcast the following week.

🔍 OpenAI launched Operator, an advanced AI agent, yesterday in the United States. Operator, built on GPT-4o and equipped with Computer Using Agent (CUA) technology, autonomously navigates the web, fills forms, and interacts with graphical interfaces by analyzing screen pixels. Capable of booking restaurants, organizing trips, online shopping, and combining PDF files, Operator offers real-time feedback and awaits user commands. Currently available through a $200 monthly premium subscription, plans for international access and more affordable options are in the works. Early testers used VPNs for tasks like hotel bookings in Marseille. OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, acknowledges Operator's imperfections but emphasizes its potential, while also integrating safeguards against misuse. Operator represents a step towards intelligent, everyday AI assistants, akin to the film "Her".

📌 The Cour de Cassation ruled on January 15, 2025 (Cass. soc., January 15, 2025, No. 23-19.046), in favor of a restaurant server claiming unpaid overtime for working 6 days a week, 10 hours to 15 hours and 17 hours to 23:30 or midnight on Saturdays. The court deemed the employer had sufficient details to respond to the claim, stressing the employer's obligation to keep detailed records of work hours, as per the consistent jurisprudence and national collective agreement of HCR.

🏖️ Le Groupe Pierre & Vacances-Center Parcs au 1er trimestre 2024/2025 a vu une croissance de 2,2% de ses activités touristiques et une hausse de 1,7% du chiffre d'affaires hébergement, atteignant 292,0 millions d’euros. Le prix moyen de vente a augmenté de 4,4%, malgré une baisse de 2,6% des nuits vendues due à la fermeture pour rénovation du Domaine Center Parcs des Hauts de Bruyères. Le RevPar a progressé de 2,0%, avec un taux d'occupation de 67,8%. Center Parcs a augmenté son chiffre d'affaires de 0,5%, avec une hausse de 3,0% au BNG et une baisse de 4,2% en France. Pierre & Vacances a enregistré une croissance de 13,6%, avec des hausses de 9,8% en France et de 27,8% en Espagne.

🏨 In May 2025, Otonomus Hotel will open in Las Vegas, less than 10 minutes from the Strip, as the first AI-driven hotel, offering highly personalized experiences and capable of hosting up to 1,100 guests. Rooms range from simple to six-room suites, with preferences like proximity to the pool considered. Services, facilitated by AI and robots, average $300 per night. Founder Philippe Ziade plans to expand to Downtown Las Vegas and internationally, with Dubai in sight.

🏥 L'Hôtel Le Champlain in La Rochelle, owned by Groupe Turenne Hôtellerie since 2019 acquisition, opened a new spa and earned a fourth star in 2022. The Brisson family previously managed the hotel for three generations. The hotel now features a 40 m² spa, including two treatment rooms with Phytomer products, a 1,000 m² French garden, and 39 rooms. In 2024, Turenne Hôtellerie expanded by investing in OHG, which owns 15 properties in Western and Central France.

🏛 Over 229,000 tonnes of plastic waste are dumped into the Mediterranean annually. The BeMed's pilot project aimed to eliminate single-use plastics in hotels, starting with Intercontinental Marseille, then replicating the success at La Badira in Hammamet, Tunisia—resulting in two guides for hoteliers. In France, a -78% reduction in single-use plastic waste equated to -165kg over three months.