Hospitality & Tourism

👩🦰 Persona Spectrum For Inclusive Design (Figma Kit) (https://lnkd.in/eGD38hs4), a wonderful little accessibility tool for designers to include permanent, temporary and situational contexts in design decisions. Open sources, with all illustrations and assets for presentations and print. By 🐝 Mahana Delacour. --- 🔶 1. Accessibility ≠ Compliance We should never rely on automated accessibility testing alone to “ensure” accessibility. Compliance means that a user can use your product, but it doesn’t mean that it’s a great user experience. Manual testing makes sure that your users actually can meet their goals in their own context. It often feels daunting to get started, but small first steps are a great beginning. First, gather people interested in accessibility. Document what research was done, where the gaps are. And then try to include 5–12 users with disabilities in a dedicated accessibility testing. One way to find participants is to reach out to local chapters, local training centers, non-profits and public communities of users with disabilities in your country. You might want to add extra $25–$50 depending on disability transportation. Once you have access to users, run a small accessibility initiative around key flows in your products. Tap into critical touch points and research them. Eventually extend to components, patterns, flows, service design. A good target is to incorporate inclusive sampling into all research projects — at least 15% of usability testers should have a permanent, temporary or situational disability. --- 🔹 2. Building Accessibility Research From Scratch If you’d like to get started, I highly recommend to check “How We’ve Built Accessibility Research at Booking.com” (https://lnkd.in/eq_3zSPJ), a fantastic case study by Maya Alvarado on how to build accessibility practices and inclusive design into UX research from scratch. Maya highlights the idea of extending Microsoft's Inclusive Design Toolkit (https://lnkd.in/eN5J7EkJ) to meet specific user needs of a product. It adds a different dimension to disability considerations which might be less abstract and much easier to relate for the entire organization. And as Maya noted, inclusive design is about building a door that can be opened by anyone and lets everyone in. Accessibility isn’t a checklist — it’s a practice that goes way beyond compliance. A practice that involves actual people with actual disabilities throughout all UX research activities. More resources in the comments ↓

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.

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

🚨 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

The most counterintuitive marketing strategy: Tell people exactly how to spot bad products in your industry. Been noticing this trend where successful brands are doing something unexpected, they're teaching customers how to evaluate their entire industry, not just their products. Saw a perfect example with Lakme's approach in the Indian sunscreen market. Here's the context that makes this brilliant: The market is worth ₹6,900+ crores and growing at 7% annually. But until 2019, 65% of Indians had never used sunscreen in a year, and 25% didn't even understand basic terms like SPF. It's a highly price-sensitive market where consumers often just choose the cheapest option. Most brands competed on price, celebrity endorsements, and flashy packaging. Lakme did something different. →They adopted international ISO testing standards in 2015, way before competitors. →They worked with Bureau of Indian Standards since 2016 to standardize the entire industry. →Then in 2025, they launched consumer education campaigns teaching people how to verify any brand's SPF claims. Here's the genius part: Instead of exploiting consumer ignorance, they eliminated it. While competitors fought for uninformed customers making decisions based on price alone, Lakme built a base of educated buyers who understood quality. In a market where per-person spending is approx ₹47, they created customers willing to pay a premium for verified value. This isn't just about skincare. I see the same pattern everywhere. →The agency that teaches clients red flags to watch for. →The SaaS company that openly shares their limitations. →The consultant who tells prospects when NOT to hire them. The counterintuitive truth: In price-sensitive markets, education beats discounting. When you teach your market how to evaluate quality, you don't just build customers, you build advocates who will pay a premium for verified value. What's one red flag people should watch for in your industry? #ad

