This Week in Hospitality

By thisweekinhospitalityNews Business News

This Week in Hospitality episodes

June 26 Pali Society Goes Bonvoy, Hilton's Incubating 5 New Brands, and Hot Takes with Skift's Hospitality Editor, Sean O'Neil
Sean O'Neill of Skift joins the roundtable this week for a conversation that cuts straight to the fault lines running through the hotel industry right now — distribution versus identity, brand proliferation versus brand meaning, and the wellness promise versus wellness delivery.

The panel leads with Pali Society's decision to bring its 16-property California portfolio into Marriott's Design Hotels ecosystem — the single largest addition in the program's history. Edwin draws the line everyone in the independent space is afraid to say out loud: using Marriott as a marketing channel is smart; slowly operating for Marriott guests instead of your own is how you lose the thing that made you worth joining in the first place. Scott is blunter: "Every owner in the world loves independence until they have empty rooms."

From there, Sean's own Hilton story lands on the table. Hilton's new CDO is signaling five or six organic brands are coming — and a trademark filing, locked domain, and placeholder social accounts are already pointing toward a lifestyle concept called "Tortoise." The group debates whether the major brand groups, Hilton included, are actually delivering on their supposed superpower. Sean's take: in an AI-discovery world, the question isn't how many brands you have — it's whether any of them mean anything.

The conversation gets sharper on wellness — a category where nearly everyone claims the space and very few actually own it. Ben makes the obvious argument: if Oura can sync with fitness apps, why can't Canyon Ranch pull your health data? Edwin adds the counterweight — the freedom to do nothing is the next frontier that nobody's building for.
Plus: Soho House gets called out for failing to remember Edwin's green tea order after ten years, Scott's Venice discovery about a pool built in feet instead of meters, and Zach's verdict on San Antonio as the most underrated hotel market in America.

This Week in Hospitality is presented to you by Journey.
Journey is a loyalty platform built specifically for independent boutique hotels and high-touch hospitality brands. Our mission is to give operators the same powerful rewards engine, data intelligence, and guest insights that major chains rely on — without asking them to give up the individuality, soul, or story that makes their property extraordinary.
If you’re an owner or operator of an extraordinary, independently owned and operated hotel or residence — and you want to see whether your property is a fit for the Journey Alliance — you can learn more and apply at https://www.journey.com/alliance

Key Topics & Timestamps
00:00 — Intro
38:13 — Story #1: Palisociety Joins Marriott’s Design Hotels
49:52 — Story #2: Hilton’s New Brand Factory
01:01:51 — Spice of the Week

Your Hosts:
Zach Busekrus — Journey
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachbusekrus/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthestays/

Scott Eddy — Global Travel & Hospitality Expert @MrScottEddy
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrscotteddy/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrscotteddy/

Ben Wolff — Founder of Onera & Oasi
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-wolff/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iambenwolff/

Edwin Kramer — Luxury Hotelier Consultant & Former GM
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwinckramer/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edwinkramer/
1 hr 15 min
June 19 CoStar’s Forecast Reversal, Marriott Hits 10K Hotels, and Amsterdam’s Tourist Tax Revolt
This week opens in full TWIH chaos: Zach and Scott are somehow a mile apart in San Antonio and still not together, Ben is on the Connecticut shore debuting smarter-looking glasses, and Edwin is back in Barcelona sweating through a muted AC situation.
Then the guys get into the real stories moving hospitality. CoStar and Tourism Economics upgrade 2026 RevPAR forecasts, but the panel is skeptical. Luxury keeps pulling away, select service is stuck below inflation, and Ben argues the real problem is product-market fit: too many boring midscale hotels charging more without giving guests a reason to care. Edwin warns that the rush into luxury could create a wave of copy-paste properties that look expensive but mean nothing. Scott lands the bigger question: are we measuring industry health while ignoring the health of the guest experience?
From there, Marriott hits 10,000 properties with the JW Marriott Ranthambore in India — and the milestone becomes a debate about scale, owner trust, Bonvoy economics, and whether loyalty programs are quietly becoming financial institutions. Edwin points to owners pushing for a bigger slice of Marriott’s credit-card and loyalty revenue, while Ben argues younger hoteliers may not see the same value in flags that previous generations did. The crew digs into whether AI, better data, and a more independent-minded generation of owners could start cracking the big-brand moat.
In What’s in Your DMs, Ben is seeing a wave of narrative-driven independent hotel projects, Scott hears from a travel advisor whose clients are bringing AI-generated itineraries for human validation, Edwin is getting flooded by designers looking for work, and Zach admits he built a Claude agent to help find better podcast guests.
Finally, Edwin breaks down Amsterdam’s tourist-tax fight, where the city is pushing toward a 20% tax by 2030 and hotel leaders are moving from dialogue to lawsuits. The group debates overtourism, whether cities want visitor revenue without visitor relationships, and why Europe is starting to feel materially more expensive for travelers.
Spice of the Week closes with World Cup infrastructure chaos in Miami, six-hour stadium commutes, and Ben’s Messi doppelgänger moment.
This Week in Hospitality is presented to you by Journey.
Journey is a loyalty platform built specifically for independent boutique hotels and high-touch hospitality brands. Our mission is to give operators the same powerful rewards engine, data intelligence, and guest insights that major chains rely on — without asking them to give up the individuality, soul, or story that makes their property extraordinary.
If you’re an owner or operator of an extraordinary, independently owned and operated hotel or residence — and you want to see whether your property is a fit for the Journey Alliance — you can learn more and apply at https://www.journey.com/alliance

