Hospitality & Tourism

Every year, I enjoy diving into our Marriott Bonvoy’s Ticket to Travel research report—our annual snapshot of how people across EMEA are planning their holidays and full of insights that help us understand what travellers are looking for.    The latest edition, launched today, draws on Mortar research from over 22,000 travellers across 11 markets in EMEA. And the message is clear: consumers across the region consistently regard travel as an important means of spending their leisure time and discretionary income. 79% of travellers say they’ll take the same or more holidays in 2026 than they did in 2025 and people are planning five trips a year on average for next year.    Several compelling trends stand out from this year’s findings: AI is increasingly shaping how travelers plan their trips, passion-led travel is becoming more common and ‘lux-scaping’ is a new way of travelling for people to gain access to luxury experiences.    2026 is shaping up to be a year of innovation, opportunity and deeper connection—with our guests, our partners and the industry. I can’t wait to see how the year unfolds.    Click to read the full report: https://lnkd.in/dV_mGBUB

The traditional Afghan method of preserving grapes in mud-straw containers, known as Kanjna, is a testament to human ingenuity and a deep understanding of natural preservation techniques. While this method has proven effective for centuries, modern technology offers exciting opportunities to further enhance food preservation. What do you think? AI and Technology Solutions: Optimized Storage Conditions: - Sensor Networks: AI-powered sensor networks can monitor temperature, humidity, and gas levels within storage facilities, ensuring optimal conditions for long-term preservation.  - Predictive Analytics: By analyzing historical data and real-time sensor readings, AI can predict potential issues like spoilage or pest infestations, allowing for proactive measures. Advanced Packaging Techniques: - Smart Packaging: Intelligent packaging materials can monitor the condition of the stored grapes, alerting authorities if any issues arise. - Modified Atmosphere Packaging: This technique involves modifying the gas composition within the packaging to slow down spoilage. AI can optimize the gas mixture for different types of produce. Food Safety and Quality Monitoring: - Computer Vision: AI-powered vision systems can inspect grapes for defects, ensuring only high-quality produce is stored.  - Food Safety Testing: Rapid, automated testing methods can detect contaminants and pathogens, preventing foodborne illnesses. Supply Chain Optimization: - Blockchain Technology: Blockchain can track the journey of grapes from farm to table, ensuring transparency and traceability.  - AI-Powered Logistics: AI can optimize transportation routes and storage conditions, reducing spoilage and waste. By combining traditional knowledge with cutting-edge technology, it's possible to preserve food for longer periods, reduce food waste, and ensure food safety. Vai @ Saeed Shah #Ai #Technology #Innovation

People don’t leave good leaders. They leave poor environments. Training your team isn’t just about teaching skills - it’s about building trust, empowerment, and loyalty. I've always heard this famous quote, but I never had the opportunity to really see it in action with the man himself. Earlier this year, I had the privilege of visiting Necker Island, where I saw how Richard Branson really implements this. His team members are not just employees; they’re trusted partners. Everyone - from the chefs to the activity guides - were highly skilled, deeply engaged, and treated each other (and customers) with genuine respect. The environment was vibrant and fun - you’d often find Richard playing chess or tennis with his staff. It’s a perfect example of what happens when you train your people well, create a culture of care, and treat them as equals. I hear from some leaders that they have no budget and this isn't possible. But even if budgets are tight, you can still create this culture. It could be as simple as: ↳ Taking advantage of free online training platforms or in-house knowledge sharing ↳ Document and update your team’s SOPs - capturing wisdom for everyone to learn from ↳ Encourage mentorship and experience-sharing across roles When people feel invested in, they’ll give their best back. 👉 How do you help keep your team happy? ♻️ Share this post to inspire other leaders. 🔔 Follow me, Jen Blandos, for actionable daily insights on business, entrepreneurship, and workplace well-being.

