Plus: Is smoke-free travel realistic? | Guests browse on phones but book elsewhere
This week, we’re breaking down the quiet forces shaping your bookings (spoiler: that final click in the booking process is getting way too much glory for a team effort).
We’re also unpacking why a “no vacancy” sign isn’t the security blanket it used to be, and how high occupancy can still leave you feeling oddly... underpaid.
Plus, let’s talk mobile: your traffic might be booming, but if your revenue isn’t keeping pace, your funnel probably has a few leaks. If your numbers look great in isolation but feel off in real life, you’re in the right place.
Wanderlust ahead. Forget generic minimalism; Preferred Hotels & Resorts’ new class of 2026 is doubling down on what they call "legacy moments"—think restored 19th-century Moroccan mansions and repurposed French Quarter gems. If you needed proof that the independents are currently winning the design wars, look no further.
There’s no such thing as smoke-free travel. Apparently, the "smoke-free" promise is going up in fumes. Between lax enforcement and guests who treat the $250 cleaning fee like a cover charge, housekeepers are fighting a losing battle against the new wave of marijuana and tobacco use.
Window shopping 2.0. The booking journey is officially "dream on mobile, commit on desktop," which explains why your mobile traffic is huge but the revenue isn't matching up. Instead of fighting the behavior, build better "save for later" ramps to make that device switch seamless.
Talents over trinkets. Guests eventually forget the room service, but they rarely forget the place where they finally learned to surf or make fresh pasta. Lean into the skillcation trend to turn a standard stay into a transformative story they’ll tell at dinner parties for years to come.
Delight your inner penguin. Forget stressing over HVAC settings and pillow menus, these “snowtels” are successfully charging a premium for guests to sleep in a literal freezer. Here's everything you ever wanted to know about ice hotels.
French Manor modern
It's rare to see a midcentury French Manor successfully reborn as a boutique destination, but South Carolina is not without surprises. The design of Hotel Hartness in Greenville preserved the intimate residential vibe of the original family home while infusing contemporary grandeur to wow the modern traveler.
Why it matters: The magic here lies in the seamless integration of deeply personal history with the functional demands of a 73-room hotel. Instead of wiping the slate clean, Atlanta-based Sims Patrick Studio utilized the existing architectural bones as a canvas for updated, textural layers, including smoky glass, raw-cut quartz stone walls and warm woods. The approach creates a lived-in luxury aesthetic that feels established and soulful. (Hospitality Design)
Above: The Captain fireplace (Courtesy Hotel Hartness)
"Revenue leaders today aren’t just adjusting rates. They’re shaping the profitability of the entire operation." PAUL RANTILLA, SENIOR VP, CRO—HOSPITALITY ANCILLARIES, PLUSGRADE
Profit beats volume
A packed lobby doesn't necessarily translate to a bank account that's in the black. Chasing pure volume is quickly becoming a relic of the past for hoteliers looking to survive rising costs.
Why it matters: With operating costs squeezing margins tighter than ever, a full house is no longer the ultimate safety net for your business.
"Being busy isn’t the same as being profitable," says Rantilla. He offers four actionable levers for optimization, ranging from smarter cross-departmental collaboration to automating those friction-heavy guest touchpoints, to create a culture focused on what the business keeps, not just what it collects. (Hospitality Net)
The anatomy of a booking
We tend to give the final click all the credit, but a direct booking is actually just the tip of a much larger pyramid. The real magic happens in the hidden layers beneath that build desire long before a guest sees your "Book Now" button.
Why it matters: It's tempting to think your latest ad campaign is the hero, but marketing only works well when it stands on a foundation of sharp positioning. By strengthening the base of your pyramid—strategy and narrative—you create a gravitational pull that makes every subsequent marketing dollar work harder. When you get that strategic alignment right, your direct channel stops being a struggle and starts becoming a natural byproduct of your story. (Omar Boubess)
Beyond the script
Most voice bots fail because they can't handle the weird, specific questions guests actually ask. Steven Marais, VP of Rooms at Noble House Hotels & Resorts, found that breaking through this "nuance" barrier was the only way to envision utilizing an AI voice assistant.
Why it matters: Marais watched the EHVA.ai system navigate complex queries—like finding a specific pharmacy's opening hours—without the glitchy delays that usually make people hang up. This fluidity is why his team at the Argonaut Hotel in San Francisco could confidently hand off 80% of their calls without fearing a service failure. Indie hoteliers, this might be the proof you've been waiting for: AI can finally hold a conversation, not just a script. (Modern Hotelier)
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Mint Pillow is curated and written by Jennifer Glatt and edited by Lesley McKenzie.e