Key Topics & Timestamps
00:00 — Intro
06:51 — Story #1: CoStar’s Hotel Forecast Reversal
24:00 — Story #2: Marriott Hits 10,000 Hotels
46:50 — What’s In Your DMs: AI Travel Planning & Independent Hotel Momentum
1:00:13 — Story #3: Amsterdam’s Tourist Tax Revolt
1:11:22 — Spice of the Week

Your Hosts:
Zach Busekrus — Journey
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachbusekrus/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthestays/

Scott Eddy — Global Travel & Hospitality Expert @MrScottEddy
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrscotteddy/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrscotteddy/

Ben Wolff — Founder of Onera & Oasi
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-wolff/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iambenwolff/

Edwin Kramer — Luxury Hotelier Consultant & Former GM
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwinckramer/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edwinkramer/
1 hr 17 min
June 12 The Airbnb-Marriott Deal That Almost Happened, MGM Goes Private(?), Journey & Cloudbeds Partner, & What Premium Travelers Want
Two of the biggest casino operators in the world became takeover targets in the same week — and the squad has thoughts.
Barry Diller's People Inc. just offered $18 billion to take MGM Resorts private, days after Fertitta agreed to buy Caesars. MGM's own CFO didn't argue the company was fairly valued — he argued investors aren't doing the work. Ben, Scott, and Edwin debate whether public markets are simply too lazy to underwrite experience-driven hospitality, and what the next-generation casino actually looks like.

Then: the deal that almost rewrote the industry. On a recent podcast, Airbnb's former Chief Strategy Officer Chip Conley revealed that Marriott and Airbnb spent six months negotiating a major partnership in 2016 — including talk of earning and burning Bonvoy points on Airbnb stays — before Marriott's owners killed it. Was it the most expensive "no" in hospitality history?

Plus: Zach got access to Odesia, the AI travel search platform from Sonder's co-founder that just landed $6M from Sequoia — and it's the best AI trip-planning experience he's seen, full stop. And a new survey of 2,000 travelers reveals what premium guests will actually pay more for: quiet rooms, verified sustainability, and tech that connects rather than dazzles. Spoiler — it's a home-field advantage for independents.

Spice of the Week covers a sandwich shop that turned away revenue over a tiny dog, why full hotels fool owners into thinking their marketing works, the OTA-fee budget shell game, and Zach's big announcement: Journey's new strategic partnership with Cloudbeds.
This Week in Hospitality is presented to you by Journey.
Journey is a loyalty platform built specifically for independent boutique hotels and high-touch hospitality brands. Our mission is to give operators the same powerful rewards engine, data intelligence, and guest insights that major chains rely on — without asking them to give up the individuality, soul, or story that makes their property extraordinary.
If you’re an owner or operator of an extraordinary, independently owned and operated hotel or residence — and you want to see whether your property is a fit for the Journey Alliance — you can learn more and apply at https://www.journey.com/alliance

Key Topics & Timestamps
00:00 — Intro
05:08 — Story #1: MGM’s Take-Private Bid and the Value of Live Experience
16:31 — Story #2: Marriott and Airbnb’s Partnership That Never Happened
33:43 — Story #3: Travelers Will Pay More for Quiet, Calm, and Credibility
44:54 — Spice of the Week