Mass Tourism is dead. Hilton 2026 trend report says what's next for the industry. For decades, the tourism industry was built on volume. Crowded resorts. All-inclusive packages. Selfie sticks and bucket lists made on Instagram. But that era is fading fast. The next wave of travel isn’t about where people go, it’s about why. According to Hilton’s new 2026 Trends Report, travellers around the world are making a radical shift: from mass tourism to meaningful tourism seeking connection, calm, and authenticity instead of crowds and checklists. Here are the key trends reshaping the future of travel: 1. “Hushpitality”: Seeking Silence and Stillness In an overstimulated world, travellers crave peace. Hilton found that almost half of travellers now add extra days to disconnect before or after family trips and many are choosing destinations where they can simply breathe. Wellness, mental clarity, and calm have become new luxury. 2. Home Comforts Are the New Carry-On The modern traveller wants familiarity. From favourite streaming shows to pet-friendly rooms, people are bringing their routines with them. Even abroad, 77% of travellers enjoy browsing grocery stores, proof that comfort and local discovery can coexist beautifully. This is also why long-stay travel and remote-work destinations are booming: people want a “home away from home” they can trust. 3. Generation Remix - Families Are Redefining Travel Family vacations aren’t what they used to be. Children help plan itineraries. Grandparents take grandkids on “skip-gen” trips. Families are seeking shared play, not screens. Travel is becoming a tool for bonding and shared growth across generations. 4. Inheritourism: Travel With Legacy and Meaning People no longer travel to escape their lives, they travel to understand them. More than half of families now plan trips to connect with their roots and local traditions. “Cultural immersion” isn’t a buzzword anymore — it’s a priority. 5. Purposeful Journeys: The Rise of the “Whycation” The biggest transformation is philosophical Travellers are asking why they travel. To rest. To reconnect. To grow. This emotional motivation — rather than location — is now the foundation of modern tourism. And This Is Why We’re Transforming Roatán At the Roatán Tourism Bureau, we see these shifts as a once-in-a-generation opportunity. We’re helping local businesses evolve from mass tourism to meaningful tourism, from quick visits on cruiseships to long-term value. That means: - Supporting hotels and hosts to create spaces that feel like home. - Training local operators to attract digital nomads and wellness travellers. - Promoting authentic cultural experiences that connect visitors with the island’s people and traditions. - Partnering with communities to ensure growth benefits everyone. Travel is changing — fast. And Roatán is getting ready to lead this new chapter: quieter, deeper, and more intentional.

How the Humble American Diner Became the Stage for Brand Storytelling.... When we think of a diner, we think nostalgia. Neon lights, checkered floors, milkshakes, and the smell of fries drifting through the air. But today, brands aren’t just serving nostalgia, they’re serving story, theatre, and tangible brand experiences that make people stop, engage, and remember. Take Tesla’s Cybertruck “Tesla Diner & Drive-In.” It’s not just about the Superchargers. It’s about a retro-futuristic diner and drive-in theatre that transforms a functional stop into a multi-sensory moment. The diner becomes the stage where Tesla’s narrative, 'innovation meets Americana' comes alive. It’s tactile, it’s playful, and it’s a perfect example of a brand turning necessity into experience. Luxury and lifestyle brands are doing the same. CHANEL, SKIMS, and Jellycat have used pop-up diners to reinforce their brand DNA while giving consumers a physical, sensory connection. Think soft tactile displays, curated menus, neon signs echoing campaign aesthetics, and social moments built into every corner. The diner becomes a theatrical playground: consumers don’t just buy a product, they inhabit it. They sip, they snap, they share. So why does this work so well? It taps into the experience economy and Gen-Z’s appetite for moments that feel real, tangible, and shareable. A diner is both familiar and fantastical, it’s something people already know how to navigate, yet it can be transformed into a brand’s universe. Retro cues spark nostalgia, playful design encourages interaction, and the combination of taste, touch, and sight delivers multi-sensory engagement that static campaigns can’t match. They also offer collaboration potential; menus, merch, even limited-edition treats become vehicles for storytelling and co-creation. Social content writes itself: photo-booths, milkshake moments, and a drool inducing aesthetic, all make for irresistible feed fodder. And because diners are inherently communal, they naturally create micro-communities around the brand experience. For me, the power of the pop-up diner is that it’s more than just activation, it’s a physical manifesto of a brand’s values and aesthetics, inviting consumers to live the story, not just consume it. It’s theatre, tactility, and sensory engagement all rolled into one. Brands today aren’t just launching products, they’re designing worlds. So, are you still marketing products, or are you serving experiences with a side of storytelling? ________________ *Hi, I am Tim Nash. I help global brands build connected campaigns that resonate across every touchpoint. 🚀 #BrandExperience #ExperientialMarketing #RetailInnovation #GenZTrends #StorytellingInRetail #CulturalStrategy #BrandActivations #ExperienceEconomy Pictures courtesy of Glossier, Inc. / Skims / Chanel / Tesla / Benefit Cosmetics

