🚀 Marriott skyrockets, Pitchup breaks through, and Accor throws an ultimatum

Welcome to RemoteHotelier!

In today’s newsletter:

💳 The real money isn't in the rooms…

🏦 ...but someone else sets the rules

🏕️ Hospitality doesn't need to be tied to real estate

😮 “Renovate, rebrand, or exit”

💰 $70M for a corporate event bookings platform

🏢 You can sell meeting spaces like you sell rooms

📱 The irony of connectivity

🚀 + 6 new product updates

💼 + 3 new jobs in hotel tech

Marriott's shares rise to a record high after the company announces that it expects credit card fee revenue to jump 35% in 2026 due to higher royalty rates.

Credit card royalties are a massive source of income for companies processing large amounts of credit card transactions. To the surprise of absolutely no one, the biggest names in hospitality already did the math and they're jumping on the bandwagon. This shows you just how lucrative these partnerships can be when you have scale, a strong loyalty program, and the leverage to renegotiate terms.

Payment fee revenue is great as an extra source of income, but it can be a slippery slope because a) it's only as good as the banks allow you to be and b) regulations can change quickly.

That said, payments is a hot topic right now. Marriott's valuation went up just by announcing this deal, and a few weeks ago, Mews raised a record investment to (mostly) exploit its fintech side.

Investors love it, but I think you're building on someone else’s land.

Pitchup.com, an online booking platform for outdoor sites, reaches £500 million in total bookings and now ranks as the 36th largest OTA globally by organic traffic.

A camping platform outranking OTAs tells you something important. Outdoor accommodation is growing fast, especially in regions with pleasant weather, because it offers what traditional hotels sometimes can't: affordability, proximity to nature, and flexibility.

That's what Accor is telling Sofitel owners: to renovate their properties, change to another brand, or leave the network entirely.

Most hotel groups talk about standards but rarely enforce them. Accor is actually showing teeth here. After last week's announcement, they're putting their foot on the gas to innovate. I wonder how much of this renovation push is really about lobby redesigns and how much is about fixing systems that haven't been touched in a decade.

Naboo, a French startup, raised $70M Series B funding to grow its platform that helps companies book and manage corporate events.

Naboo is solving a problem hotels already know well: corporate event bookings are a mess. Endless email threads, phone calls, lots of spreadsheets… For hotels, this could mean easier access to corporate clients who need meeting space, rooms, and catering all at once. Not something you'd depend on, but it could be very useful for slower months.

Speaking of events revenue, Engine, a business travel platform, announced a new tool to let people book hotel meeting rooms (along with flights and rental cars). They’re partnering with Choice Hotels for the launch, giving them access to meeting and event spaces across 7,500 hotels in the US.

I’m surprised this concept isn’t more extended because it seems a great way of selling meeting rooms the same way you sell guest rooms.

I loved this article about mobile cybersecurity. It's almost ironic how in a more connected world, business travel is still key and growing. Everything's going remote and digital, but face time remains essential.

For hotels, this is a good reminder to work with specialized hospitality Wi-Fi providers. Guest networks need proper isolation, and if you're hosting events or conferences (seems today’s topic 🙂), you should look into temporary coverage solutions that can be exposed to security risks. Guests care about this stuff more than it looks.

That’s all for today, thank you for reading. If you found this useful, please forward it to someone who’d also benefit.

See you next week!
Jose