Your Hosts:
Zach Busekrus — Journey
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachbusekrus/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthestays/

Scott Eddy — Global Travel & Hospitality Expert @MrScottEddy
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrscotteddy/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrscotteddy/

Ben Wolff — Founder of Onera & Oasi
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-wolff/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iambenwolff/

Edwin Kramer — Luxury Hotelier Consultant & Former GM
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwinckramer/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edwinkramer/
56 min
June 05 Sonder's Founder is Back, Hyatt's New Growth Strategy, The Human Concierge Book, and L.E/Miami Recap
This week opens at LE Miami — which Scott describes less like a travel conference and more like Coachella for hotel nerds — before the guys dive into the real industry tension underneath the party.
Hyatt tells investors to stop counting rooms and start counting fees, arguing that “empty calorie” growth is the wrong metric. But the panel digs into the contradiction: the premium story is Park Hyatt, Andaz, Thompson, and Alila — while the actual growth engine may be Essentials, all-inclusives, and credit card economics. Translation: hotel companies are increasingly distribution platforms, loyalty machines, and maybe even banks.
Then Hilton’s Undergraduate by Hilton gets a second look. The name still gets roasted, but the strategy starts to make sense: college towns are wildly underserved, Graduate doesn’t pencil everywhere, and tired select-service boxes are begging for conversion. The question is whether this is lifestyle innovation — or just another brand solving an owner pipeline problem.
The guys also react to Sonder co-founder Francis Davidson’s new AI travel startup, Odessia, and debate whether dedicated AI travel agents can win when ChatGPT and Claude already own so much user context. That leads into a bigger conversation about trust, human travel advisors, preference passports, and why overwhelmed travelers may want fewer options — not more.
Finally, Minor Hotels makes the case for “asset-right” hospitality, arguing that brands need more skin in the game if they want owner trust. The crew closes with DMs, celebrity hotel speculation, World Cup demand anxiety, and Ben teasing a possible conversion-brand play of his own.
This Week in Hospitality is presented to you by Journey.
Journey is a loyalty platform built specifically for independent boutique hotels and high-touch hospitality brands. Our mission is to give operators the same powerful rewards engine, data intelligence, and guest insights that major chains rely on — without asking them to give up the individuality, soul, or story that makes their property extraordinary.
If you’re an owner or operator of an extraordinary, independently owned and operated hotel or residence — and you want to see whether your property is a fit for the Journey Alliance — you can learn more and apply at https://www.journey.com/alliance

Key Topics & Timestamps
00:00 — Intro & L.E/Miami Recap
05:52 — Hyatt’s New Growth Strategy
16:35 — Hilton’s Undergraduate Brand Bet
24:25 — Sonder’s Founder Is Back: Odessia and AI Travel Planning
33:35 — The Human Concierge Is Making a Comeback
50:00 — What’s In Your DMs?
59:25 — Spice of the Week

Your Hosts:
Zach Busekrus — Journey
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachbusekrus/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthestays/

Scott Eddy — Global Travel & Hospitality Expert @MrScottEddy
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrscotteddy/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrscotteddy/

Ben Wolff — Founder of Onera & Oasi
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-wolff/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iambenwolff/

Edwin Kramer — Luxury Hotelier Consultant & Former GM
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwinckramer/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edwinkramer/
1 hr 7 min
May 29 The Uber-Hotel Hookup, Expedia Optimizes for AI Agents, and Why Americans Are Skipping Europe
Mews embeds Uber directly into its PMS, promising seamless guest transportation and a cut of ancillary revenue hotels have long been leaving on the table. The guys are skeptical — cool concept, questionable adoption, and the real winner might just be Uber’s data team.

Then Expedia announces B2A — a marketing function built not for humans, but for AI agents. Scott doesn’t mince words: AI is about to expose how hollow most hotel marketing actually is. Ben connects the dots to the accelerating rise of independent, story-driven properties that LLMs will increasingly favor over generic flag brands.

Americans aren’t canceling travel — they’re shortening trips, going domestic, and scrutinizing every dollar. Scott just did seven hotel site visits in Tuscany. Not one was at capacity. The Smoky Mountains are not having the same problem.

