Before you sign: What it costs to leave a soft brand - In two of the largest chains' 2026 agreements, an owner cannot end the contract early, even if the brand underdelivers. Leaving costs up to five years of fees, and the guest records stay with the chain..

Oct 26, 2026 • Hospitality

The EU says Booking.com may not do enough against scams. Hotels have already felt what it did. - On October 21 the EU opened its first Digital Services Act case against Booking.com, and a Commission official called what it has done against scams "absolutely substandard".

Oct 26, 2026 • Hospitality

Read before the guest: Booking.com's AI answers before you can - Booking.com's AI already answers guests' questions about your hotel, Expedia has announced its own, and neither says what you get to see.

Oct 26, 2026 • Hospitality

Amex renamed its hotel credit. Airbnb is in it, and the one-night stay is out. - On October 22, Amex opened the Platinum card's $600 hotel credit to Airbnb Luxe villas, and from January 1 a one-night stay at a Fine Hotels + Resorts property no longer earns it.

Oct 26, 2026 • Hospitality

Hotel distribution in 2026: The GDS runs the business trip - The business traveler came back to the GDS this year. She books through software now, and your GDS rate sits on her screen next to Booking.com's..

Oct 23, 2026 • Hospitality

Before you sign: What a soft brand actually sends your hotel - Two of the largest chains publish what their soft brands deliver: fuller rooms at a higher rate, most of it arriving through the loyalty program, and a booking count that includes channels an independent already has..

Oct 23, 2026 • Hospitality

Microsoft's AI will build the business trip from three things - The calendar, the travel policy, the loyalty account. A chain hotel can sit in two of them. An independent without a loyalty program sits in one at most..

Oct 23, 2026 • Hospitality

Hotel distribution in 2026: The OTAs still sell your rooms - Their share barely moved. What changed: you wait for your money, and the last word on your price is theirs..

Oct 21, 2026 • Hospitality