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hotelconsult.bsky.social
HotelConsult- Hotelier / Owner / Partner Waterford Hotels & Inns
@hotelconsult.bsky.social
260 followers 1.3K following 550 posts
https://linktr.ee/hhotelconsult

Rooms / Food & Bev / Spa
Front of House / Back of House Ops since 1995
Hospitality Design / Build / Manage since 2005
Historic / LEED / Green / Adaptive Reuse / National Park / Indies

#Travel #Hotel #Luxury #Wine expert
Posts Replies Media Videos
hotelconsult.bsky.social
Presence over efficiency in hospitality: Why emotionally grounded interactions now matter more to guests than perfectly smooth operations www.hospitality.today/article/pres...
Presence over efficiency in hospitality
www.hospitality.today
February 10, 2026 at 2:07 AM
hotelconsult.bsky.social
Amex reports continued rebound in travel and entertainment spending Corporate travel demand remains resilient despite uneven economic signals and competitive financial services landscape www.hospitality.today/article/amex...
Amex reports continued rebound in travel and entertainment spending
www.hospitality.today
February 10, 2026 at 2:06 AM
Reposted by HotelConsult- Hotelier / Owner / Partner Waterford Hotels & Inns
unclefishbits.bsky.social
One thing about Bad Bunny's performance is such an unbelievably wholesome and unifying message that all the Americas are dope. And beautiful. And we should all be better together Yukon to Patagonia.
February 9, 2026 at 4:39 PM
hotelconsult.bsky.social
Domestic travel strengthens U.S. hotel demand in 2025 Rising home-market bookings reshape distribution priorities and pricing strategies for hotels www.hospitality.today/article/dome...
Domestic travel strengthens U.S. hotel demand in 2025
www.hospitality.today
February 10, 2026 at 2:06 AM
hotelconsult.bsky.social
Google AI search is already reshaping how guests discover hotels Search behavior is shifting now, even before AI travel booking tools fully arrive — forcing hotels to rethink visibility and demand capture www.hospitality.today/article/goog...
Google AI search is already reshaping how guests discover hotels
www.hospitality.today
February 10, 2026 at 2:05 AM
hotelconsult.bsky.social
AI disruption fears reach travel tech platforms Investor concerns rise that generative AI could reshape software-driven industries, including online travel www.hospitality.today/article/ai-d...
AI disruption fears reach travel tech platforms
www.hospitality.today
February 10, 2026 at 2:05 AM
hotelconsult.bsky.social
If you're looking at new property management systems I would probably try to get away from Opera. Micros pos, etc.

Oracle is in big trouble.

bsky.app/profile/edzi...
edzitron.com Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · 20d
Tomorrow's Premium: The 15k word Hater's Guide To Oracle, an evil company that needs $150bn in the next 2 years and for OpenAI to become the most successful company in history or it will run out of money by 2030.

