Traveling Blog: Google Gimmickry + Accorhotels' Hub Strategy + Hotels Get Asset Right

November 16, 2017

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Note From the Editor

We look today at several companies that are helping to define the future of travel. One shout-out has to go to AccorHotels' CEO Sebastien Bazin, who seems to wake up every morning wondering what he can disrupt next. In today's example, he's launching an app that would have locals venturing into his hotels to pick up their dry-cleaning or packages. Meanwhile, InterContinental Hotels Group wants guests to use its website or app to book restaurants through OpenTable or order meals from Grubhub.

Although our business travel editor, Andrew Sheivachman, writes that Google's Pixel Buds are a bust when it comes to real-time translation, some company will eventually solve the language problem for travelers, and that would mean one giant leap for humanity.

— Dennis Schaal, Executive Editor

Announcing the 2018 Digital Transformation Report [SPONSORED]

Hotel companies are keeping themselves occupied by becoming more "asset-light," while everyone waits for potential tax reform to spark more demand for business travel.

Google Earbuds With Real-Time Translation Aren't Much More Than a Gimmick

The future you're promised is never the future you get. Google is touting artificial intelligence-powered translation capability as a transformative feature for its users, but it's really just an impractical repackaging of existing technology.

AccorHotels Has a Community Hub Strategy With Local Services App

This is a sign of a much bigger shift in the entire travel industry where travel brands no longer want to just be "travel" brands. Hotels don't want to just be hotels. Instead, they want to be platforms for offering you experiences whenever and wherever you may be.

Video: Facebook Chief Creative Officer Thinks Virtual Reality Is a Low Priority

It's not surprising that the chief creative officer of Facebook thinks travel companies should get smarter about using — and ostensibly advertising on — Facebook products. But he also adds insight on why mobile is so crucial for travel companies to master and why virtual reality is less important.

IHG Pairs Up with OpenTable and Grubhub to Reward Loyalty Members When They Eat Out — or In

Expect more travel brands to extend their reach into the dining experience going forward, especially since consumers have to eat every day and may only travel on occasion. And after all, the way to anyone's heart is through their stomachs, right?

J.D. Power Finds U.S. Frequent Flyers Prefer JetBlue's Loyalty Program

JetBlue has one of the least generous frequent flyer programs in the United States. But it's easy to understand, and travelers seem to appreciate that. Many just prefer belonging to a program that makes it simple to redeem for free tickets.

Visit Scotland's New Meetings Campaign Promotes Silicon Over Salmon

Scotland's government and convention bureau want meeting planners, especially those in the U.S., to grasp that there's cutting-edge innovation in advanced industries taking place in the UK outside London.

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Eataly World's Opening Signals the Next Phase of Food Hall Expansion

Have we reached peak food hall? No, not even close. These playgrounds are a solution of sorts to disappearing retail by filling expensive real estate and playing to consumers' appetites for gourmet choices and largely local, organic obsessions.

Secret Ingredient: Cracker Barrel's Hip Biscuit Concept Holler & Dash

You might feel young and hip eating at at Holler & Dash, and that's by design — from parent company Cracker Barrel. Surprise!

Fast Food Chains Are Exporting Health Issues as They Expand Abroad

New international markets are providing huge growth opportunities for American fast food chains. As these companies change the fundamentals of the food landscapes abroad, they have a responsibility to those they feed — and they should act as such.

As Airbnb tries to become the only brand in travel that you'll ever need, it's not just the hotel industry that the company has to contend with, but online travel agencies, too. We can just imagine the hotels telling Airbnb, "Welcome to the club."

Hilton and Marriott Turn to the Internet of Things to Transform the Hotel Room Experience

It was only a matter of time before the big brands started rolling this smart-room technology. But what will be even more interesting is seeing which brand's approach works better in a hospitality setting, and is more appealing not only to guests but to hotel owners, too.

What Travel Can Learn From the Fashion Industry — New Luxury

There are so many parallels between the luxury fashion and travel industries. Consolidation in both is bringing challenges as well as opportunities.

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