Last year, Booking.com delivered 400.4 million nights booked at short-term rentals (STRs), which was 80% of Airbnb’s total nights. At the same time, Booking.com generates almost twice as many nights per listing on its platform as Airbnb. Growth rates for a number of STR listings on the Booking.com platform were 17% vs only 4% for Airbnb.
HiJiffy launches a new type of hotel chatbot with unlimited knowledge and instant updates
HiJiffy has launched Aplysia 3, a new type of chatbot powered by Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) technology, enabling hotels to deliver accurate, context-aware responses across unlimited topics – without relying on rigid FAQs.
HSMAI Launches New Edition of Certified Hospitality Digital Marketer (CHDM) Study Guide
The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) has released the 7th Edition of Hospitality Digital Marketing Essentials, the Certified Hospitality Digital Marketer (CHDM) certification study guide—the most comprehensive and up-to-date resource for hospitality professionals looking to deepen their digital marketing knowledge or prepare for the globally recognized CHDM certification.
Actabl Launches ProfitOwner: Real-Time Business Intelligence for Hotel Ownership Groups
Actabl, the leading hospitality software company dedicated to empowering hotels with actionable insights to drive profit, today announced the launch of ProfitOwner, a business intelligence platform purpose-built for hotel ownership groups. Designed to provide real-time, standardized data across all properties—regardless of brand or management company—ProfitOwner gives ownership groups direct access to the insights they need to make faster, smarter decisions and take control of portfolio performance.
Welcome to Hotel Amista, Provencal Home by Dorothee Delaye Located at the Old Port of Marseille
Welcome to the real South. Where the sun is king and conviviality is the order of the day. Enter the Noailles district. Contrasting, creative. A stone’s throw from the Old Port and the legendary Canebière. As you turn down a narrow alleyway, the majestic façade of our Amista hotel, adorned with lion heads, gargoyles and wrought-iron balconies, recounts a glorious past. Inside, the soul of a Provencal home awaits you.
Tech Entrepreneur Vanessa Osbourne Opens Up About Modernizing Hotel Emergency Preparedness to Protect People, Property and Profits
If you were to look at her resume, it would tell you that Vanessa Osbourne, founder of Smart Hotel Manager, has spent her career solving complex issues and helping companies avoid costly mistakes to the tune of 7 to 20 million dollars a day. Her experience paints the picture of a highly motivated, highly accomplished woman who has found her foothold as a leader in high-stakes environments.
Mental Health Awareness in Hospitality
In hospitality, it’s the people who make the experience. From front-of-house to back-of-house, bar teams to boardrooms, it’s the care, passion and hard work of hospitality professionals that shape each guest interaction. Yet too often, those very teams are running on empty.
Travelodge to Open New Hotel as Part of Watford Riverwell Regeneration Scheme
Travelodge, the UK’s first budget hotel brand, which operates over 600 hotels across the UK, Ireland and Spain, has exchanged contracts to develop a new 131-bedroom hotel in Watford.
Artificial Incompetence: An Undesirable Version of AI and Other CX Risks
I’ve been reviewing my customer experience research, specifically the section on the future of customer service and AI (Artificial Intelligence). A few findings prove that customers are frustrated and lack confidence in how companies are using AI:
The Evolution of Revenue, Distribution, and Commercial Management
The evolution of revenue, distribution, and commercial management fundamentally shapes how the hospitality industry operates. Hotels are increasingly recognizing that their sales, marketing, and revenue strategies can no longer operate in isolation. Guest expectations are also shifting. Traditional silos are breaking down. This leads to integrated, data-driven approaches. A guest-centric focus is emerging. Commercial management is at the forefront, taking a holistic view. This includes revenue generation. It optimizes distribution. It also covers strategic sales and marketing. Shiji Insights spoke with Annemarie Gubanski, CEO of Taktikon. We discussed these critical shifts. Her insights reveal a combination of human intuition and tech intelligence.

