Early this year, news broke that the Henn-na Hotel in Sasebo, Japan was laying off half of its workforce. What made this news particularly interesting was that the Henn-na Hotel was staffed almost entirely by robots.

As a business owner, you have to anticipate the equipment needs for your business that will ensure you meet your customer needs and growth goals. Whether you’re baking, freezing, refrigerating or grilling, equipment is a substantial investment, and the inevitable upgrade or purchase of new equipment after a few years can cost thousands of dollars and put a strain on your budget.

It appears that AirAsia has a bigger problem on its hands than it can possibly imagine. Now, even the largest local tour operators have stopped selling its flights on their online platforms. Whatever the outcome, one thing is clear: Online travel booking is such a powerful weapon.

TUI clearly thinks having an airline is crucial, but what about its big rival Thomas Cook?

InterContinental Hotels Group has partnered with Healthe® by Lighting Science, a global leader in innovative LED lighting solutions, to pilot the use of state-of-the-art circadian lighting to help guests sleep better while travelling.

In cities with a steady stream of tourists, business trippers or both, many hotels will have no problem maintaining a high occupancy rate throughout the week and even throughout the year.

This week in tourism, Universal reveals the details of its newest Harry Potter attraction, while Brexit anxiety continues to permeate the travel industry. Plus, don't miss our deep dive into the importance of the Amazon's cacay nut.

This week in digital news, Google's easy-to-use hotel destination threatens to shake up the booking industry, and we explore the potential impact of Elizabeth Warren's proposal to regulate big tech. Plus, multi-purpose delivery platform Meituan Dianping takes over as the go-to site for hotels in China.

There is still much room for cross-brand synergy or consolidation under the umbrella of Alibaba, and globalization has always core to Alibaba’s business strategy, which aims to realize 'Global Buy, Global Sell, Global Delivery, Global Pay, and Global Fun'.

IHG has partnered with Healthe by Lighting Science to pilot the use of circadian lighting to help guests sleep better while traveling. Crowne Plaza Atlanta Airport will be the first IHG property to install the JOURNI Mobile Task Light in guestrooms. Designed using Healthe’s patented GoodDay and GoodNight spectrum technologies, JOURNI allows access to the alertness and focus-enhancing spectrum during the day, and then changes to the warm, sleep-enhancing spectrum at night.

The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) this week released the results of its 2018 Lodging Survey, which is funded by the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Foundation (AHLEF) and provides a detailed assessment of advancements in amenities, guest services, sustainability, and technology, in addition to other industry trends. Conducted by AHLA partner STR every two years, the survey takes into account responses from thousands of hoteliers across the country.

In a span of just a few months, Google’s threat to booking travel has become a looming even larger. Indeed, Skift said last October Google’s new hotel search is presenting a greater threat to booking rivals. Now the tech giant has added a full-fledged destination site for hotels, without any major fanfare, and has potential implications for booking sites, as well as Airbnb, on the lines of what it has done with its already very-popular Google Flights. Once the users go to Google’s hotel site and select a hotel, a “Book a room” button is very prominent.

After a decade of consistent growth for the UK hotel sector, with RevPAR increasing on average 4% since 2010¹ and GDS agency sales increasing YOY currently by 9%, HotelREZ Hotels & Resorts is poised to celebrate its 15th anniversary by continuing to grow its portfolio.

It’s probably fair to say that Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video have completely changed the way most people consume media. Hulu recently announced that it has 25 million subscribers in the United States, and, according to Statista, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have about 58.6 and 26 million American subscribers, respectively.

Cloud-based POS provider Epos Now has announced a partnership with restaurant software provider TableUp, an all-in-one solution for restaurants of all sizes that offers a personalized and convenient experience to both establishments and their customers.

Online ordering is showing up at restaurants across the country and for good reason. People want convenience and restaurants want to increase revenue. It’s a winning combination.

Eleven, a provider of cloud-based guest Wi-Fi management software, has published the Ultimate Guide to Guest Wi-FI Management eBook. Wi-Fi that just works continues to be the #1 most desired amenity. Yet, hotel brands still continue to struggle with how to deliver simple, seamless, and secure Wi-Fi when each of their properties has its own network hardware, software and service provider.

The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) today released the results of a comprehensive Lodging Survey, a detailed assessment of advancements in amenities, guest services, sustainability and technology, in addition to other industry trends. This recent survey underscores how hotels advance, accommodate and innovate the guest experience. Consumers can expect seamless transitions between their everyday lives and their lives on the road thanks to increased mobile compatibility, flexible dining options and welcoming accommodations.

The grounding of Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft won't be super disruptive as airlines will work to keep cancellations at a minimum. It does add uncertainty to the global aviation sector as business travel is on the rise, though.

In today's global tourism market, to future-proof your business, you must vertically integrate and scale up, says Friedrich Joussen, CEO of TUI Group, speaking at the ITB in Berlin this week.

Hospitality businesses are highly relied upon OTA’s to deal with their inventory, online travel agencies play a significant role and are found to be providing properties with real-time information. A core part of this research found independent properties surprisingly have a “balanced channel blend” and distribution cost was a key factor in their overall distribution strategy and use of information. Chain properties conversely, had a “high impact” on their channel strategy.

RLH Corporation's desire to push the technology envelope is no secret—it just introduced a housekeeping robot in December—and now the company is making additional moves in that direction.

Detroit’s image of a proper rust-belt city in the depths of despair during the Great Recession and the subsequent filing of bankruptcy in 2013 has been reshaped into an inspiring story of resilience and resurgence. Detroit’s economy is strong, with unemployment decreasing every year since 2014 and an employment base that continues to diversify. While the economic mainstays—General Motors, Ford, and Fiat Chrysler—still thrive in the city, other major employers belong to the financial and healthcare sectors; moreover, the technology sector continues to grow.

Hotel Internet Services released a new white paper examining how advances in consumer technology have impacted and heightened guest expectations of hotel Wi-Fi and related services. Using feedback from a recent survey conducted with more than 670 guests and 200 hoteliers across the United States, the white paper demonstrates how the expanding functionality of smart personal devices and evolving online guest behavior is placing greater strain on hotel Wi-Fi networks.

If there’s anyone who understands the true value of a holistic and cohesive revenue strategy it’s Mike Medsker, who has worked across many of the hotel departments that touch revenue, from sales to marketing to revenue management. Mike worked his way up from the property level to the corporate level before branching off to start his own revenue strategy consultancy, Focal Revenue Solutions.

Over the past 40 years, hoteliers have made significant progress in the field of revenue management. Revenue management is no longer just thought of as yielding or pulling levers to get a price to match demand. Many organizations have adopted a more holistic revenue strategy approach, aligning several departments around the same data, goals, and metrics.