Here's $10 off annual.
edzitronswheresyouredatghostio.outpost.pub/public/promo...
The TikTok Acquisition And Oracle’s Potential Collapse Sets Us Up For The Funniest Conclusion Possible You probably are wondering why I didn’t talk about Oracle becoming a partial owner of the US version of TikTok, and that’s because I wanted to save the best for last. Oracle has, for some time, been TikTok’s official US infrastructure partner. Per TechCrunch: Oracle will serve as the trusted security partner, responsible for auditing and ensuring compliance with National Security Terms, according to a memo. The company already provides cloud services for TikTok and manages user data in the U.S. Notably, Oracle previously made a bid for TikTok back in 2020. Here’s another great factoid about TikTok: it loses billions and billions of dollars: TikTok’s parent, ByteDance, doesn’t disclose TikTok’s financial performance. But ByteDance investors estimate TikTok lost several billion dollars last year on revenue of roughly $20 billion. Now that ByteDance isn’t principally responsible for the health of the app, and within a few days of the deal closing, its algorithm went to dogshit. While TikTok is attempting to claim that a power outage was to blame, anybody with even a basic knowledge of anything knows that algorithms do not live in different parts of a data center, and that the most likely reason behind the deterioration is Oracle diddling with the algorithm itself, as TechCrunch reported it would: A White House official previously said Oracle would replicate and secure a new U.S. version of the algorithm, and the U.S.-based TikTok owners could lease the algorithm from ByteDance, which Oracle will then retrain. So, let’s review: Oracle has already fucked with the TikTok algorithm, the main reason people use the app, and people using the app is how the app makes money (by serving them ads). TikTok was already losing billions of dollars. Larry Ellison’s wealth is almost entirely tied to his shares of Oracle. Oracle’s shares are tied to the health of the company, and said shares are already losing value because of Oracle’s egregious debt. This situation will only improve if Oracle is able to build data centers that are behind schedule and it does not yet have the capital to build, requiring debt that bankers are hesitant to provide. Even if successful, if OpenAI cannot pay for the compute, Oracle’s shares will slide into oblivion. All the while, Oracle just bought into one of its largest cloud customers, and is currently in the process of making its business less-valuable. As it stands, Oracle is a company in decline that has attached itself to a low-to-negative margin business with extensive, debt-ridden setup costs, with a primary customer that required over $140 billion in funding just to stop itself falling over and dying by the end of 2026. Oracle continually misses analyst estimates, swindles customers into expensive contracts and then sues them to bleed them for more money, has employees that tell me that life there is utterly miserable, and is inarguably an enterprise in sharp decline, one accelerated by the desperate, egoistical predilections of Larry Ellison, a guy who allegedly stepped down a decade ago but fully intends to drive the entire company off a cliff. If allowed to, Oracle will be swallowed whole by its debt, and won’t have much of a business to fall back upon. In writing this piece, I have tried to look for something resembling an Oracle fan - somebody that appreciates the software or will defend it on any level. All I can find are the most wretched AI boosters, desperate to kiss up to anybody who will incinerate billions of dollars to build dat… Perhaps I’m trashed off hopium, but I see no scenario that ends with anything other than the near-destruction of Oracle, and even if a government bailout exists, it will take decades - if it’s even possible - to recover from what I believe will be an historic destruction of shareholder capital, all borne of the hubris of one of the most nakedly anti-consumer companies in the history of capitalism. I hate Oracle. I’ve spent hours and hours reading about Oracle, learning all about Oracle, thinking about Oracle, philosophizing about Oracle, and never before have I witnessed a company that’s so thoroughly debased its products, customers and shareholders. This company has taken the piss for decades, and I think it’s finally its time for a reckoning. Could Larry Ellison be rendered penniless? Doubtful. But the outcome of decades of fucking over customers and terrible financial decisions may finally tear down his rotten legacy.
January 30, 2026 at 6:07 AM
hotelconsult.bsky.social
The AI bubble is in legacy software & web, where hardware is the future.

So... a relevant shift w/ AI software to hardware: Expedia or Tripadvisor's Chatbot doesn't matter when people use LG, Samsung or Google's hardware (TV, Fridge, Hub) in their home for travel recs.
January 29, 2026 at 11:20 PM
hotelconsult.bsky.social
UPSHOT & TL;DR the thread about AI and grabbing direct bookings for ancient, legacy giant OTA and distribution tech companies:
bsky.app/profile/hote...
hotelconsult.bsky.social HotelConsult- Hotelier / Owner / Partner Waterford Hotels & Inns @hotelconsult.bsky.social · 20d
Legacy web companies vs AI, big time disruption. A THREAD!🧵 Article:

The debate is on Are AI platforms going to make OTAs obsolete? Three different analysis worth reading. OpenAI wants to add taxes, click costs and royalties. Business of hotel merch and more martinsoler.substack.com/p/141-are-ot...
141 - Are OTAs dead vs AI? The debate is on
Are AI platforms going to make OTAs obsolete? Three different analysis worth reading. OpenAI wants to add taxes, click costs and royalties. Business of hotel merch and more.
martinsoler.substack.com
January 29, 2026 at 10:48 PM
hotelconsult.bsky.social
Legacy web companies vs AI, big time disruption. A THREAD!🧵 Article:

The debate is on Are AI platforms going to make OTAs obsolete? Three different analysis worth reading. OpenAI wants to add taxes, click costs and royalties. Business of hotel merch and more martinsoler.substack.com/p/141-are-ot...
141 - Are OTAs dead vs AI? The debate is on
Are AI platforms going to make OTAs obsolete? Three different analysis worth reading. OpenAI wants to add taxes, click costs and royalties. Business of hotel merch and more.
martinsoler.substack.com
January 29, 2026 at 10:47 PM
hotelconsult.bsky.social
self fulfilling prophecy humor
notlikewe.bsky.social egg16z 🥚 @notlikewe.bsky.social · 21d
He needs cash so hard lmao, if you really wanted to why not just roll it all up under TSLA and forego the entire IPO rigamarole
January 29, 2026 at 10:39 PM
Reposted by HotelConsult- Hotelier / Owner / Partner Waterford Hotels & Inns
buckrawheat.bsky.social
I love it when we turn the entire economy into a debt shell game
January 29, 2026 at 10:30 PM
hotelconsult.bsky.social
Las Vegas was already cratering, as a bellwether for the United States Travel and Tourism industry... when Vegas goes silent, most of the US follows.