Finally, a sharp op-ed on the structural dysfunction between hotel owners and operators sparks a broader debate about why the aligned owner-operator model is the decade’s single biggest competitive advantage — and why capital still hasn’t caught up.
This Week in Hospitality is presented to you by Journey.
Journey is a loyalty platform built specifically for independent boutique hotels and high-touch hospitality brands. Our mission is to give operators the same powerful rewards engine, data intelligence, and guest insights that major chains rely on — without asking them to give up the individuality, soul, or story that makes their property extraordinary.
If you’re an owner or operator of an extraordinary, independently owned and operated hotel or residence — and you want to see whether your property is a fit for the Journey Alliance — you can learn more and apply at https://www.journey.com/alliance

Key Topics & Timestamps
00:00 — Intro
02:28 — Story #1: Mews embeds Uber into the PMS
15:28 — Story #2: Expedia’s B2A strategy for AI agents
37:17 — Story #3: Travelers trade down, not out
50:04 — Story #4: The owner-operator information gap
56:36 — Spice of the Week

Your Hosts:
Zach Busekrus — Journey
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachbusekrus/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthestays/

Scott Eddy — Global Travel & Hospitality Expert @MrScottEddy
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrscotteddy/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrscotteddy/

Ben Wolff — Founder of Onera & Oasi
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-wolff/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iambenwolff/

Edwin Kramer — Luxury Hotelier Consultant & Former GM
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwinckramer/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edwinkramer/
1 hr 5 min
May 22 Airbnb’s Super-App, Expedia’s Acquisition, The Overtourism Reckoning & Why Small Markets Are Winning
This week, Zach, Ben, and Edwin dig into the race to own the entire trip.
Airbnb’s summer release becomes the main event: rental cars, boutique hotels, Instacart, airport pickups, luggage storage, landmark experiences, and aggressive travel credits. The crew debates whether this is finally Airbnb’s super-app moment — or whether the company still can’t decide if it wants to be a homes platform or the best stays platform on earth.
That rolls straight into Expedia buying CarTrawler, Booking getting more aggressive, and Meta testing AI-powered trip planning from Instagram ads. The takeaway: whoever owns intent owns the booking — and every major platform knows it.
Then the guys break down WTTC’s massive travel forecast: $12T in global economic impact, 376M jobs, and Europe growing far faster in tourism than its broader economy. But the growth comes with tension: overtourism, short-term rental crackdowns, and the risk that outside capital prices local operators out of the very markets travelers love.
Finally, smaller cities get their moment as group travel shifts away from big convention markets toward more intimate, own-the-place experiences. And in Spice of the Week, Ben makes the case for creative hotel financing, Edwin explains Dubai’s knock-on effect on European luxury demand, and Zach asks a brutal question after a clunky luxury check-in: has a front desk experience ever actually made the stay better?
This Week in Hospitality is presented to you by Journey.
Journey is a loyalty platform built specifically for independent boutique hotels and high-touch hospitality brands. Our mission is to give operators the same powerful rewards engine, data intelligence, and guest insights that major chains rely on — without asking them to give up the individuality, soul, or story that makes their property extraordinary.
If you’re an owner or operator of an extraordinary, independently owned and operated hotel or residence — and you want to see whether your property is a fit for the Journey Alliance — you can learn more and apply at https://www.journey.com/alliance

Key Topics & Timestamps
00:00 — Intro
07:36 — Story #1: Airbnb’s Super-App Push
21:50 — Story #2: Expedia’s CarTrawler Acquisition
33:29 — Story #3: Tourism Growth Meets Overtourism Pressure
47:53 — Story #4: Group Travel Shifts to Smaller Markets
54:56 — Story #5: Baby Grand and the Maximalist Hotel Bet
1:00:43 — Spice of the Week

Your Hosts:
Zach Busekrus — Journey
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachbusekrus/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthestays/

Scott Eddy — Global Travel & Hospitality Expert @MrScottEddy
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrscotteddy/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrscotteddy/

Ben Wolff — Founder of Onera & Oasi
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-wolff/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iambenwolff/

Edwin Kramer — Luxury Hotelier Consultant & Former GM
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwinckramer/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edwinkramer/
1 hr 13 min
May 15 Airbnb Rethinks AI, Brands Move Into Safari, Spain’s Tourism Reckoning, Hospitality’s Human Premium
This week, the guys trace one tension running through travel right now: everyone wants scale, but nobody wants the experience to feel scaled.

