🛎️Booking + HITEC
Booking.com has announced significant changes to its contractual agreements
🛎️ Booking.com has announced significant changes to its contractual agreements, particularly the elimination of price parity clauses. Here are the key points of this development:
Elimination of parity clauses: Starting July 1st, Booking.com will remove parity clauses from its contracts within the European Economic Area. This change allows establishments to offer different rates on their own channels and on Booking.com, aligning with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulations.
Benefits for hoteliers: This new policy provides hoteliers with the ability to optimize sales through direct channels, offering exclusive discounts and promotions without restrictions. This can enhance their competitiveness and visibility on metasearch engines.
Enhanced loyalty programs: Hotels can now create more attractive loyalty programs with economic incentives and discounts, increasing customer retention and satisfaction without the limitations previously imposed by Booking.com.
Potential penalties and positioning impact: Despite the removal of price parity clauses, Booking.com may still apply penalties affecting hotel positioning within its platform. This could influence direct sales and the billboard effect generated for the hotel’s direct booking channels.
Beneficiaries of the change: Independent hotels, boutique hotels, and smaller chains that rely on direct bookings for profitability will benefit most from these changes. These types of companies can now offer competitive pricing and exclusive deals directly to consumers, enhancing their market presence and customer loyalty.
📅 HITEC
From June 24 to 27, HITEC, the world's largest and longest-running hospitality technology event, will take place in Charlotte, N.C. This prestigious event will showcase the latest trends and innovations in the industry.
Exciting news and trends to expect:
Foxhills Club & Resort Elevates Guest Experience with Installation of Crave Interactive Tablets in All Rooms. More here
Paraty Tech, one of the world's leading booking reservation engines, is set to launch its operations in the USA, with Rafe Marshall joining the team. A portion of the team will be present at HITEC to mark this significant expansion.
Sabre Hospitality launches SynXis Concierge AI: revolutionizing customer service with generative AI. More here
Workforce management system Unifocus has entered into a partnership with Nonius, a guest-facing solutions company hotels, allowing Nonius’ platform to integrates with the Unifocus operations management system. More here
📢 Don’t miss these sessions:
How hotel technology can enhance wellness revenues
Location: W207CD
Date: Monday, June 24
Time: 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM
Growth Focus: Wellness programming boosts hotel ancillary revenues.
Labor Challenges: Labor remains a central issue in wellness operations.
Tech Solutions: Utilizing labor-light gadgets and automated backend systems.
Session Insights: Key technologies and successful examples enhancing wellness revenues.
Navigating the generative AI landscape in hospitality: Tools, risks, ethics, and best practices
Location: W208
Date: Monday, June 24
Time: 9:00 AM – 10:15 AM
Generative AI Deep Dive: Explore the technology, training methods, and potential of generative AI, including LLMs, AI Agents, and RAG deployments.
Real-World Applications: Discuss current and upcoming AI applications in hospitality.
Risk Analysis: Understand ethical, bias, financial, and compliance risks associated with generative AI.
Best Practices: Learn best practices for adopting AI in enterprises to maximize efficiency and achieve desired outcomes.
📢 There will also be several prominent speakers, including:
Bart Berkey: Keynote Speaker, Top 2% Podcast Host, Best Selling Author, TEDx Speaker
Glenn Haussman: Host, No Vacancy News
Anthony Melchiorri: President, Argeo Hospitality
Dr. Bryan K. Williams: Owner, B.Williams Enterprise, LLC & Keynote Speaker
Gavin Allison: Global Head of IT, Lore Group
Janine Alsalam: Vice President, Sales, Cvent
Christian Althen: Chief Relationship Officer (CRO), Macrotech
Ajay Aluri, Ph.D.: Founding Director, Nemacolin Hospitality Innovation/Technology Lab & Associates, West Virginia University
Suzanne Bagnera, Ph.D.: Assistant Professor, Florida International University
Daniel Barsky: Partner, Holland & Knight LLP