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🎯 In 2021, 49 startups joined the unicorn club with valuations over $1 billion, up from 36 at the start of the year, with a record $44 billion in venture capital funding. In 2022, funding dropped due to higher interest rates and economic uncertainty, leading to valuation adjustments. Thirteen unicorns exited the market within three years, some entering public markets or merging with SPACs. By 2024, new unicorns emerged, with a shift towards ground mobility and European players gaining significance, and fintech in travel becoming more prominent.

📦 Cloudbeds announces a pioneering AI-driven Property Management System (PMS) named Cloudbeds Intelligence, introducing multimodal and causal AI to the hotel industry. This PMS interprets data to help hoteliers optimize business strategy and pricing policy. Adam Harris, co-founder and CEO of Cloudbeds, highlights the system's ability to provide actionable insights for unified commercial strategies, impacting dynamic pricing and targeted marketing. Cloudbeds Intelligence is acclaimed as the first of its kind globally, positioning ahead of industry players like Snowflake and Oracle's Cloud solutions used by Hyatt.

🏖 Hyatt Hotels Corporation partners with Grupo Piñero, headquartered in Palma de Majorca, Spain, to manage and brand Bahia Principe hotels and resorts. This 50/50 joint venture will increase Hyatt's all-inclusive rooms by 30% and strengthen its position in the global market. The deal, including 23 resorts with over 12,000 rooms across the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Jamaica, and Spain, is expected to close in the coming months, subject to standard conditions. Julio Pérez will be appointed as GM, and Encarna Piñero will be the Board Chair.

🏦 At the 32nd recruitment forum by EHL Hospitality Business School in Lausanne and Montreux, 200 companies offered numerous internships to hospitality students. Companies paid up to 2200 Swiss Francs for a stand. Swiss Hotel Management School (SHMS) in Montreux provided free stands to companies. Despite the rivalry, both schools aim to secure their students' professional success. Meanwhile, a social conflict within EDF-PEI caused a significant blackout in Guadeloupe starting mid-September.

🏡 Fontevraud l'Ermitage, a combination of a hotel and a Michelin-starred restaurant, celebrates a decade at the Abbey Royal of Fontevraud. The 4-star hotel, unique in Maine-et-Loire for its Michelin Clef, alongside Chef Thibaut Ruggeri's restaurant, elevate Europe's largest monastic city to a prime destination. Since 2021, the addition of a modern art museum and vibrant cultural lineup enriches the experience. Two exhibitions, "Bernard Buffet, Medieval and Pop" and "Workshop Diary," run through summer and June 2025, respectively. The site also honors the 900th anniversary of Aliénor of Aquitaine with immersive experiences, and showcases resident artists' works in an art trail throughout the monastery and gardens.

📌 EquipHotel 2024, an upcoming event, underscores the accelerating trend in hotel automation, including online check-ins and operations that cut administrative and operational costs, such as PMS, channel manager, and booking engines. This tech suite aims to centralize customer focus, reduce third-party commission fees, and comprises a web engine, reservation systems, metasearch, digital marketing campaigns, and BI (Business Intelligence), crucial for growth and crisis resilience, reducing OTA dependency.

💸 Christmas season can account for up to 40% of annual sales, making an optimized online gift voucher shop essential for hotels to maximize revenue. The article highlights the importance of avoiding common mistakes such as poor organization of offers, which can lead to customer confusion and lost sales. It recommends categorizing gift vouchers clearly and intuitively under headings like "Hotel," "Stay," "Unique Experiences," "Wellness," "Spa," or "Gourmet Restaurant" to facilitate easy access and enhance sales.

🚠 Helsinki, Finlande, tops the Global Destination Sustainability Index with a score of 92.43%, followed by Göteborg, Suède at 90.83%, and Copenhague, Danemark at 88.19%. French cities in the top 40 include Bordeaux at 6th with 83.37%, Lyon at 15th with 80.16%, and Paris at 20th with 77.24%. The index evaluates Destination Management Organizations and others in sustainability across four key areas.

💸 Since 2022, employees in the sector receiving tips benefit from temporary exemption from social contributions for wages less than 1.6 times the SMIC and exclusion from income tax calculations. Tips in cash and card payments are covered. The tax exemption is capped at 20% of the annual gross salary to prevent replacement of wages. To qualify, tips must be under 20% of total salary and the salary must be below 1.6 times the SMIC. An amendment proposed extending the measure until 2025 and 2026.

🏨 In September 2024, Europe's hotel activity declined with 163,135 rooms under construction (-1.0%), 87,779 rooms in final planning (-21.9%), 162,275 rooms in planning (+1.7%), and a total of 413,189 rooms under contract (-5.4%). Germany led with 27,175 rooms under construction, followed by the UK with 24,733. The Asia-Pacific region showed growth, with 509,167 rooms under construction (+1.7%), 55,448 in final planning (-50.1%), 389,689 in planning (+43.1%), and a total of 954,304 rooms under contract (+7.9%), China leading with 322,440 rooms, followed by Vietnam's 35,810. The Middle East and Africa had 110,229 rooms under construction (-4.3%), 30,955 in final planning (+3.3%), 85,178 in planning (+7.3%), and a total of 226,362 rooms under contract (+0.8%).