Author: Admin

Independent hoteliers are bombarded daily with technology vendors pitching miracle solutions. Everywhere you turn, there’s another acronym, another platform, another promise to “transform” your property—if only you buy their product first.

As the longtime General Manager of TUI Magic Life Candia Maris Resort in Crete and the recently appointed General Manager of Santo Collection on Santorini – both under Metaxa Hospitality Group, I’ve seen firsthand that no matter a hotelier’s reason for embracing sustainability, the rewards – for the property, our guests, and the broader community and culture – are well worth the effort.

Does your menu feature a golden cappuccino? Are your interiors adorned with gold leaf?

When you dream about your next big adventure, what transforms that daydream into action? What takes you from “That would be amazing, someday” to “Let’s book it now”? Maybe it’s a stunning photo on social media that sparks your imagination, a captivating blog post, or an inspiring conversation with a friend or family member. Whatever the trigger, something shifts – and suddenly, the idea of travel starts becoming a plan.

At HITEC 2025 in Indianapolis, we sat down with Ryan King, Senior Vice President for the Americas at Shiji Group, to unpack how hotels can measure, interpret, and act on guest experience data. Ryan explained why reputation now depends as much on real-time feedback analytics as on human service, and how tools like the Guest Review Index (GRI) are helping hoteliers identify both standout moments and systemic breakdowns. He also weighed in on AI’s growing role in the industry – not as a replacement for people, but as a tool to enhance guest experience and operational focus.

Mylos Hotel will shortly be opening in Cargèse, the most authentically Greek of Corsica’s villages. This modern auberge, which has been designed and constructed by the Orma Architettura consultancy and embellished by interior decorator Dorothée Meilichzon, is committed to operating with full consideration for the environment and is fully integrated into the surrounding landscape.

Companies in the United Kingdom could unlock over £319 billion in additional sales by increasing their strategic investment in business travel. Despite a steady recovery since the pandemic, current travel and expense (T&E) spending still falls short of the level needed to maximise revenue and profitability – even when considering COVID-era investments in virtual meeting platforms. The research finds that a 9.7% increase in T&E spending could yield an 8.1% rise in sales for UK-based companies.

Recently I was reading some McKinsey and Google studies about “the effectiveness of marketing” and CMO/CEO issues. It’s a recurring boardroom drama: CMOs defending budgets while CFOs quietly (or not-so-quietly) ask for cuts. And it’s almost always followed by the same question: “What’s the ROI of marketing anyway?” (Random note: It would be interesting to put a percentage of all brand ads into the balance sheet as brand equity).

Let’s be honest, a lot of hotel marketing sounds the same these days: “Luxury rooms”, “Friendly staff”, “Perfect location”, “Nestled”. Yawn! In the modern world, where copy-and-paste templates and AI-generated copy are everywhere, it’s easy to create content, but all it does is blend in. When every hotel sounds alike, it becomes harder to stand out and truly connect with guests. Writing content that resonates with audiences is about bringing them into your hotel’s world through the age-old power of (good) storytelling.