Welcome to a new format: Product Updates with the CEO. In each episode, Amenitiz co-founder and CEO Alexandre Guinefolleau breaks down what's happening in independent hospitality and what Amenitiz is building for independent hoteliers - sometimes joined by a guest from the team, sometimes flying solo.
For this first episode, Alexandre is joined by co-founder Emmanuelle Sanchez to talk through where the industry is headed and everything Amenitiz has shipped - or is about to ship - across revenue, time-saving, and compliance.
Here's a taste of what's covered. For the full picture - the numbers, the examples, the "why" behind each one - watch the full video.
The state of independent hospitality, halfway through 2026
1. Guests are choosing independent hotels.
Travelers are spending more of their budget on real experiences, and they're increasingly drawn to smaller, independently-run places with real character over big, uniform hotel blocks. That shift plays directly to what independent hoteliers already do best.
2. The direct booking opportunity has never been bigger.
OTAs aren't going anywhere - they're still where the majority of bookings come from. But a large share of guests who browse an OTA still check the hotel's own website before deciding. The hoteliers who make that moment count are the ones capturing more direct, more loyal, and cheaper-to-acquire bookings.
3. The technology gap between chains and independents is closing.
Chains have always had the bigger budgets and the bigger tech teams. But adoption is shifting, and independent hoteliers now have real access to tools that used to be exclusive to large groups.
4. AI is creating a new playing field, and independents can win on it.
This is the big one, and Alexandre spends real time on it in the video.
Why AI matters more than any tech shift before
Every major shift in hospitality has rewarded whoever adopted first. The move to online booking took independent hoteliers nearly a decade to catch up on - and that lag is a big part of why OTAs became so dominant in the first place. AI is the next shift, and this time, Amenitiz's goal is that independent hoteliers don't fall behind.
Alexandre lays out three ways this plays out for independent hoteliers directly:
- Getting found: a growing share of travelers already use AI tools to research and plan their trip. Amenitiz is investing in making sure your property shows up - both on traditional search and on the AI platforms guests are starting to use instead.
- Getting time back: AI-powered automation is already handling tasks that used to eat into your day - and there's a lot more coming on this front.
- Making more money, with less guesswork. With data from close to 15,000 properties, Amenitiz is building AI tools that turn that data into concrete, actionable recommendations - like knowing exactly which promotion to run and when, without needing a revenue management background to figure it out.
What's new at Amenitiz right now
Alongside the bigger trends, Alexandre runs through concrete releases across Amenitiz's three priorities: helping hoteliers earn more, saving time, and keeping compliant.
Earning more
- Two new AI-powered SEO tools, live now: automatic alt-text for your photos, and AI-generated meta titles and descriptions built to help you rank and get clicked.
- A smarter booking engine that shows guests the most relevant rooms first, based on their search.
- New booking windows, so your rate types (last-minute, non-refundable, early-bird) open and close automatically, without you touching a calendar.
- Amenitiz is now a Booking.com Premier Partner Plus, Booking's highest partnership tier - which comes with a new Booking performance score in your Amenitiz dashboard, plus clear steps to improve it and get more visibility.
Saving time
- A redesigned breakfast view, so you can see who's booked breakfast and upsell it in a couple of clicks at check-in.
- A new folio and invoicing page to quickly see what's paid, unpaid, or still needs an invoice.
- Bulk editing for extras across multiple rooms - built for group bookings.
- Coming soon: native WhatsApp, so you can message guests and send confirmations without leaving Amenitiz - the single most requested feature from fellow hoteliers. An AI layer to help answer guest questions around the clock is next in line.
- A new all-in-one dashboard, already live for early clients and rolling out more broadly soon, bringing your daily KPIs, check-ins, check-outs, and housekeeping status into one place - with a rebuilt reporting suite behind it.
Staying compliant
As e-invoicing rules tighten across Europe, Amenitiz has been building ahead of every deadline:
- NF525 certified and ready for France's PDP e-invoicing mandate.
- Compliant with Spain's Verifactu for over six months already.
- A full overhaul of tourist tax handling is also underway, built to cover local exceptions city by city and region by region.
Watch the full episode
Everything above comes from direct conversations Amenitiz has with independent hoteliers, week after week - this isn't built in a vacuum. Alexandre goes into a lot more depth on each of these in the video, including the numbers behind the trends and how each tool actually works day to day. Hit play above to catch the full conversation, and look out for the next episode.
Not an Amenitiz hotelier yet? Book a demo to see how these tools would work for your property.