Brands lose their authenticity when they collaborate with influencers. Most brands today believe that influencer marketing has lost its effectiveness and it is no longer easy to win the trust of the audience. But in reality, influencer marketing is still not explored to its fullest by most brands. The only thing that brands need to be aware of is that it needs to be handled strategically if you want to make the most of it. This is how we at SocialTAG do it to make every campaign very effective: → We study influencers beyond their followers to ensure the brand values align and the content engages with the audience. It is important to analyse influencer credibility and audience demographics to avoid controversial or unethical content.  → Avoid influencers with fake followers or engagement bots. Check for low engagement rates or suspiciously high ones and irrelevant or generic comments. We aim for influencers with engagement rates between 2%–5% for authenticity.  → Have very clear boundaries to maintain consistency and professionalism. Include content guidelines, brand representation rules and legal protections to ensure consistency with the brief and potential mishaps in the future. → Regulations governing influencer marketing like disclosure requirements for sponsored posts are constantly changing. Noncompliance can result in fines and reputational damage.  Influencer marketing has brought a huge change for several brands in different industries. But the stakes are always high and this is why you need to prioritize brand safety and adopt a strategic approach.  Are you considering influencer marketing for your brand? #influencermarketing

The last time you called customer service… You weren’t talking to a person. You were talking to a machine. And not the kind that reads from a script and says “I'm sorry to hear that” with all the emotional range of a soggy cardboard box. No. This one listened to you and solved your problem by understanding it properly. Let that sink in. Because while the rest of the world was busy arguing over whether AI could write poems or pass bar exams, PolyAI quietly became the voice of Marriott, PG&E, and half of Vegas. Try calling Caesars Palace. That warm, charming voice on the other is Raven, an AI And guess what? Reservation? Booked. Payment? Processed. Upsell? Delivered with cheeky finesse. This is AI that acts, not talks. So good, callers ask it out on dates. So trusted, Gordon Ramsay rolled it out across his restaurants. So what’s new? - Raven V3 just dropped. It's faster, smarter and never switches languages midsentence. - They have secured Series D funding. The valuation is through the roof.  - The best part is, you can give it instructions in English and it'll answer in fluent Japanese, Italian or Portuguese, without blinking. What I’m really saying? The future of your customer experience isn’t only a team. It’s a voice.

Both under-planning AND over-planning kill businesses. Success lies in mastering 3 types of plans 👇 Founders love to hide behind over-planning because it feels productive.   But “refining strategy” is not a good use of an entire quarter ! Planning can also keep you from the clarity that comes with taking action and adjusting. To be clear, I’m not saying “plan less”... But I am saying “plan smarter.” While building my first business, Verb Brands (Adjust Media at the time),  I had loads of ambition and passion, but no real structure. I knew roughly where I wanted to go, and we did move forward,  But we were all over the road with no clear direction. This is how I wish I had been taught to plan my business back then 👇 🔭 Strategic Planning This is where you decide what the business is actually trying to become. You need to look at the bigger picture, around 3-5 years out, and create specific goals.  The hardest part of strategic planning is deciding what you won't do. Clarifying the direction and being specific will help you know when to say yes and when to step away. Review your strategy annually to make sure you’re on track ! 📋 Tactical Planning This is where strategy becomes projects the team can actually execute. Tactical planning bridges the gap between the vision and the daily work. You’ll need to allocate resources properly at this stage. The most common mistake here is spending 3 months planning and 1 month executing. You want to do the exact opposite. You really want to plan 1 to 3 years out and break deadlines down into quarterly milestones. ⚡ Operational Planning This is your daily and weekly planning that will get adjusted most often. You’ll probably revisit this plan every week. Even with a brilliant strategy and a solid quarter mapped out, things can start to fall apart if you don’t have tangible operational plans. Keep your KPIs realistic here; there’s nothing less productive than overloading your team with unrealistic expectations. That’s where frequent adjustments can help. Nothing slows momentum like building with unclear intent. And this 3-tier breakdown is by far the best way to clarify where you’re business is headed. The layers feed into each other, so you can’t realistically skimp on any of them. ✅ Strategic planning is your destination.  ✅ Tactical planning maps the route.  ✅ Operational planning is how you actually drive. A business is a complex ecosystem and there are 1000s of factors to success. But proper planning is how good businesses become excellent. 📌 For more frameworks like this, subscribe to my newsletter: https://lnkd.in/eUTCQTWb Save this post to come back to when you’re ready to plan.  And comment below with the layer of planning that needs the most work right now. ♻️ Repost to help other founders build a planning system that actually works. Follow Chris Donnelly for more on building and scaling businesses.

