June 2025
Investors interest in EU high as ever, Airbnb in trouble, AI AI AI and more!
TLDR: Too Long Didn’t Read
Airbnb blames hotels for over tourism despite its own role in rising demand 🏨🌍🔼. Accor’s Q1 saw 45 new hotels, focusing on luxury and shifting to an asset-light model 🏨💼✨. OYO is diversifying with F&B concepts 🍽️🏨, and Marriott acquired CitizenM 🏨🤝.
AI is reshaping hospitality with self-check-ins gaining popularity 🤖🏨, and TripAdvisor experimenting with AI for recommendations 📲🧠. U.S. hotel demand surges 🇺🇸🏨, while football events and major occurrences boost bookings ⚽🏨📅.
In the EU, luxury investments are rising 💎🇪🇺, but UK hoteliers are urged to stay cautious amid economic uncertainty 🇬🇧📉. Academic insights on motivation highlight money, promotions, and appreciation as key drivers 💰📈👏. Meanwhile, a floating hotel concept offers new opportunities 🚢🏨.
0.5 Follow up
Where we follow up on news from previous weeks
Airbnb blames hotels for over tourism
Remember that time Airbnb was blocked or limited by various cities around the world due to it’s impact on rent and over tourism? Apparently its hotel’s fault. According to an Airbnb report, over 80% of stays in EU take place in Hotels. Fair enough. The only thing that report forgot to mention is that these hotels had to get a construction permit, submit statistics, pay taxes where applicable and are in buildings where the zoning permits it, unlike many Airbnbs. Regardless over tourism isn’t the result of Airbnb or hotels, its simply high demand outpacing local supply and corresponding infrastructure. Unfortunately, your city is just too nice for people around the world to miss.
Who decides which hotel has the best design?
Remember that annual Hospitality Design award? Have you ever wondered who are the juries who are “qualified” to decide whether your hotel has the best design this year? You are (as always on Le Portee) in luck. The jury for the 21st Annual Award can be seen here.
1. Big Players
Core news related to hospitality chains
Accor CEO latest interview
Accor CEO gave an interview. Unusual right? In Summary? Luxury is on the rise more than other segments. Opened 45 hotels in Q1. Argued that middle-class growth, infrastructure and demographics are the main variables impacting the industry. Extended for another 3 years as CEO. Average occupancy for the chain is 67%. 1% lower than 2019 levels. Main strategy points were making the chain asset lighter, by selling properties owned by the group and diversifying the portfolio further in different segments. More here.
A hostel gets 450 million Euro funding
Room00. Have you heard of them? Me neither and yet they are on they way to become the biggest hostel operator in Europe. All the sources about it popped up within the last year. An interesting story to follow over the next years, given they appeared out of nowhere.
Accor gets sued for privacy violations
On a surface, this sounds like generic news, BUT! But, this can likely happen to the majority of hotel operators. In a nutshell a site from Fairmont when visited would send information of the visitor to Meta (alleged). This was not included in the chain’s privacy T&Cs. While this isn’t going to bankrupt Accor, it sure might make a big dent in the bottom line of independent players. Indeed, likely fines can go up to 20 million Euros in EU, or 4% of your annual revenue. So? Check your cookies…
OYO, India’s biggest hotel group is going to offer F&B concepts
Who cares? Well, OYO at its core is management company with asset light strategy. You own a B&B somewhere, OYO comes in, gives you a brand guideline, software and suppliers for your day to day and away you go. Offering F&B would be an additional segment, that would make the model a layer more complicated. Interesting how will that look like in the years to come.
Marriott takes over CitizenM
In case you missed it, Marriott acquired CitizenM. In negotiations for a while, and announced in April. Taking place as we speak. For those who don’t know CitizenM, it was is a unique hotel offering with tiny luxury rooms. Being some of the first to use technology to get people to experience something different outside normal hotel concepts. Biggest chain in the world, buys perhaps the most innovative hotel chain.
2. Travel tech
Core news related to the industry
Front Desk not needed anymore?
“Oh leave me alone” would a seasoned hotelier say. Reception is important, dealing with people, helping them. Seeing their emotions and supporting them. “Providing Character” to an otherwise empty building, is what makes us special! Well 70% of travelers, according to a mews survey, said they would skip the front desk in favor of self-service. Now, the survey is a little bias, since only 2000 Americans were asked about their preference. This means no 80+ year old grumpy Germans or 76+ year old reluctant French were asked about their opinion of using digital check-in. Which means around 96% of European travelers were unfortunately excluded from this study. But who knows, maybe they can be converted too.