Airbnb opens the conversation with Brian Chesky admitting what most travel CEOs won’t say out loud: AI still hasn’t figured out travel. The panel digs into why chatbots don’t solve discovery, why travel planning is visual, emotional, and often multiplayer — and why the best AI in hospitality may be the stuff guests never see.

Then the conversation moves to safari, where Auberge joins the growing list of luxury brands circling Africa. The guys debate whether global capital can elevate conservation and local operators — or whether safari risks becoming another “experiential” category flattened by loyalty programs, PR machines, and imported playbooks.

From there, the crew turns to the human touch. As hotels automate more of the journey, real hospitality gets more valuable — but only if operators hire for warmth, pay people like they matter, and use AI to remove stupid work instead of replacing the soul of the business.
Finally, Spain becomes the case study for what happens when demand, authenticity, and overtourism collide. The takeaway: Spain doesn’t sell tourism. It sells a way of life. And protecting that may matter more than growing arrivals.
In Spice of the Week, Scott lands the thesis: hospitality is addicted to scale — and scale is killing the feeling.
This Week in Hospitality is presented to you by Journey.
Journey is a loyalty platform built specifically for independent boutique hotels and high-touch hospitality brands. Our mission is to give operators the same powerful rewards engine, data intelligence, and guest insights that major chains rely on — without asking them to give up the individuality, soul, or story that makes their property extraordinary.
If you’re an owner or operator of an extraordinary, independently owned and operated hotel or residence — and you want to see whether your property is a fit for the Journey Alliance — you can learn more and apply at https://www.journey.com/alliance

Key Topics & Timestamps
00:00 — Intro
04:39 — Story #1: Airbnb’s AI Reality Check
17:27 — Story #2: Luxury Brands Move Into Safari
30:50 — Story #3: Human Touch Becomes the Luxury Differentiator
44:28 — Story #4: Spain’s Tourism Boom Meets Its Limits
56:10 — Spice of the Week

Your Hosts:
Zach Busekrus — Journey
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachbusekrus/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthestays/

Scott Eddy — Global Travel & Hospitality Expert @MrScottEddy
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrscotteddy/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrscotteddy/

Ben Wolff — Founder of Onera & Oasi
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-wolff/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iambenwolff/

Edwin Kramer — Luxury Hotelier Consultant & Former GM
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwinckramer/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edwinkramer/
1 hr 5 min
May 08 The World Cup Bust, Spirit's Collapse, Priceline is Back, and Aman's Move in the Texas Hill Country
The hospitality industry was supposed to print money during the 2026 World Cup. Instead, nearly 80% of hotels across the eleven US host cities are pacing significantly below forecasts, with Kansas City operators calling it a non-event and Boston, Philly, and San Francisco not far behind. On this week's episode, Zach is joined by Edwin Kramer, Scott Eddy, and Ben Wolff to unpack what went wrong — visa friction, FIFA's extortionate ticket pricing, geopolitical headwinds, and a hospitality industry that mistook the World Cup logo for a marketing strategy. Edwin offers a sharp European perspective on why the math was always going to be brutal for international travelers, while Scott levels a familiar critique: hotels keep believing their own projections instead of doing the basic work of telling guests how to actually get to the match.

From there, the conversation moves to Priceline's surprisingly sharp William Shatner TikTok play (and what booking's parent strategy says about the OTA wars), Under Canvas's CEO transition and the missing middle in outdoor hospitality, and the slow death of Spirit Airlines — a story that opens up a wider debate about whether the ultra-low-cost carrier model can survive in the US the way it has in Europe. Ben, calling in from Onera Fredericksburg, makes the case that commodity businesses can't run on razor-thin margins forever, and Edwin walks through the European low-cost graveyard nobody's talking about.

The episode closes on Aman's reported move into the Texas Hill Country — a development Ben sees as the ultimate validation of a market he bet on years ago, and a signal that ultra-luxury is now defining itself by space rather than density. Plus spice of the week: Instagram's new metrics hierarchy, why most brands still can't do basic marketing, and Edwin's pitch to the next generation of hoteliers.
This Week in Hospitality is presented to you by Journey.
Journey is a loyalty platform built specifically for independent boutique hotels and high-touch hospitality brands. Our mission is to give operators the same powerful rewards engine, data intelligence, and guest insights that major chains rely on — without asking them to give up the individuality, soul, or story that makes their property extraordinary.
If you’re an owner or operator of an extraordinary, independently owned and operated hotel or residence — and you want to see whether your property is a fit for the Journey Alliance — you can learn more and apply at https://www.journey.com/alliance

