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2023 AAHOA tech pitch competition

Independent hoteliers discover which emerging technologies are reshaping operations and guest experiences across the industry

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Independent hoteliers discover which emerging technologies are reshaping operations and guest experiences across the industry

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AAHOA, the leading hotel owner's association in the nation, recently celebrated its most triumphant annual convention to date. Held in Los Angeles from April 11-14 this year, AAHOACON 23 showcased a wealth of innovative solutions, culminating in the much-anticipated AAHOA Tech Pitch Competition. Tasked with evaluating a myriad of impressive ideas, a panel of five judges, experts in technology and hospitality, ultimately crowned Virdee's guest experience technology platform as the winner. Designed to optimize staff efficiency and boost both profitability and guest contentment, Virdee's platform stood out as a game-changer for the hotel industry.

Designed to optimize staff efficiency and boost both profitability and guest contentment, Virdee's platform stood out as a game-changer for the hotel industry.

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More Hospitality Insights

My Place relaunches Trend with an introductory royalty for franchises executed before Dec. 31

My Place relaunches Trend with an introductory royalty for franchises executed before Dec. 31

My Place Hotels of America relaunched Trend by My Place as a three-tier platform for independent owners and properties ready to change flags. The pitch is a way into a national franchise system without heavy capital requirements, backed by My Place’s reservations, loyalty and support platform, as U.S. conversions run 15% above last year. Owners have until Dec. 31 to execute deals under an introductory royalty.

  • 01With U.S. hotel conversions up 15% year over year, My Place is pitching Trend to owners as a franchise path that avoids heavy capital requirements.
  • 02Trend by My Place has been relaunched as a three-tier platform aimed at independent owners and properties ready to change flags. The relaunch coverage does not name the tiers or specify whether the 2020 admission standard—limited to high-quality, well-operated properties opened in 2005 or later—still applies to any tier, including one intended for regional inns or destination lodges.
  • 03The question for owners before the Dec. 31 introductory royalty cutoff: does the 2020 rule admitting only properties opened in 2005 or later still apply to each new tier?

Sep 26, 2026

Hotel Effectiveness: HPOR gains continued through H1 2026

Hotel Effectiveness: HPOR gains continued through H1 2026

Hotels cut labor hours per occupied room in H1 2026: 3.1% at full service and 3.5% at select service, with smaller gains in Q2. Hourly wages rose 2.9% to 3.3%, which could offset HPOR declines and leave wage cost per occupied room near flat—or, in Q2 select service, possibly higher if raises outpaced the 1.8% HPOR improvement.

  • 01Select-service HPOR improved 5.1% year over year in Q1, then the gain narrowed to 1.8% in Q2. The report says that pattern reflects how hard it is to sustain gains as occupancy and workloads grow.
  • 02Hourly wages rose 2.9% to 3.3% while hours per occupied room fell 3.1% to 3.5%. That suggests the productivity gains could roughly offset the raises on a per-room basis.
  • 03For operators watching second-half data, select-service gains that stay below the pace of wage growth could push labor cost per occupied room back up.

Sep 26, 2026

If a competitor's move triggers your rate change, that is market-based pricing, not dynamic

If a competitor's move triggers your rate change, that is market-based pricing, not dynamic

Lighthouse writer Joe Hanly published a ten-strategy hotel revenue management guide on Hotel News Resource on September 8, ranking real-time dynamic pricing first. Its most useful content is a test: a hotel whose rate changes mostly follow a competitor's move is running market-based pricing, whatever it is called internally. A companion explainer says audit the compset and rate plans first.

  • 01Market-based and dynamic pricing both watch competitors; the line Lighthouse draws is whether a competitor's rate is the trigger or one input alongside local events, booking pace and market trends.
  • 02Properties that have gone years without a structured rate-plan review often carry more active plans than anyone tracks, and those legacy floor rates and stay restrictions sit under any pricing engine layered on top.

Sep 18, 2026

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