🎉 NAIDOC Week is a powerful opportunity for workplaces to honour Indigenous culture and deepen their commitment to Reconciliation. 🖤💛❤️ But for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees, this time of year can come with added pressure — often being expected to lead NAIDOC activities simply because of their identity. 🫱🏾🫲🏻 True Allyship means not assuming your Indigenous colleagues will take on the emotional or organisational load. Instead, take initiative, share the work, and ask how you can support without placing extra demands. 🙌🏾 Employers might also consider offering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff a day off to participate in community and cultural celebrations in a way that’s meaningful to them. 👣 Creating an inclusive workplace means celebrating NAIDOC Week in ways that uplift, respect and support your Indigenous team members — not rely on them. 🔥 How will your workplace walk the talk this NAIDOC Week? #PracticalReconciliation #TakeAction #AllyTraining #ActionsForAllies #NAIDOCWeek

The Ultimate Power Ranking: Online Booking Tools Across All Segments (Because travel today isn’t just one thing — and neither are the tools we use.) We always hear about the biggest leisure platforms. Or the trendiest unmanaged tools. But we rarely talk about the other half of the picture — the tools powering corporate programs, TMCs, expense policies, and enterprise scale. So I decided to bring both worlds together. Here’s my Top 10 ranking of the booking platforms shaping how the world travels in 2025 — across business, leisure, managed, unmanaged, and everything in between: 1. Booking Holdings – Hotels, homes, and now making serious moves in unmanaged business. 2. (TIE) Expedia Group & SAP Concur – One powers leisure and white-label platforms. The other is the system for enterprise travel. 4. Airbnb – The bleisure favorite. Loved by travelers, still tricky in managed environments. 5. Navan (TripActions) – A modern all-in-one stack. Travel, expense, and serious mid-market momentum. 6. Amex GBT / Egencia – The TMC machine. Global reach, trusted programs, and evolving fast. 7. Google Travel – The place where nearly every trip begins. 8. Trip.com Group – Huge in APAC, now scaling globally. Strong mobile DNA. 9. CWT – Still steady in the enterprise space. Less flashy, but solid. 10. Hopper – Fintech-powered and everywhere behind the scenes. Sneaky big. ⸻ How I ranked them: By looking at platform usage, industry influence, innovation, and how well they serve real-world travelers — across all segments. Data pulled from Phocuswright, Skift, Similarweb, and good old-fashioned market observation. Bottom line: The conversation about “top travel platforms” is too often limited to consumer clicks and vacation rentals. But corporate and managed travel moves millions — and those tools deserve a seat at the table. Who else would you add to the list? Who’s climbing in your world? #traveltech #onlinebooking #corporatetravel #bleisure #tmc #navan #bookingdotcom #spotnana #tripactions #distribution #futureoftravel

