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📱 Digital adoption surges with customers increasingly using digital channels to find businesses, check prices, read reviews, and make secure reservations. By 2025, this trend is expected to accelerate. Only 21% of leisure professionals are considered fully digitized according to PhocusWright. The leisure industry reservations online increased from 75.8% in 2017 to 82.2% in 2018, with direct sales in the US leisure sector jumping from 32% in 2019 to 75% in 2023. However, 40% of global operators still lacked a modern booking system in 2024. The leisure industry seeks to slow price hikes in 2025 after a daunting 2024 season. In 2025, it's crucial for businesses to integrate digital tools for on-site customer experience improvements, use responsive websites with real-time booking engines, connect to online travel agencies (OTAs), and ensure mobile compatibility, given 80% of high-season bookings are last-minute and made on mobile devices. Google My Business and mobile payments like ApplePay and GooglePay are becoming essential. Google's "Things To Do" enables direct, real-time booking information, which is free for businesses.

🏢 EquipHotel 2024 concluded on a high note from November 3-7 at Paris Porte de Versailles. Themed "Osons!", the event attracted 80,000 professionals over 5 days, with a 15% international attendance from 114 countries. A total of 1,200 exhibitors, 40% international from 40 countries, showcased their offerings. The edition featured 100 conferences with industry leaders discussing key topics. Nicolas Dufourcq sponsored the 7th edition of La Fabrique du Tourisme, focusing on AI impacts on hospitality.

🍴 Medialog and TheFork, through TheFork Manager, announce a partnership to streamline restaurant operations by integrating reservation and order management. The collaboration enhances efficiency by offering seamless synchronization, optimized floor organization, and a simplified payment process. Benefits include time savings, improved table management, complete transaction tracking, and insights into customer preferences. Medialog, established in 1988, specializes in innovative software for the hospitality sector, while TheFork, a Tripadvisor® company, is a leader in online restaurant reservations in Europe, with about 55,000 partner restaurants, nearly 40 million app downloads, and over 20 million verified reviews.

🏡 Airbnb launched a national data access portal for French cities during the Salon des Maires event from November 19-21, 2024. The portal aims to help municipalities strategize tourism and housing management, with updated data including number of stays, economic benefits, and local accommodation types. Amid regulatory challenges, including a new law limiting primary residence rentals to 90 days, Airbnb offers data to balance regulation with occasional rental benefits.

🏠 Marriott International expands its branded residence market presence in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) with 70 projects, including 43 signed agreements and 27 opened properties. In the past two years, 26 new agreements were signed, doubling the previous two years' tally. Highlights include St. Regis Residences in Spain and W Residences at Dubai Harbour. The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Dubai, will feature 200 residences with yacht docking facilities.

🏠 In Fontainebleau, less than an hour from Paris, the Hôtel & Spa Napoléon offers 51 rooms and suites, notably the coveted 111 with a terrace. Historically, 34 kings and 2 emperors chose Fontainebleau Castle as a retreat. The hotel, located on Rue Grande with a neoclassical facade, features an Empire style decoration including portraits of Napoleon, and a central courtyard garden. Its restaurant Empreinte is run by a duo of young chefs.

🚌 Strasbourg's tramway users can now monitor real-time crowd levels thanks to Affluences' 6-month experiment begun after Paris and Lyon initiatives. Using AI and cameras at Etoile Bourse station, the system evaluates tram occupancy across 5 levels and displays it for travelers at Porte de l'Hôpital station. Data privacy is ensured as faces are blurred, with no storage of video during the entire experiment, complying with GDPR.

🏠 The renovated 3 Mazarium, a historical site for coin minting since 1789, now offers 1590 m² of flexible space dedicated to art and exchange, including the Grande Halle, Salle de la Tour, and Auditorium André et Liliane Bettencourt (350 seats). Architect Marc Barani revamped the site in 2014, incorporating eco-responsible event planning. Châteauform’ Event, known for personalized professional events, emphasizes responsible gastronomy with partner NOMAD, awarded for their commitment to creative and sustainable cuisine.

🏖️ Launched in late October, the mobile app Gaided is an AI-powered voice-activated travel assistant. Méric Settembre, co-founder and CEO, aims to make Gaided the ultimate travel companion. Gaided differs from other apps with its ability to provide natural voice information about places of interest without predefined routes, utilizing GPS and generative AI to synthesize information from sources like Wikipedia. With over 2000 downloads in three weeks, the app is available on Apple and Android in 6 languages. Plans for 2025 include a funding round to expand the team and develop new features.

🏡 In a €157.5 million deal, InterContinental Rome Ambasciatori Palace and the Anglo American Hotel Florence have been financed. The 5-star InterContinental Rome, with 160 rooms and suites, reopened in 2023 after a complete renovation. The Anglo American Hotel, part of Curio Collection by Hilton, offers 118 rooms and reopened in April 2024 following a two-year refurbishment. Asset management company Castello SGR manages €4.3 billion, with over 70 funds and more than 400 properties.