A closer look at the hospitality tech bubble 🫧

Hi there,

My week started with a blackout at home (thanks, Spain) and ended with a canceled flight from Amsterdam, on a bank holiday. So it’s safe to say that not much went as planned. Still, the newsletter made it - just not on time… Thanks for sticking with me <3

Let me start by saying Mews has been on my radar for a while. It's a name I keep hearing and writing about. Hospitality tech unicorn, super hyped brand, scaling fast, doing things differently & charming people (and investors) along the way. I was curious.

Curious enough to show up at Unfold (their annual event) this week to… listen.

On the flight back I managed to organize some of my notes in 4 insights about the event for this week’s newsletter. It’s not sponsored or anything, I just think it’s worth sharing. It might give you some insights too.

1. Tough crowd 😮‍💨
   The room was packed. Over 700 hoteliers who were not there to nod and say yes to everything. They came with questions, feedback, demands, and real expectations. Some were future clients, challenging the product. Others were paying customers, asking for more.

   With that said, what stood out wasn’t the criticism, it was the care (!) behind it. “We’re growing. We want need Mews to grow with us” is something I heard more than once. So this doesnt sound like just a user base. It’s a group building together. Veeery demanding, yes! but also kind of cheerleading from the sides.
   

2. The brand is loud (and proud)
   I kept hearing people saying Mews hotels. Not “hotels that use Mews.” Mews hotels. I know it’s subtle, but also powerful. Like the brand isn’t just a tool anymore, but it’s something hoteliers want to be part of.

   There was also this unexpected (but strong) sense of… community. I saw clients helping each other out during the lunch break, swapping tips, finding workarounds. Talking through heavy tech stuff to help each other, while proudly holding their flawless merch. I don’t think you get that unless people feel really connected.
   

3. Learning on the go
   Mews is sitting in the middle. They are a SaaS company and they know what tech can do: AI, automation, all of it. But their challenge now is bringing hoteliers along. Not by simply pushing oh-so-many new features, but by creating space to learn and figure things out together.

   That came through in the panels. Lots of talk about AI, changing roles, and what it actually means to be a hotelier today. The shared feeling was: hospitality isn’t just service. It’s human. And tech should make more room for that, not less.
   

4. The sticky glue
   I ended up (very last minute) in a session on embedded payments, and it was one of the highlights for me. It felt a bit like looking behind the curtains as Richard (and their fintech masterminds Susanne and Charlie) talked about tipping, payroll, and maybe even lending.

   Beyond “just” making payments easier, but building something more connected. I asked if they see fintech as the glue for a hospitality super app, and they agreed: there’s no super app without fintech. This makes sense. If anyone can make payments feel easy for both guests and staff, it might be them.

To wrap it up: Unfold felt like a postcard of Mews itself. Open, curious, a little intense, and very much in motion. They are choosing to lead from inside the industry, not outside of it. And that brings pressure: their clients are right there, watching every move. Asking for more. Pushing the roadmap forward. Being both their toughest critics and their biggest fans.

From the travel tech part of things, I take it as a lesson on what it looks like to build with your community, not just for them. It’s complex, it’s demanding, and it could get messy. But ahhhhh what a good reminder that industry events can be much more memorable and fun than swapping business cards in a grey or beige meeting room. Refreshing.

Now, zooming out from Mews, here’s what else is moving this week in travel innovation:

And before we close, let me ask for a little favor: we’re currently running a reader survey to understand how we can make it better. It helps more than you think <3

See you next Thursday (promise!),
Ana

Thank you for reading until the end.

The content of this newsletter is curated and published by Ana Metz, an innovation expert, passionate about technology and excited about the future of travel.

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