Future of Lodging

The pandemic has fundamentally changed the future of room service delivery methods, menus, and guest room design.

It’s all about the extra touches, as more hospitality companies reposition themselves to capture a younger, more mobile guest. Developers and investors won't be far behind.

A couple of regions are performing well for Accor, the France-based hotel company. But let's not confuse this with those booming pre-pandemic times. The Covid hotel industry recovery still has a long way to go.

The listings platform is refocusing on hosts, and wants to make their lives as easy as possible in a bid to continue growing the business.

Repurposing unused square footage to up the ante on experiential travel can give hotels the boost they need — especially during the off-season.

Does Vacasa’s technology and scale really give it a defensible position in North America? Moats are so overrated.

Oyo's potential IPO has likely run head-on into the collapse of several recent public market debuts in India with a couple of lawsuits potentially figuring into the regulator's delayed decision. Oyo will eventually go public, but that maiden public appearance likely won't resemble the initial vision.

It isn't that Vacasa has no competition in North America in vacation rental management, but there isn't a strong challenger at the moment after Vacasa bought out its strongest competitors over the last two years. In such a hot market, look for that void to get filled pronto.

Pressure from regulators and maybe disgruntled partners prompted Google to add free booking links in search results and Maps in travel. Google certainly hasn't leveled the proverbial playing field among advertisers and non-advertisers, but hotels and smaller online travel agencies may see some benefit.

Who needs telephones in hotel guest rooms? Hotels can instead have guests make and receive calls via their mobile apps. That's one of the outcomes made possible by this acquisition of the vendor Criton by Nonius.