TripAdvisor using AI for trip recommendations
Remember that company who we all loved and participated it? Gaining reviewer badges and praising (or not) fine establishments around the world? Well ever since google decided to grow their own review platform, Tripadvisor has been on a slow decline. Regardless, they are now testing AI and LLMs to create trip recommendations and look for high intent individuals. Unfortunately, everybody else also has access to LLMs, thus lets see if this will make TripAdvisor the returning Hero.
Using AI to respond to reviews?
Here is a little take by TMG on how to respond to guest reviews using AI. In short, it can come up with fake policies that can obviously backfire when you are responding to an angry guest. It will likely mirror what ever it is responding to, meaning just repeat back what ever complaint the guest has (not optimal for SEO). Basically double checking the final responses and giving what ever LLM you are using, notes on how to do better will likely mitigate that.
3. Industry Trends
Core news related to the industry
Record high July 4th?
While a lot of reports show that tourists are less likely to go to US, it does not seem like US really needs foreigners visiting them that much. I know, right? A report from June showed an estimate 72.2 milllion Americans were going to travel during July 4th. A record high number. The vast majority, around 60 million will do so by car. For comparison in 2019 there were around 65,9 million in total traveling.
In the mean time hotel pipeline in the US has growtn 5% YOY. Mostly upscale and midscale hotels. Budget oriented can be probably found in Canada? Europe and other continents are showing growth too. More competition, more fun?
Europeans choose train over anything
Remember Americans choosing car as their preferred form of transport? Well apparently Europeans are switching to train. According to a survey conducted by a rail manufacturer Hitachi. (definitely not bias). There are several references about how train has major stakes in specific travel types (i.e. 2.5 hours or more), yet no absolute comparison. Yet what the article catches well is the sentiment, Europeans want to go green and train is the best way to do so. Two thirds or surveyed Europeans are even pro-banning short-haul flights. I assume these two thirds have never waited on a German DB train for 2-3 hours or had several trains cancelled on them.
Investor sentiment EU
Investors were asked about investing in EU. Specifically into hospitality, by everybody’s favourite CBRE. Result? Fuck yeah! Which cities are the current winners? funny enough London is number 1 (Brexit seems to not have impacted that). Barcelona is still 5. Locals should perhaps burn more buildings down or something. Where to invest into? Luxury and midscale, mostly. Funny enough, according to a latest HVS take on profitability for Midscale and Economy hotels, results were pretty clear. Economy is more profitable.
On the other hand, UK hoteliers were recently warned and urged to be cautious. Inflation, lack of domestic spending and GDP stagnation. But I guess London isn’t UK, right?
Football boosts hotel bookings
Remember Taylor swift concerts bringing record high numbers to hotels worldwide? What about UEFA Champions League? 32% boost was seen in Germany. Whether you want your hotel filled with football fans is another question, but 32% sounds good to me! You know what else caused a huge surge in bookings? Pope Fracis’ Funeral. So if you are chasing those ultimate events, I guess just look at your local obituary’s.
4. Hospitality Academia
Scientific papers from the sector. For those who want to know for sure ;)
Top motivational factors across industries
Remember that word Motivation? Me too, sometimes. Indeed a few scientists got together and tried to find out what factors motivate people the most. Specifically by industry. In hotels, what were the top 3 factors? You guessed right, money, promotions and appreciation. Not so difficult right? The only sector that did not have wages as number 1 factor was energy (maybe they already make enough?). Factors 2 and 3 on the other hand vary across all sectors they looked at. More here.
5. Tips & Tricks Tools & SaaS
Any new software you can use? Industry tricks you missed?
Distribution chart 2025
Ever wondered what tools exists out there for your perfect tech stack? Well we found something pretty insightful. A pretty full distribution tech chart filled with tools from PMS to up selling. More here.
Floating hotel
Hotel on boat? Not unique, but still an alternative to taking over real estate space that is otherwise so needed for private apartments!
UK hoteliers warned of inflation
UK Hoteliers are advised to be cautious! In case you weren’t and were just spending left and right. Jokes aside, inflation is still high, people are spending less, tariffs are also a thing. Oh and the war wars.
Independent Hoteliers pains?
A revenue management SaaS made a survey and called it “The Voice of Independent Hospitality”. In there 200 owners were asked about their pains and gains. Read up on it if this relates to you. But of course as always, don’t forget the salt.
6. Externalities
Economics, finance, geopolitics. In case you live in a cave.