Key Topics & Timestamps
00:00 — Intro
09:10 — Story #1: World Cup Hotel Demand Falls Short
24:13 — Story #2: Priceline Revives the Negotiator
31:47 — Story #3: Under Canvas’ Next Chapter
40:10 — Story #4: Spirit’s Collapse and the Low-Cost Airline Model
50:13 — Story #5: Aman Bets on Texas Hill Country
54:44 — Spice of the Week

Your Hosts:
Zach Busekrus — Journey
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachbusekrus/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthestays/

Scott Eddy — Global Travel & Hospitality Expert @MrScottEddy
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrscotteddy/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrscotteddy/

Ben Wolff — Founder of Onera & Oasi
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-wolff/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iambenwolff/

Edwin Kramer — Luxury Hotelier Consultant & Former GM
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwinckramer/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edwinkramer/
1 hr 4 min
May 01 Uber Becomes a Hotel Platform, TikTok Outperforms OTAs, and Hotels Still Don’t Own the Customer
This week’s conversation pulls apart a reality the industry has been circling for months—but is now impossible to ignore: travel demand is no longer being created, shaped, or captured by the companies that actually deliver the experience.

It’s happening upstream.
What starts as a discussion around TikTok and AI quickly evolves into something bigger—a structural shift in how travelers decide. Discovery is no longer destination-first. It’s scroll-first. A piece of content sparks interest, AI compresses consideration, and by the time a traveler reaches a booking interface, most of the decision has already been made.

That shift leaves hotels, airlines, and even OTAs reacting instead of leading.

The episode unpacks what that means in practice. Why a digitally ambitious airline like Riyadh Air still defaults to legacy distribution before launch. Why Uber entering hotel bookings isn’t about inventory—it’s about embedding travel into habit. And why every major brand—from Airbnb to Minor Hotels—is racing to become more than just a single touchpoint in the journey.

Underneath all of it is a more uncomfortable truth: the industry has over-rotated on storytelling without solving distribution. And storytelling alone doesn’t close the transaction.
There’s also tension between strategy and reality. Independent operators are told to “create demand,” but many are still constrained by ownership structures focused on 30- to 90-day performance windows. Attribution remains murky. Investment decisions follow what can be measured—not necessarily what drives long-term growth.

The result is a fragmented ecosystem where inspiration, validation, and booking live in entirely different places—most of which operators don’t control.

The question isn’t whether this shift is happening. It’s who adapts to it—and who becomes invisible within it.
This Week in Hospitality is presented to you by Journey.
Journey is a loyalty platform built specifically for independent boutique hotels and high-touch hospitality brands. Our mission is to give operators the same powerful rewards engine, data intelligence, and guest insights that major chains rely on — without asking them to give up the individuality, soul, or story that makes their property extraordinary.
If you’re an owner or operator of an extraordinary, independently owned and operated hotel or residence — and you want to see whether your property is a fit for the Journey Alliance — you can learn more and apply at https://www.journey.com/alliance

Key Topics & Timestamps
00:00 — Intro
05:15 — Story #1: TikTok, AI, and the Hijacked Travel Funnel
28:50 — Story #2: Uber Enters Hotel Booking Through Expedia
38:35 — Story #3: Riyadh Air’s Direct-Booking Reality Check
47:28 — Story #4: Minor Hotels Bets on Private Jet Luxury
57:32 — Spice of the Week

Your Hosts:
Zach Busekrus — Journey
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachbusekrus/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthestays/

Scott Eddy — Global Travel & Hospitality Expert @MrScottEddy
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrscotteddy/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrscotteddy/

Ben Wolff — Founder of Onera & Oasi
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-wolff/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iambenwolff/