Why Corporates Still Depend on Travel Agents—Even in the Age of Online Tools In today’s digital-first world, corporates have access to countless online booking tools, airline apps, hotel portals, and expense platforms. 1. Technology Can Book. Humans Can Think. Online tools work perfectly—until something goes wrong. Flight cancellations, last-minute visa issues, overbooked hotels, medical emergencies, strikes, weather disruptions—these aren’t exceptions in corporate travel; they’re realities. When such situations arise, corporates don’t need a chatbot. They need a human who understands urgency, hierarchy, and business impact. A travel agent doesn’t just rebook a flight—they: Protect meeting schedules Minimise downtime Offer alternatives instantly Take ownership until the problem is solved 2. Cost Control Is More Than Cheapest Price Online tools often show the lowest visible fare. Travel agents focus on the lowest total cost. They help corporates by: Negotiating corporate fares and hotel rates Advising on flexible tickets that reduce cancellation losses Avoiding hidden costs and last-minute surges Recommending routes and airlines that save time and productivity For a corporate, one missed meeting can cost more than a “cheap ticket.” 3. Policy Compliance Without Policing Corporates have travel policies, but enforcing them internally is time-consuming. Travel agents: Embed company travel policies into bookings Prevent unauthorised upgrades or deviations Ensure approval workflows are followed Maintain audit-ready records This means employees travel smoothly, while management stays compliant—without micromanagement. 4. Duty of Care Is a Corporate Responsibility When an employee is travelling, the company is responsible for their safety. Travel agents play a critical role by: Tracking travellers in real time Providing emergency support Advising on safe hotels, routes, and destinations Assisting during geopolitical, health, or climate disruptions Online tools don’t call you at midnight to check if your employee is safe. Travel agents do. 5. Time Is a Senior Executive’s Biggest Asset CXOs and senior managers cannot afford to compare fares, read cancellation rules, or chase refunds. Travel agents: Handle end-to-end planning Manage changes and refunds Coordinate complex multi-city travel Act as a single point of contact The result? Executives focus on business, not bookings. 6. Data, Reporting & Insights That Actually Matter Modern travel agents don’t just book—they analyse. They provide: Spend analysis by department or project Travel pattern insights Budget forecasting Vendor performance reviews This helps corporates make smarter, data-backed decisions, not just reactive bookings. 7. Trust, Accountability & Long-Term Partnership Unlike anonymous platforms, a travel agent: Knows your business Understands your priorities Corporate travel is built on trust, and trust is In corporate travel, convenience books trips—but expertise ensures success.

When Horst Schulze joined The Ritz‑Carlton, he gave every employee a budget of $2,000 to spend on their guests. His belief was that “luxury isn’t marble floors, it’s how people feel” - he wanted to build a culture where people always felt seen, comfortable and safe. He knew that for the customers to feel that way, the employees had to feel that way too. 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 #𝟏: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞 A guest left his laptop behind after checkout and was travelling to Hawaii. A housekeeper found the device and instead of waiting for standard escalation, she boarded the next flight to Hawaii to hand-deliver the laptop before the guest’s meeting. 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 #𝟐: 𝐖𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 A couple on their honeymoon had lost a wedding ring in the sand so after closing hours, the Ritz staff bought 4 metal detectors and spent the night looking for it. The couple then woke up to their ring presented to them at breakfast. 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 #𝟑: $𝟔𝟎𝟎 𝐃𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 A server at the Ritz restaurant overheard two executives planning a conference at a competitor’s hotel. He decided to make conversation and slip in some information about holding the conference at the Ritz instead, then quietly paid their $600 dinner tab. That company then moved their event to the Ritz, making them a lot more than $600. Interestingly, very few employees (if any) actually spent the full $2,000 budget. Most of the interventions were small gestures, but Schulze noted that the real power was in having the permission and autonomy over the decision-making. So this experiment was more to do with trust than money - because when you trust your employees to do the right thing and give them the means to do it, they take ownership of their work and tend to go above and beyond.