Guests want more options and zero decisions

If you feel like guests are constantly trying to rewrite the hospitality rules... you’re right.

Since travelers are increasingly dodging the OTA middlemen to deal with properties on their own terms, we're examining how to capture those direct bookings using connected distribution and sparkling-clean guest data. We also reveal the surprising resource that nearly half of younger travelers use to escape planning fatigue, plus take a look at how “choose your own adventure” pricing maximizes your margins. Let's get into it.

And in your inbox tomorrow: A Mint Pillow Q&A with Tyler Cauble and his wife, Lynna, about what it took to restore a historic roadside motel into a 2.5-acre boutique retreat in Nashville, restoring a piece of history along the way.

The fee to watch. RevPAR gets all the attention, but incentive management fees are becoming the metric to watch. Unlike revenue-based fees, these payouts move with hotel profits, which makes them a pretty handy clue for how the business is really performing.

Found money. Capturing savings can be harder than negotiating them. Folio's partnership with Avendra is designed to remove a little friction from purchasing so hotels can actually benefit from the deals they've already secured.

The fine print. Rising costs and coverage challenges are making some properties harder to finance, which means insurance conversations are starting earlier than anyone would like.

The Aspen effect. Little Nell is taking its mountain magic to Manhattan with The Nell New York, bringing the brand’s next chapter to Rockefeller Center as New York City’s only Relais & Châteaux hotel.

Hospitality’s hottest merch. Turns out the tiniest piece of hotel swag is having a very big moment. Thanks to a new wave of young collectors, artfully designed matchbooks are back in style.

Great laundry operations don't run on equipment alone. They run on the right partnership.

UniMac® washers and dryers deliver the speed, efficiency and durability hospitality operations demand—load after load. With Alliance Distribution, you get more:

Equipment Built to Last: Heavy-duty engineering designed for demanding hospitality volumes.

Laundry Expertise: Specialists who understand your operation and help you get the most out of it.

In-House Service & Parts: Local support and readily available parts to keep downtime where it belongs—at zero.

The right equipment. The right partner. The right results.

In upstate New York, Pocketbook Hudson beautifully merges historic architecture with sensory wellness. The 1883 textile factories’ timeworn floorboards and patinated brick walls set a rich, tactile foundation for relaxation, while soft plaster finishes and warm wood details soften the industrial shell. The result is an environment that feels both cinematic and deeply grounded.

Why it matters: Wellness is woven directly into the guest experience, and the architecture plays a starring role. This is beautifully realized at The Baths, a 6,000-square-foot limestone-and-timber sanctuary open at no additional cost to overnight hotel guests and members. Conceived as a living vessel of care, the communal bathhouse draws its inspiration from the fundamental healing qualities of water to create a seamless transition “between dreaming and wakefulness.” (Inside+Out)

Hilton and Navan are teaming up on a direct connection between Navan’s booking platform and Hilton’s central reservation system, giving travelers real-time access to rates, availability, bookings and hotel content. The integration runs on Hilton-developed APIs, allowing property details and room information to flow directly into the booking experience.

Why it matters: This partnership is a glimpse at where hotel distribution is heading: more direct, more connected and powered by cleaner data. And, the technology behind distribution matters just as much as the channels themselves. As booking platforms move toward direct connections, hotels with API-ready systems and accurate, centralized content will be better positioned to meet rising expectations. (HNR Hotel News)

Travelers are getting very used to paying only for the exact services they actually plan to use. Major hospitality groups are successfully stripping back the traditional all-inclusive room rate to introduce an airline-style pricing model, where things like overnight parking and mid-stay room cleanings are quickly shifting from expected freebies to customized digital upsells.

Why it matters: Indie operators, you can definitely borrow this strategy to capture extra revenue from guests who genuinely want premium connectivity or extended room access. Segmenting out your amenities gives price-sensitive guests a much-appreciated break on the initial booking cost. The secret to making this work? Full transparency, ensuring guests feel empowered by their choices rather than nickel-and-dimed at the front desk. (Hotel News Resource)

Booking a trip used to feel exciting. For many travelers, now it feels more like homework. According to research from a recent Chase travel survey, nearly half of Gen Z and millennial travelers say planning has become more overwhelming, with too many choices and increasingly complex itineraries pushing them to seek guidance before they hit “book.”

Why it matters: Rachel Skrod, head of luxury lodging programs and partnerships at Chase Travel, says planning has simply gotten harder for travelers navigating high-demand periods and complex itineraries. Hotels that remove friction here are the ones earning the loyalty. (Luxury Travel Advisor)

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Mint Pillow is curated and written by Jennifer Glatt and edited by Bianca Prieto.