Edwin Kramer — Luxury Hotelier Consultant & Former GM
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwinckramer/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edwinkramer/
1 hr 7 min
April 24 Hospitality’s Muddy Middle Is Breaking — With Bashar Wali
Luxury hospitality has a credibility problem: the industry keeps charging more while delivering sameness, ceremony, and aesthetic shortcuts that increasingly feel hollow. Joining the quad this week is Bashar Wali—hotel operator, industry veteran, and one of hospitality’s most outspoken critics—known for pairing irreverence with sharp, experience-backed insight. He wastes no time arguing that the old markers of luxury no longer match what modern travelers actually value: time, privacy, ease, and the feeling of being genuinely seen.
The conversation expands into a broader critique of ownership, brands, and the “muddy middle.” Bashar reframes hotels not as service businesses, but as retailers selling a perishable product—one that must earn loyalty through experience rather than points or perks. Ben pushes on capital constraints, Scott questions whether human-first hospitality can scale, and Edwin highlights how far the industry has drifted from its roots. The tension is clear: technology should remove friction, not replace human connection.
The episode ultimately lands on a sharper test for any hotel claiming luxury status: strip away the scent machine, the coffee table books, the scripted welcome—what’s left? If it isn’t care, competence, character, and soul, the product was never luxury to begin with.
This Week in Hospitality is presented to you by Journey.
Journey is a loyalty platform built specifically for independent boutique hotels and high-touch hospitality brands. Our mission is to give operators the same powerful rewards engine, data intelligence, and guest insights that major chains rely on — without asking them to give up the individuality, soul, or story that makes their property extraordinary.
If you’re an owner or operator of an extraordinary, independently owned and operated hotel or residence — and you want to see whether your property is a fit for the Journey Alliance — you can learn more and apply at https://www.journey.com/alliance

Special Guest:
Bashar Wali — This Assembly
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/basharwali/

Your Hosts:
Zach Busekrus — Journey
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachbusekrus/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthestays/

Scott Eddy — Global Travel & Hospitality Expert @MrScottEddy
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrscotteddy/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrscotteddy/

Ben Wolff — Founder of Onera & Oasi
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-wolff/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iambenwolff/

Edwin Kramer — Luxury Hotelier Consultant & Former GM
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwinckramer/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edwinkramer/
1 hr 9 min

About This Week in Hospitality

From the publisher's feed

Every Friday morning, This Week in Hospitality brings you the most important stories, insights, and innovations shaping the global hospitality industry — distilled and discussed by people who actually build within it.

Hosted by Ben Wolff, Scott Eddy, Edwin Kramer, and Zach Busekrus, this weekly conversation is crafted for the founders, operators, and dreamers creating the next generation of hospitality brands.

You’ll get more than just headlines — you’ll get perspective. Each episode breaks down the week’s most compelling hospitality stories and explores what they really mean for independent hotel owners, boutique brands, and experiential travel entrepreneurs. From brand strategy and design trends to tech disruption and capital markets, This Week in Hospitality keeps you informed, inspired, and ready for what’s next.

So grab your morning coffee, and catch up on the stories that matter — before your guests check in.

New episodes every Friday morning.

Ben Wolff
Ben Wolff is the visionary founder behind Onera, a trailblazing landscape hotel brand in the Texas Hill Country, and Oasi, a next-generation management company pioneering experiential hospitality. Known for pushing the boundaries of design, wellness, and guest immersion, Ben has become a leading voice in the evolution of high-end, nature-driven travel experiences. His work sits at the intersection of architecture, emotion, and environment — redefining what modern luxury feels like in the wild.

Scott Eddy
Scott Eddy is one of the world’s most recognized hospitality voices — a global keynote speaker, digital strategist, and content creator who has partnered with hundreds of luxury hotel brands, tourism boards, and travel startups. Named among the top travel influencers worldwide, Scott brings a rare blend of brand storytelling expertise, social strategy, and on-the-ground hospitality experience, offering a panoramic view of how digital connection drives modern guest loyalty.

Edwin Kramer
A hospitality executive with a pedigree forged at the world’s leading luxury hotels, Edwin has held senior leadership roles with brands like Four Seasons, EDITION, Campbell, Gray, Hyatt, and NOBU Hotels across multiple continents. Known for operational excellence and cultural leadership, Edwin has built and managed five-star teams that deliver some of the most lauded guest experiences in the industry. Today, he brings that global lens to the conversations shaping hospitality’s future — where service, innovation, and storytelling converge.

Zach Busekrus
Zach is on the founding team of Journey, a next-generation loyalty and storytelling platform empowering independent hotels and vacation rental brands to compete globally without losing their soul. He’s also the creator and host of Behind the Stays, one of the fastest-growing podcasts in hospitality, where he’s interviewed the visionaries behind some of the world’s most creative stays. With a decade in growth strategy and marketing, Zach brings a founder’s curiosity and contagious optimism to every conversation — always championing the builders shaping the future of independent hospitality.