Hotels news and trends

Hilton Launches Hotel Loyalty Debit Cards in the UK
Loyalty & Rewards // September 26, 2024

Hilton has launched two hotel loyalty debit cards in the U.K.: the Hilton Honors Debit Card and the Hilton Honors Plus Debit Card. In collaboration with travel debit card platform Currensea, these cards aim to revolutionize the way travelers earn and redeem points for hotel...

Hotels Turn to Digital Wallets Amid Key Card Security Worries
Mobile Wallets // September 01, 2024

Just as plastic cards replaced metal keys at hotels, digital wallets are replacing key cards. As CNBC reported Sunday (Sept. 1), this shift follows a tough stretch for plastic hotel key cards, thanks to health concerns during the pandemic and cybersecurity worries more recently.  That’s led...

Booking Holdings Sees 7% Growth in Room Nights Booked Amid Tech Upgrades
Earnings // August 01, 2024

Online travel company Booking Holdings is seeing positive outcomes from its latest tech-driven initiatives, according to its second-quarter earnings report. Booking Holdings Thursday (Aug. 1) reported a 7% year-over-year increase in room nights booked, reaching 287 million for the second quarter. This growth highlights strong demand...

Airbnb Wants to Woo Hotel Customers With Luxury Offerings
Travel Payments // July 31, 2024

Airbnb is reportedly planning luxury offerings like personal chefs to entice travelers away from hotels. The company wants to move beyond accommodations and experiences to “services that will make it better for guests to stay in Airbnbs,” Chief Business Officer Dave Stephenson said in an interview with Bloomberg News Wednesday...

Interviews & Exclusives
Automation Steps In to Fill Hospitality Service Staff Shortages

May 11, 2023
The pandemic had a massive ripple effect on jobs throughout the hospitality industry. Travel restrictions and social distancing brought business and recreational travel to a standstill. The industry has been slow to recover, partly due to Zoom and other teleconferencing services supplanting many forms of business travel. Hotels laid off and furloughed employees in record […]

42% of Consumers Trade Other Luxuries for Travel

April 17, 2023
This installment of PYMNTS’ miniseries based around consumer spending patterns focuses on the travel sector. Getting away from it all has been one of the last discretionary items consumers are...

Chasing Growth In Travel’s Hybrid Hotel-Hostels Segment

June 14, 2021
For those in the lodging industry, the last 16 months have been all about evolution as such businesses have struggled to recreate themselves and their offerings for the era of...

Kessler Hotel Chain Takes High Road On Crypto Payments

March 23, 2021
In a move that separates it from the pack and provides a further signal that cryptocurrencies are moving mainstream, earlier this month, luxury hotel chain The Kessler Collection announced that...

Quick Reads
FTC Requiring Marriott to Certify Security Program After Data Breaches

October 09, 2024
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) plans to require Marriott International and its subsidiary Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide to implement a comprehensive security program. This plan is part of a proposed settlement order regarding the FTC’s charges that three large data breaches from 2014 to 2020 resulted from the companies’ failure to implement reasonable data security, the regulator […]

Hotels Turn to Digital Wallets Amid Key Card Security Worries

September 01, 2024
Just as plastic cards replaced metal keys at hotels, digital wallets are replacing key cards. As CNBC reported Sunday (Sept. 1), this shift follows a tough stretch for plastic hotel key...

Airbnb Wants to Woo Hotel Customers With Luxury Offerings

July 31, 2024
Airbnb is reportedly planning luxury offerings like personal chefs to entice travelers away from hotels. The company wants to move beyond accommodations and experiences to “services that will make it better...

Wyndham Hotels Touts AI Initiatives Amid Record Room Growth

July 25, 2024
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts is investing in artificial intelligence (AI) amid record growth in its room pipeline. The hotel and resort chain released earnings Wednesday (July 24), showing its development...