Hi {{ first name | there }},
I've been watching the announcements and press releases about AI in travel these past few months. Companies of all sizes trying things, testing, iterating. I'm figuring it out too. We all are.
Nobody has this fully figured out. Not the biggest platforms, not the best-funded startups, not the people who sound most confident on stage. We're all mid-experiment, building with tools that didn't exist two or three years ago, learning as we go.
So we decided to do something about it.
We're calling it AI, honestly. You bring the real questions, the ones you can't find straight answers to. And we will take them to the people in our network who can actually answer. Every week, we share what we find right here in the newsletter.
The worst AI will ever be is the one we have today, so this is for people using AI who are honest enough to still have questions - and smart enough to know everyone else does too. Don’t expect guru takes or polished answers. This is the FutureTravel crowd, figuring it out in real time.
The form is anonymous and there are no wrong answers.
What's the question you've been sitting on? Ask it here.
And with that - on to the rest of the newsletter:
Peak season doesn't arrive without warning: you know it's coming. You've planned the rotas, briefed the team, maybe brought in extra hands. What most hotel teams haven't looked at is what happens to guest communication when occupancy doubles.
Guests have many questions. And your team knows the answer to most of them - but it gets harder to manage when every question arrives on a different channel: WhatsApp, email, OTA, website chat. Sometimes at the same time, with no shared record of what's already been said.
Trengo gives your hotel one inbox for every guest channel, connected directly to your PMS. Whoever picks up the conversation sees the booking, the history, the full thread. No need to switch tabs or start from scratch in the middle of a shift.
By connecting your OTA’s you receive messages from Booking.com, Expedia & Agoda in one thread in your Trengo inbox. Great for maintaining an overview and instantly responding to all incoming tickets.
From there, WhatsApp can work as a digital front desk, like an ongoing thread across the whole guest journey that your entire team can see and respond to. AI Agents handle common questions consistently. AI Journeys make sure no message goes unanswered during busy periods or outside hours.
The Peak Season Playbook for Hotels walks you through all of it: the setup, the automation layers, the proactive messaging before guests even arrive. If you haven't reviewed how your hotel handles guest communication, this is a good moment.
🇺🇸 Clarasight raised $11.5M in a Series A. They connect all corporate travel data (expense tools, card programmes, HR systems) into one place, so finance teams can finally get a full picture of what they're spending.
🇫🇷 Amadeus is acquiring IDEMIA Public Security for €1.2B. It’s a biometrics and identity services company, and the goal is to build out a seamless end-to-end travel journey. This follows its 2024 purchase of Vision-Box and signals Amadeus is serious about owning the identity layer across the entire trip: from booking to boarding.
🇺🇸 Uber just added hotel booking through a partnership with Expedia. Over 700,000 properties, inside the app people are already using for the ride there. Vrbo is coming later this year. Super-app believers and skeptics both have a lot to say right now…
of travellers booked via a travel professional in 2025 - the same year AI use in trip inspiration doubled.
Source: Barclays Corporate Banking
🔖 A project will save you
In the middle of the AI job anxiety spiral, this piece makes an argument that sounds radical: the people who've always worked in uncertain, creative, non-linear ways are actually the most prepared for what's coming. And the antidote to the chaos? Having something that's yours to come back to.
🎨 "Taste" is tech's new favourite word
A year ago it was AI-native, now it's taste. As AI makes building easier for everyone, the question shifts to what you build - and whether it's any good. Silicon Valley has decided that's called taste now. The New Yorker went and poked some holes in that. If you've been in a product meeting recently, you'll recognise everything they're describing.
See you next week,
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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