Independents hotels vs chains in 2026: who wins?

Pricing strategy, revenue teams, and where AI actually helps

AI does not fix a bad pricing strategy, it just runs it faster. Roz Hunter and Charles Pinard, pricing and revenue-management consultants at Simon-Kucher, break down how they read a revenue team from the inside and why most pricing problems are about trust and alignment, not the systems. - Cut the morning screen count from eight to ten systems down to one source of truth and two screens - Escape the one-brain trap where the whole company waits to be told to raise or lower prices - Treat a room as a room on a date, so peak weeks like July or Christmas can carry a far higher price - Build the price increase into the start of the booking curve instead of starting high and crashing it - Use AI to challenge your thinking, with human oversight, because a black box is as bad as no box Follow The Future of Hospitality for weekly insights into hospitality, hotels, and guest experience. Disclaimer: This podcast shares stories, experiences, and opinions from hosts and guests. They are personal perspectives only and not statements of fact or official advice from The Future of Hospitality

Reposition before rebrand: a Brussels hotel asset case

The rebrand only adds value once the segmentation and product are fixed. Learn how a bold wholesaler cut rebuilt rate quality and moved RGI from 81 to 110. In this episode Luc Boschmans interviews Sophie Richard, who leads European asset management for M&L Hospitality and chairs HAMA Europe. - Cut a low-rated wholesaler base, accepting 13 percent occupancy loss to rebuild higher-quality rate - Sequence segmentation and product before rebranding so the brand change adds value - Treat aging product as a cleanliness and rate problem, not just a renovation line - Review segmentation yearly rather than every five years Sophie shares the full Brussels Midi case, from the segmentation cut to the four-star classification. Follow The Future of Hospitality for weekly insights into hospitality, hotels, and guest experience. Disclaimer: This podcast shares stories, experiences, and opinions from hosts and guests. They are personal perspectives only and not statements of fact or official advice from The Future of Hospitality

Sustainability in hotel operations: what works and what fails

Sustainability lives or dies by what guests actually do. Learn which initiatives survive daily operations and which quietly fail after a pilot. In this episode Cesar Wurm interviews Gavin Fraser, Remco Groenhuijzen, Chrys Filimegkas, and Eric Van Lambalgen, four hotel leaders working across operations, finance, and sustainability in Amsterdam. - Account for behavior, since keycard heating and biodegradable products fail on how guests use them - Chase fast ROI, with opt-out room cleaning saving roughly 200,000 euros a year - Treat certifications as a diagnostics tool rather than a sales label - Focus upstream on scope 3 with suppliers, the largest share of the footprint The group tests whether sustainability in operations delivers real impact or stays an illusion. Follow The Future of Hospitality for weekly insights into hospitality, hotels, and guest experience. Disclaimer: This podcast shares stories, experiences, and opinions from hosts and guests. They are personal perspectives only and not statements of fact or official advice from The Future of Hospitality

Occupancy first, ADR second: revenue management for independents

Revenue managers do not set the price. The guest does, and the rate is just where you move up or down. Learn how independent hotels run occupancy, distribution, and forecasting without a brand playbook handed to them. In this episode Tim Boersma interviews Rogier Ensel, owner of RevGen and former group revenue director at Cycas, on revenue management for unbranded properties. - Run occupancy first and let ADR follow as the measurement up or down - Avoid the parity trap you build yourself with Genius and resold discounts - Start forecasting small: fill in one day, look back, and do it again - Treat pricing as risk management, not a number you decide alone A practical playbook for owners and revenue managers pushing margin on their own terms. Follow The Future of Hospitality for weekly insights into hospitality, hotels, and guest experience. Disclaimer: This podcast shares stories, experiences, and opinions from hosts and guests. They are personal perspectives only and not statements of fact or official advice from The Future of Hospitality

Independents hotels vs chains in 2026: who wins?

Handed millions and a great location, all three pick independent. Learn where independents still beat the chains and where AI actually belongs. In this episode Balve Bains interviews Klaus, Frank, and Panagiotis Kalogeridis, three hotel leaders running independent and family-owned properties across Europe. - Use speed as the independent edge, since a menu or a fix lands faster than any chain can approve - Recognize that claiming AI is not using AI, as most owners who say they use it have not started - Place AI in the back of house in revenue, kitchen, and engineering, not the front desk - Watch distribution as the battlefield, where hidden costs take owners out of the driver's seat Each leader is handed 10, 15, and 20 million euros and a location, and all three choose independent. Follow The Future of Hospitality for weekly insights into hospitality, hotels, and guest experience. Disclaimer: This podcast shares stories, experiences, and opinions from hosts and guests. They are personal perspectives only and not statements of fact or official advice from The Future of Hospitality