Trump's handling of the USA may end Las Vegas, and hospitality and tourism isn't far behind.
January 15, 2026 at 3:42 PM
Reposted by HotelConsult- Hotelier / Owner / Partner Waterford Hotels & Inns
digtravelexpert.bsky.social
Indeed reviews should indeed be authentic and come from lived moments. It’s even absurd that some companies allow fake reviews to pretend they offer great experiences. Travelers still can spot fake reviews!
January 8, 2026 at 11:39 PM
hotelconsult.bsky.social
They're not Delaware North or Aramark, but Hyatt & Marriott are ultimately uniformly so institutional & clinical to service stockholders.

Culture & history of legendary, storied historic hotels is lost.

As stock prices rise, the hallmarks of hospitality of service & experience becomes afterthought
January 12, 2026 at 8:30 PM
hotelconsult.bsky.social
A "Third Space" are spaces we commune & connect outside of home & work. They're vital, we've lost them, & there's a crisis of loneliness.

& Technology is co-opting our attention *on purpose* like an energy vampire; it's taking our social skills & energy to commune, as well.

*So even more lonely*.
January 12, 2026 at 8:18 PM
hotelconsult.bsky.social
21 of the most beautiful new restaurants.... ARE REALLY REALLY BEAUTIFUL!

A few west coast. These are amazing.
robbreport.com/food-drink/d...
The 21 Most Beautiful New Restaurants in America of 2025
We picked the 21 most beautiful new restaurants to open their doors in America in 2025, including Crying Tiger, abc kitchen, Stock & Bond, and more.
robbreport.com
January 12, 2026 at 7:51 PM
hotelconsult.bsky.social
You can saturate every channel in the universe with ads for your hotel, but a dirty secret about almost all hotel marketing. 80% is figuring out "off-season mid-week", but 80% of your actual clientele aren't coming because of an ad or marketing.

They're coming because they were already coming.
a group of people standing in front of a sign that says shh they don t know that
ALT: a group of people standing in front of a sign that says shh they don t know that
media.tenor.com
January 9, 2026 at 12:14 AM
hotelconsult.bsky.social
Everything else is so serious, no one has talked about travel vs this admin, the jingoist sabre rattling, illegal land grabs, and threatening EU and NATO allies- then add a entry fee for visitors?

International travel to the USA isn't just gonna to crash.

Trump deliberately turned the faucet off.
January 8, 2026 at 8:15 PM
hotelconsult.bsky.social
This is quite cool. Tripadvisor is taking a wild stand, in lieu of shifting tides and their waning relevance.

They're scanning and not allowing reviews written by AI.

It's principled, and seems pretty rare.
January 8, 2026 at 8:12 PM
Reposted by HotelConsult- Hotelier / Owner / Partner Waterford Hotels & Inns
unclefishbits.bsky.social
A nice preview of the long renovated Huntington on Nob Hill
@sfgate.com - www.sfgate.com/local/articl...

Stunning pool deck. Classic Hollywood vibes!
December 8, 2025 at 8:29 PM
hotelconsult.bsky.social
The Future is just so weird:

Shares of Metaplanet, a Tokyo-based firm that in 2024 pivoted from hotel management to accumulating bitcoin, were in June 2025 trading at around eight times the value of its bitcoin holdings. www.citationneeded.news/digital-asse...
Digital asset treasury companies are running out of steam
Convincing traders to pay $2 for $1 of bitcoin worked — for a while. As premiums evaporate, an unwind could be painful.
www.citationneeded.news
December 3, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Reposted by HotelConsult- Hotelier / Owner / Partner Waterford Hotels & Inns
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
Does the White House think this is going to win them support with Gen Z?
“Here’s a Short n’ Sweet message for Sabrina Carpenter: We won’t apologize for deporting dangerous criminal illegal murderers, rapists, and pedophiles from our country. Anyone who would defend these sick monsters must be stupid, or is it slow?” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement.
December 2, 2025 at 6:32 PM
hotelconsult.bsky.social
As for Wine Country flagging and interest waning, South Australia and Adelaide just did a podcast add targeting the idea of wine and wildlife. Wildlifeadventure during the day, sipping Shiraz at night. Really smart ad with a new angle around wine I've not seen.
December 2, 2025 at 11:07 PM
hotelconsult.bsky.social
I think about this quite a bit, in a bid to be playful you actually obscure information. Bad copywriting is a thing.
November 25, 2025 at 3:28 PM