Last week, your LinkedIn feed was likely filled with posts from agency connections and ownership colleagues attending sessions at HITEC and the HSMAI Commercial Strategy Conference. This week, your social media feeds will be filled with agency news, brand campaign recaps, and awards as the Cannes Lions Festival starts. You might want to read this article if your network is in Cannes this week: Embracing The Spirit of Cannes Without Actually Being There
This week also brings the summer Amazon Prime Days sale, along with competing sales from many retailers and hospitality companies. Amazon is also partnering with Visit Chicago and select travel retailers to feature Prime Day travel deals on its Travel storefront.
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:
HITEC 2026 so far: where AI feels thrilling and unsettling at once // Hospitality Net
Robb Report’s Best of the Best 2026 // Robb Report
Why This Summer’s Airfares Are Unaffordable—And Unpredictable // The Atlantic
Social media’s next evolution: user-controlled algorithms // TechCrunch
Social media is the leading source of news, per Reuters // Social Media Today
Hilton’s 2026 Trends Report Special Section: The Hospitality Mindset: A New Blueprint for Culture and Performance for Any Industry // Hilton
TikTok now has a seat next to Amazon and Walmart in RFPs // Digiday
TikTok Sets Cannes Lions Creator Lineup With Tineke Younger, Morgan Jay, Katie Fang and More (EXCLUSIVE) // Variety
Google Image Search Mixes Ads Within Organic Results Too // SE Round Table
Keep Your Eye Out For:
Landmark German ruling declares Google's AI Overviews are Google's own words and makes it liable for false answers // The Decoder
Hospitality AI Initiatives:
Cutting through the AI noise: Hospitality's next era (HITEC recap) // Phocuswire
Marriott debuts AI-powered hotel search tool Ask Bonvoy // Hotel Dive
Adobe report: AI traffic to travel sites soars nearly 200% as AI visitors now outperform traditional sources. // Adobe Business
Hospitality Net Launches the 2026 Hotel Yearbook "AI Everywhere" at HITEC 2026 // Hospitality Net
Programming & Activations
What resorts are launching now, from brand collaborations to activations and revenue-generating experiences:
EDITION Hotels Unveils Original Mini-Drama Series // An Invitation from E
The architecture of coffee: Inside Alila Shanghai’s sensory hospitality experience // Hotel Designs
This centuries-old game is having a major moment, bringing people together one tile at a time. // Finn Partners Luxury
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
Condé Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Awards // April 1 - June 30, 2026
**New** Travel Weekly MAGELLAN Awards - Honoring Creativity & Innovation in the Travel Industry // Entry deadline July 17, 2026
HSMAI Adrian Awards | Calls for entries start July
Holidays
Pride Month // June
Father’s Day // June 21
Canada Day // July 1
Independence Day (US) // July 4
Labor Day (US/Canada) // September 7
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].
J/PR Celebrates Opening of Scottsdale, Arizona Office
Hotelport expands services to GDS audits
Campstories named agency of record for Visit Jackson Hole (via O’Dwyer’s PR)
Preston Spire named agency of record for Meet Minneapolis (via O’Dwyer’s PR)
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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