Greetings, hoteliers! Canadian visitors are vanishing from U.S. hotels at an alarming rate while ChatGPT-5 arrives to revolutionize your marketing operations for just $20/month. Meanwhile, Gen Z is rewriting every rule you know about booking behavior.
Actionable Insights
1. Canadian visitation to the U.S. drops 33%: Canadian trips fell 33% by car and 22% by air in June, with advance summer flight bookings cratering 70%. Border states report 44% drops in Canadian credit card spending, while political tensions and "Buy Canadian" sentiment keep travelers home.
💡 Switch geographic targeting to intent-based campaigns—use Google Performance Max to find high-value travelers regardless of location.
2. ChatGPT-5 officially launches with PhD-level intelligence: OpenAI's GPT-5 arrived August 7 as a unified system that remembers longer conversations and handles multi-step tasks seamlessly. The $20/month tool drafts personalized pre-arrival messages, builds 3-month content calendars in minutes, and summarizes competitor OTA reviews instantly.
💡 Use GPT-5 prompts today: "Create 5 email subject lines for our spa package targeting stressed executives."
3. Gen Z wants freedom, flexibility, and transparency: Gen Z prioritizes spontaneous trips within 7 hours, with 82% choosing affordability over luxury and 74% researching destinations for meeting people. They book last-minute through apps, trust influencers 45% of the time, and avoid traditional OTA channels.
💡 Test "3PM Flash Sales" this week—push last-minute mobile rates through Instagram Stories and TikTok to capture spontaneous bookings.
Everything else in hospitality this week
STR: U.S. RevPAR fell 3% for the week ending Aug 2: Declines were led by lower ADR and occupancy in major leisure markets.
AirDNA: U.S. short-term rental demand up 9% YoY in July:ADR growth is slowing, but occupancy is improving in suburban markets.
Similarweb: Travel site traffic from AI referrals hits 1.13B in June—up 357% YoY, reshaping digital acquisition strategies.
OpenTable: U.S. restaurant reservations up 3% YoY in July: Positive signal for hotel F&B recovery.
Improve your AI skill today
When hoteliers explore a new offering—whether it’s a seasonal package, an amenity upgrade, or a new service—decisions often lean on gut feel or single-metric ROI.
A multi-lens prompt forces the AI to evaluate the idea from several angles at once—operations, guest sentiment, market fit, and ethics. This broad view helps you spot hidden operational snags, marketing blind spots, or reputational risks before launch.
Evaluate the following hotel package idea using four perspectives:
1. Operational Feasibility – What resources, training, or workflow changes are needed?
2. Guest Satisfaction Impact – How might this affect different guest segments?
3. Market Viability – Is there clear demand or competitive advantage?
4. Ethical & Sustainability Considerations – Are there potential cultural, environmental, or DEI concerns?
Package Idea:
"A two-night pet-friendly package including gourmet dog meals, a branded pet robe, and a ‘paw-tography’ mini shoot."
For each perspective, provide:
- Risks and challenges
- Opportunities or benefits
- A 1–10 rating for readiness
- 2 actionable recommendations
That’s it for this week.
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