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A glitch in the matrix (an overcommitted schedule sounds less interesting) means this week’s edition is arriving on Tuesday instead of its regularly scheduled Monday delivery.
Thanks for reading.
Quick ask: will you forward this to one person in your network who might be looking for a new job, looking to break into hospitality marketing, or likes to scan the latest updates each week? That is how most readers find us.
Until next week,
Rachel
Marketing Briefs
Did You Know?
Trending news, marketing news, and reports:
Expedia Reveals 2026 Island Hot List: The Next Wave of Trending Islands // Expedia
Travel Spending Climbs As Trip Volumes Soften // U.S. Travel Association
“Are You A Bot” Screens Can Get Your Pages Dropped By Google // Search Engine Journal
Top Stories roll out in Google AI Overviews // Search Engine Land
In customer service, third-party gen AI tools are beating brand chatbots // Marketing Dive
Keep Your Eye Out For:
30 Sundays lands $6.7M for AI travel planning service // Phocus Wire
Fora lands $60M to scale AI assistant for travel advisors // Phocus Wire
Hospitality AI Initiatives:
G6 Hospitality Launches AI-Powered Video Tours as Hotels Rethink Digital Merchandising // Hotel Technology News
AI company Midjourney unveils a San Francisco wellness spa // Rume
Programming & Activations
What resorts are launching now, from brand collaborations to activations and revenue-generating experiences:
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikīkī Beach to partner with Ladurée // Aloha State Daily
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Upcoming Events
Holidays, events, and conferences to keep on your radar:
Conferences & Travel
Hotel Data Conference | Aug 5 - 7 | Nashville, TN
IMM LUX | Sept 9 - 10, 2026 | Las Vegas, NV
Digital Travel Summit | Sept 28 - 29 | Orlando, FL
ILTM Cannes | Nov 30 - Dec 3 | Cannes, France
Awards Voting
HSMAI Adrian Awards | Calls for entries start July
Holidays
Labor Day (US/Canada) // September 7
Columbus Day // October 12
Veterans Day // November 11
Thanksgiving // November 26
Christmas // December 25
New Year’s Eve // December 31
Industry Updates
Agency News
News from the agencies that hotel marketers trust and work with. If you have new client wins as an agency with a hospitality-focused client and want to share them here, email me at [email protected].
Magrino Public Relations named agency of record for M Social Hotel New York Downtown
RG2 Communications named agency of record for The Broome, a boutique hotel in Manhattan. (via O’Dwyer’s PR)
Walt & Company named agency of record for Sabre, an AI-native travel technology company
Job Postings & Career News
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What is the 5.15
Leading luxury hotel marketing across resorts and task force marketing roles over the past 15+ years led me to launch The Hotel Marketing 5.15 in 2025 to help keep clients up to date on hospitality marketing news and activations. I am always available for coffee chats, networking, and to discuss project-based assignments.
Based on a communication method developed by Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, the 5.15 is a weekly format designed to synthesize key insights in 15 minutes or less and be read in five minutes. This newsletter applies the same principle to hotel marketing: concise, actionable trends and opportunities curated for industry professionals.
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