🛎️ Klook wants $500M, hotels struggle with data and a new section

Hi there, welcome to RemoteHotelier. This week we welcome 14 new subscribers (the highest since I launched this newsletter four months ago 🙌). Thank you for that, and welcome aboard!

In today’s newsletter:

🌍 Klook expands beyond China to fuel global growth

🔌 Disconnected systems keep holding back hotels

🔎 A new platform for hotels to increase direct bookings

🔦 The most mentioned attributes in online reviews

🏨 + 5 deals & updates

🗞️ + 4 hotel tech extra news

#1 Klook expands beyond China to power global growth.

Klook is an online travel platform based in China, and they plan to make an IPO (selling shares of the company to the public) in the US market. They want to raise about $500 million to diversify away from Asia and focus on expanding globally.

• Less than 10 percent of Klook’s revenue now comes from China.

• This company invests pretty heavily in technology to improve traveler experiences.

• This move could inspire other international hospitality tech firms to consider the US market for fundraising.

Why this matters: Investors are looking closely at online experience platforms for a reason. And hotels should pay attention too, because more potential guests are spending time scrolling through these apps. It could be a good idea to think about how your property could use these tools before it's too late to join the party. You don’t need to limit it to rooms. Transfers, activities, or even small experiences can work too.

#2 Disconnected systems keep holding back hotels.

According to this study done by Revinate and Hapi, nearly half of hotel professionals struggle to get data of quality in their own hotels.

• About 40% of the surveyed hoteliers mentioned fragmented systems as the biggest challenge for their establishments.

• According to the report, inaccurate data directly affects guest loyalty and overall revenue.

• On top of that, hotels with good data practices can offer better guest experiences and outperform competitors.

• Industry leaders highlight the need for unified platforms to allow hotels to use their own data to innovate.

Why this matters: This problem seems to get bigger over time. There are tools for almost every single case, but no realistic all-in-one solution for managing a hotel. PMS providers know this, which is why offering suitable (and reliable!) modularity is key. That’s also why we see so many new integrations every week.

#3 A new platform for hotels to increase direct bookings.

Agentic Hospitality launches a new technology for hotels. They want to help properties boost in-house reservations to make them less dependent on OTAs.

• They use structured data for better hotel visibility across search engines and booking channels.

• The system helps hotels adjust to new regulations and ensures platform compliance.

• It works with Google Cloud and Brewer Digital to improve real-time guest personalization and data analysis.

Why this matters: Nothing new under the sun, to be honest. But as technology keeps improving, we’ll see more tools strong enough to challenge OTAs. Also potentially cheaper and easier to use. This is just another case.

THE RESOURCE HUB (NEW SECTION!)

• 📍 Next Event: Skift Global Forum (16–18 September 2025).

• 📅 2025/2026 hotel tech event calendar.

• 💼 Hotel tech companies offering remote jobs.

• 💲 RMS comparison spreadsheet.

• 💻 Cloud PMS comparison spreadsheet.

🏨 DEALS & UPDATES

• Anacove now integrates with SkyTouch Technology to connect their smart thermostats with SkyTouch’s PMS.

• Airbnb launches "Reserve Now, Pay Later" in the US to promote booking flexibility by allowing guests to reserve without upfront payment while ensuring hosts payment security.

• RMS launches RMS Pay in the US. This feature, already present in Australia and Europe, offers automated payment capabilities for hospitality operators who use their PMS.

• Stayntouch partners with SilverStone Inns to roll out its PMS across 20 properties in two years.

• Customer Alliance launches a new tool to help hotels analyze guest feedback, highlighting strengths and areas for improvement.

🔦 IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Most frequently mentioned attributes in online reviews.

This week I’m sharing this study where we can see the result of analyzing 1 million online reviews. The chart above shows the most frequent attributes mentioned in online reviews.

If I had to turn this information into something useful, apart from covering the basics (friendly staff, fair pricing and cleanliness) I’d highlight two things:

• Make sure that all the staff who interact with guests know how to answer the most frequent questions. Or at least, they know who can answer them. 29,000 reviews (2.9%) mentioned the knowledge of the staff. I also reckon this number will increase as more companies adopt AI alternatives for supporting customers.

• Don’t underestimate the online experience. If your website (or app) doesn’t work properly it might be time for a “downgrade”. Get rid of your online booking system and redirect users to your hotel’s favorite external booking platform until you can offer, at least, a similar experience. 25,000 reviews (2.5%) mentioned the web experience in this study. That’s a lot of frustrated potential guests. In the meantime, a website with a nice design can still serve as a strong brochure. The cost of doing this is actually very low, and the impact can be high.

And on a less serious note, I always thought it was silly when my manager called me out for missing a word in the scripted phone greeting. I wouldn’t expect 28,000 guests (2.8%) cared about phone etiquette. I can see now how wrong I was.

🗞️ HOTEL TECH EXTRAS

• OpenTable uses AI to handle diner inquiries and answer the most frequent questions from users.

• Kasa secures a $40 million investment to improve its STR property management software.

• Reeco raised $15 million to expand its AI procurement platform for hotels.

• Oracle was recognized as a leader in the IDC MarketScape 2025 for its PMS OPERA Cloud.

That’s all for today, thank you for reading. If you’ve got feedback or you just want to say something, feel free to reply to this email or send me a message.

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See you next week!
Jose