Chip Connely's vision for Airbnb and 4 more stories
FUTURIST VIEW ON HOTEL MARKETING OF 2016
I sat down with Buzz&Go Founder some weeks ago to take a futurist look at hotel marketing technology and advances. We looked at what were the recent advances and what are the probable future advances in technology for hotel marketing. The outcome was a slidedeck of 25 pages. Slidedeck is the best medium as it is just easy to read.
M&A SEASON FOR HOTEL TECH?
Cendyn buys GuestFolio, Ctrip buys Skyscanner. It surely seems like it is Mergers and Acquisitions seasons. It could be a sign of things to come, or just a happy coincidence. But as a hotelier recently told me, the renovations are done, hotels now need to compete on service and that service will come through great hotel technology tools.
THE BIGGER PICTURE OF AIRBNB
What is Airbnb's end-game in travel? Skift did a pretty interesting interview with Chip Connely that reveals maybe a little more than expected. The super-travel-brand concept sounds very similar to the original OTA idea. There's a hint at going into the flights and taxi/uber space as well as trips. Is it only a matter of time before they allow hotels as well?
HOTEL TECH OPEN OR CLOSED
I wrote this article for SnapShot last week on how hotel technology stacks (full packages of software) needs to be open if our industry is to really make it. Most of the core technology systems hotels use today are still closed which is choking evolution. Partly because we still use really old tech and partly because of the politics involved. It's time we move forward.
IF YOU MISSED PHOCUSWRIGHT
Duetto put together a great recap of key quotes and interviews from Phocuswright this year. Seems like our industry's candor has gone up a notch and that is a great thing. It's an 8-10 minute read that you wont regret.