Revenue Management & Channel Opt

Based on extensive industry research and expertise from EHL faculty members and the EHL’s renowned network of industry leaders, the EHL Insights Report: Hospitality Outlook 2026 offers an in-depth perspective on where the industry is heading in the coming years.

Earlier this week, I found myself at Expedia Group’s Roman offices, seated across from Elisa Ragno for Guess the Guest. The plan, at least on paper, was simple: talk about AI and hospitality. What happened instead was closer to a dérive, a drift across the borderlands where travel, technology, and human complexity leak into each other. Elisa had the admirable courage to ask real questions and the even greater courage to let me answer them without a safety net.

An important guiding principle for hotel design, in-room features and public amenities is, “As one does at home, one will soon expect at hotels.” What this implies is that if hotels are not keeping up with the trends, then they are either losing bookings or will have a hard time growing nightly rates beyond what the commoditized market-determined price commands.

In an industry defined by rapid change and relentless competition, leadership transitions can determine whether a hospitality firm adapts or falls behind. This article unpacks how CEO turnover can become a lever for innovation, exploring who drives the boldest transformations, which organizational structures amplify or constrain them, and what these dynamics mean for boards shaping the next generation of leaders.

There’s an explosion of talk about AI in hotels, but very little actual application. Or is there? AI has been coming to hotels for a while, but not in the flashy, headline-grabbing way many expect. There won’t be a moment when a chatbot takes over the front desk or a robot manages your F&B logistics overnight. Instead, AI is creeping into every corner of hotel operations in small, incremental ways. Quietly. Invisibly. Often without anyone calling it AI at all.

The advent of Agentic AI is not just another technology trend; it is a seismic event forcing an API-first distribution mandate in the travel and hospitality industry. Based on decades of experience in the vendor and operator ecosystem, I believe the commercial winners in this new era will be those who move swiftly to build an AI-native architecture. The time for static distribution is over; the future rewards speed, data completeness, and strategic control.

Walked past Charlotte Tilbury Beauty “1 Woman. 10 Looks.” commercial (brilliant btw.) and thought: Revenue managers are the same: one person, ten playbooks depending on the chaos level of the week.

AI adoption is happening in hotels, and hoteliers are confident about the future role for AI in hospitality. While there are barriers and challenges as businesses come to understand AI adoption, there are positive ways AI is being applied. Here are three key areas that will influence the future of your AI-powered Find, Book, and Grow strategy.

We’ve heard this promise before. The Internet was supposed to decentralize travel. Then came social media, metasearch, and the so-called “sharing economy.” Each new wave arrived with the same story: this time, hotels will finally connect directly with their guests again.

MICE means money for hotels. But what industries are worth capitalizing on? With a fast-moving economy, hotels risk missing out if they don’t stay aware and agile. Here’s what hoteliers in London need to know about the state of MICE right now to define a Find, Book and Grow strategy that works.