Hotel technology tips

South Korean hospitality tech company Onda, announced on Thursday that it has raised $10 million in its Series-B funding round.

Frontline Performance Group, a firm specializing in hospitality workforce solutions,announced its entry into the Indian market last month.

Mews has raised $110 million at a $1.2 billion valuation, the hotel tech startup said Monday.

In a dynamic world where technology is rapidly advancing, the hospitality industry is at the precipice of a transformative era. Embracing innovative technologies promises to elevate guest experiences, empower hospitality employees, and streamline operations. Rotana, one of the leading hotel management companies in the region with hotels across the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe and Türkiye ,  has recognized the potential of technology and is at the forefront of this revolution. In a recent interview with Thynk.Cloud, Guy Hutchinson, President and CEO of Rotana, sheds light on the future of hospitality and emphasizes the need to break down silos to fully harness the benefits of technology.

Before the pandemic hit, hotels had spent roughly 2.5 percent of revenue on new technologies. The size of that investment dropped during the pandemic.

A U.S. hotel tech company with equity backing has acquired a booking engine based in Ireland. 

Opinions vary widely about the state of investment in the travel tech startup world during this uncertain economic time, but one thing is for sure: it’s changing.

Several big-name hotel companies have entered 2023 with tech partnerships to modernize operations and services. 

Before the pandemic, the tech startup ResortPass had partnered with a little more than 100 hotels, offering a software platform that can book guests for day use of their amenities. 

India-headquartered travel tech firm RateGain Travel Technologies is acquiring Adara, a Silicon Valley-based firm in travel martech and predictive consumer intelligence. The cost: a mere $16.1 million, according to RateGain’s filing on the Indian stock market, which puts Adara, long troubled with management and competition issues for the last few years, out of its misery.

The relationship between the owners and operators of hotels has traditionally been fraught because the two sides often have goals and philosophies that don’t fully overlap. The pandemic forced operators to align closely with operators in a battle to survive the plunge in demand. Working closely together, ties between the two sides warmed up. The post-pandemic boom in demand has boosted moods, too.

Cendyn, a software company that offers customer relationship management, digital marketing, and operations tools to hotels, has hired a new chief executive. 

Keen to pursue its long-anticipated initial public offering (IPO), hospitality tech company Oyo has said it would be refiling its draft red herring prospectus with the Indian stock market regulator Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) by mid-February.

Indian online travel agency EaseMyTrip announced this week that it has acquired a 55 percent stake in hotel booking marketplace cheQin, owned by Gleego Innovations, for around $370,000.

Hotels have mixed feelings about business travel in 2023.

Travelers across the board want a future where technology makes payments easy and seamless. 

For InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), soaring hotel rates owing to a post-pandemic surge in pent-up demand for travel have been a boon after the pandemic bludgeoned the travel sector. But IHG Hotels & Resorts said its pricing power would last beyond the present moment thanks partly to its investments in digital technology. The company also anticipated future growth as China, the world’s second-largest economy, reopens.

Oyo, the India-based budget hotel chain and booking platform, plans to double its premium segment hotel count in Indonesia from around 200 properties to over 400 by the end of 2023.

Tek Travels, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Indian travel distribution platform TBO.com, has fully acquired BookaBed, a business-to-business (B2B) accommodation wholesaler for an undisclosed amount.

Amadeus has achieved its first year of profit since the pandemic. 

CIC Hospitality is opening 30 boutique Aiden by Best Western hotels in Scandinavia, but they won’t come with staff in the flesh and blood standing at the front desk.