🔗 Accor builds new connections, Hilton strengthens existing ones

Welcome to RemoteHotelier!

By the time you read this, I’ll be in Tokyo after a long day in DisneySea (most likely thinking about how waiting queues could be optimized).

It’s been a slow week for both myself and hotel tech, so today’s edition is shorter than usual… but I still picked a few things worth your time.

🤝 Accor and IndiGo launch a reciprocal loyalty exchange letting ALL Accor and IndiGo BluChip members convert points across flights and hotel stays. It links IndiGo’s 13 million members with Accor’s hotel brands. Both sides call it phase one, with plans to fold Accor into IndiGo’s wider travel ecosystem of cabs and experiences.

🛳️ Explora Journeys deepens its partnership with Hilton Honors, letting members earn 10 points per dollar spent on cruise fares and redeem points for future travel. Members also get 5% off all Explora Journeys cruises plus perks like welcome cocktails and private transfers.

🌴 Hilton also extends its ResortPass partnership for three more years, letting travelers and locals buy single-day access to Hilton resorts without booking a room. The renewal includes a new “Off Hours Event Series” with poolside parties at several Florida properties.

📊 A new D-Edge report on APAC hotel distribution finds Agoda overtaking Booking.com as the region’s top platform, climbing to a 20.9% share in 2025 while Booking.com and Expedia both declined. Wholesaler bookings nearly tripled since 2022 while direct bookings kept slipping, even though direct reservations cancel far less often than OTA bookings.

💼 Airbnb hires OpenAI’s first global VP of creative, Michael Tabtabai, who starts in August after less than a year at OpenAI. The move doubles down on brand as Airbnb’s defense against AI platforms, especially since Airbnb has stayed out of ChatGPT’s travel search unlike Booking.com and Expedia.

🍽️ OpenTable adds “Gold Tables” to its Regulars loyalty program, giving members who complete six reservations in 12 months first access to exclusive tables at more than 500 restaurants in 50 cities. Gold members also get early alerts for last-minute openings and six free months of Uber One.

🆕 Travel Tech Association will host its second annual Start-Up Summit, bringing together travel tech founders, investors, and industry leaders. The day includes a pitch competition, with applications opening later this summer.

📍 Next Event: Hotel Data Conference (5–7 August).

📅 See the full hotel tech event calendar.

💼 Check which hotel tech companies offer remote jobs.

💻 Get your PMS comparison spreadsheet.

💸 Get your RMS comparison spreadsheet.

That’s all for today, thank you for reading. I’ll send next week’s newsletter from Seoul, so you can expect a similar format (which will be the last summer express edition before coming back from holiday).

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See you next week!
Jose