Behind the Stays · 2026-05-29 · 1h 5m
Subscribe to This Week in Hospitality wherever you get you podcasts: Spotify - Podcasts - - Mews embeds Uber directly into its PMS, promising seamless guest transportation and a cut of ancillary revenue hotels have long been leaving on the table. The guys are skeptical - cool concept, questionable adoption, and the real winner might just be Uber’s data team.Then Expedia announces B2A - a marketing function built not for humans, but for AI agents. Scott doesn’t mince words: AI is about to expose how hollow most hotel marketing actually is. Ben connects the dots to the accelerating rise of independent, story-driven properties that LLMs will increasingly favor over generic flag brands.Americans aren’t canceling travel - they’re shortening trips, going domestic, and scrutinizing every dollar. Scott just did seven hotel site visits in Tuscany. Not one was at capacity. The Smoky Mountains are not having the same problem.Finally, a sharp op-ed on the structural dysfunction between hotel owners and operators sparks a broader debate about why the aligned owner-operator model is the decade’s single biggest competitive advantage - and why capital still hasn’t caught up.
This Week in Hospitality: Pali Society Goes Bonvoy, Hilton's Incubating 5 New Brands, and Hot Takes with Skift's Hospitality Editor, Sean O'Neil70 / 100This Week in Hospitality: Airbnb Founder's Secret AI Lab, Bass Pro's $300M Resort Bet & The Economy Hotel Franchise RevoltThis Week in Hospitality: CoStar’s Forecast Reversal, Marriott Hits 10K Hotels, and Amsterdam’s Tourist Tax RevoltThis Week in Hospitality: The Airbnb-Marriott Deal That Almost Happened, MGM Goes Private(?), Journey & Cloudbeds Partner, & What Premium Travelers WantThis Week in Hospitality: Sonder's Founder is Back, Hyatt's New Growth Strategy, The Human Concierge Book, and L.E/Miami Recap