Designing Better User Journey Maps (+ Figma/Miro templates). Helpful guides and starter kits to design effective journey maps that generate insights ↓ ✅ We create user journey maps to visualize user’s experience. ✅ Their purpose, however, is to generate meaningful insights. ✅ We start by choosing a lens: current state vs. future state. ✅ Then, we choose a user who experiences the journey. ✅ We capture the situation/goals that we are focusing on. ✅ Next, we list high-level actions users are going through. ✅ We start by defining first and last stage, and fill in-between. ✅ You might start from the end to explore alternative routes. 🚫 Don’t get too granular: list key actions needed for next stage. ✅ Add user’s thoughts, feelings, sentiment, emotional curves. ✅ Add user’s key touchpoints with people, services, tools. ✅ Map user journey across mobile and desktop screens. ✅ Transfer insights from other research (e.g. customer support). ✅ Fill in stage after stage until the entire map is complete. ✅ Then, identify pain points and highlight them with red dots. ✅ Add relevant jobs-to-be-done, metrics, channels if needed. ✅ Attach links to quotes, photos, videos, prototypes, Figma files. ✅ Finally, explore ideas and opportunities to address pain points. As Stéphanie Walter noted, often user journeys start way before users actually start interacting with our product — so always consider non-digital touchpoints as well. Users might even need to consult other tools and services as they interact with yours, so keep track on them, too. Personally, I found it remarkably useful to map user journeys against specific mobile and desktop screens that designers have been working on (Spotify model). Not only does it visualize user’s experience *in* the product — it also maps key actions to key screens that the teams must relentlessly focus on. ✤ Useful resources: Guide To Customer Journey Mapping (+ Free Template), by Taras Bakusevych https://lnkd.in/e-emkh5A Complete Guide To User Journey Maps + Free Templates (Miro, PDF), by Stéphanie Walter https://lnkd.in/erheegtf End-To-End User Experience Map (Figma), by Justin Tan https://lnkd.in/eAV_h-hY Designing Interactive UX Maps, by Megan Brown Article: https://lnkd.in/ehrSi67B Template: https://lnkd.in/eZ6weHhp Ultimate Guide to Experience Mapping, by Joshua Zak, Mackenzie Mitschke https://lnkd.in/epN4zmAu User Journey Maps vs. Service Blueprints (+ Templates), by yours truly https://lnkd.in/e-JSYtwW Useful Miro Templates For Designers, by yours truly https://lnkd.in/eQVxM_Nq #ux #design

🚨 A big UN report just launched: A powerful global resource for insurers, reinsurers & brokers navigating the net-zero transition. “Underwriting the Transition” is the first-ever guide specifically tailored to help insurance and reinsurance companies develop and disclose credible transition plans for their underwriting portfolios. Why it matters: While insurers have made climate commitments, clear frameworks for underwriting strategies have been lacking. This guide provides that. What’s inside: - A structured framework for transition planning - A checklist to assess credibility - Real-world examples from insurers, reinsurers & brokers - Practical insights on disclosure, strategy, and implementation By moving from ambition to action, this report helps the insurance sector lead the way in building a resilient, inclusive, and net-zero economy reaffirming its role as society’s risk manager. 🌍 This is the second deliverable in United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI)'s FIT Transition Plan Project — following “Closing the Gap” launched at COP29 and it lays the groundwork for the next report on total balance sheet guidance linking underwriting and investment strategies, to be launched at COP30. Let's make COP30 a defining moment for insurance climate leadership. #TransitionPlan #Insurance #Reinsurance #Sustainability #NetZero #FIT #UNEP #EIOPA #JustTransition #Underwriting

Forget assumptions about what a 'high-value visitor' looks like. The new part luxury, part basic traveler is a real contrast: - They might book a Contiki trip but with business-class flights. - Or want remote camping but arrive via helicopter. - Road-tripping in a campervan but dining at the best restaurants? - A off grid wellness retreat but with their own villa and private pool. These are some of the demands coming from "non millionaire travellers" who now account for more than a 1/3 of the luxury tourism market (Mckinsey: Now boarding: Faces, places, and trends shaping tourism in 2024). They're younger (under 40), aspirational, and are unlikely to own their own home. Ultimately, they’re redefining lux as value driven, experiential, and memorable (not just expensive). To keep up, tourism businesses can give options that try and meet the requirements of being both simple and aspirational. Partnerships (eg high end business with low price operator) would be a great way to ensure you can capture some of this growing market.