F&B, M&E, Ancillary Revenue

Meetings and events are in the midst of a renaissance heading into 2025, with numerous contributing factors as to why. Top of the list for the corporate and group segments is the need to bring people together in a world that has embraced hybrid or fully remote working arrangements.

Most technology is designed to captivate and keep our attention. The prime example is social media, whose addictive platforms and algorithms keep its users scrolling endlessly. But what if the goal of technology wasn’t engagement at all?

Most marketers start by thinking—throwing around ideas, holding brainstorming sessions, and filling up whiteboards. It’s fun, it is what creatives are known for. But truly effective strategies begin with looking: studying analytics, speaking to customers, and seeing the actual situation on the ground. And because strategy is a greek military word, let’s think of an Ancient Greek general planning a battle: you wouldn’t want him to send soldiers on a hunch only to discover “oops” that was the best defended flank. We’d expect them to gather intel and look first.

Hospitality is an industry that thrives on human connection, but it has often been held back by outdated technology. In a recent interview on Hotel Tech Insider, Matt Welle, CEO of Mews, shared his journey from being a hotelier to leading a revolutionary property management system (PMS) company. His insights provide a roadmap for how technology can empower hoteliers to deliver better guest experiences and drive operational efficiency.

As you’re reading through the onslaught of 2025 hotel industry predictions and trends pieces, you’re likely noticing “Automation” near the top or at the top of every list. So much so that "Automation” might become a buzzword that you start to skip over.

Into 2025, this is going to be the ‘year of data’ wherein hotels now have the tools to develop real-time data flows and structured data warehouses to conduct proper AI-driven analyses. Lucrative and alluring in theory; the reality here still far grittier and built on the blood, sweat and tears of IT soldiers who connect the APIs one by one, navigate territorial data ownership policies and rigorously test the modeling for errors, false positives, false negatives and annoying edge cases.

According to descriptions across the internet landscape, innovation is typically defined as the process of bringing about new ideas, methods, products, services, or solutions that have a significant positive impact and value; challenging the status quo, thinking outside the box.

How many articles that you’ve read recently begin with something like: hospitality is changing faster than ever. It’s a common intro because it’s a recurring theme (and because it’s one of ChatGPT’s favorite phrases) – but that doesn’t make it any less true.

As we turn the calendar to 2025, hotel owners and operators are finalizing their annual budgets and ensuring they align with the latest market conditions. With STR forecasting modest growth for 2025, it’s critical for hoteliers to move beyond static budgets, take dynamic market conditions into account, and put operational strategies in place to meet and exceed budget. Here’s how to navigate the year ahead with a combination of operational adjustments and dynamic forecasting.

Remember when Alexa and Siri were the epitome of innovation? And, even though I’m currently enamored with them, I suspect my new Meta Smart Glasses (a recent holiday gift) will be outdated before long. Looking back at this past year, it’s clear that AI’s evolution has been nothing short of revolutionary.