The Spotlight: A Lighthouse Podcast

The D.I.R.T. (Data in Real Time) heads to Bilbao, where hotel rates for the European Rugby Champions Cup final are sliding – even with 50,000 fans expected. With finalists still unknown, hoteliers appear to be balancing big-event optimism against the risk of isolating base demand, while travel packages and limited city supply add another layer to the pricing story. Elsewhere, Kansas City climbs ah...

Device type reveals clear differences in booking behavior across hotel websites. In this Lighthouse Quick Take, Blake Reiter analyzes full year 2025 direct booking data from the five countries with the most international arrivals to compare booking window and conversion rate by desktop, mobile and tablet. Tablet users show the longest booking windows and the highest conversion rates, while mobile...

In this Lighthouse Quick Take, Blake Reiter looks at how World Cup group stage matches featuring Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are shaping hotel pricing across host cities in the United States. Using year over year growth, absolute price levels, and recent momentum, the analysis compares Argentina’s matches in Kansas City and Dallas with Portugal’s games in Houston and Miami. The data shows c...

When BTS added El Paso to its global tour, hotel pricing reflected just how far that demand can travel. In this episode of The D.I.R.T. (Data in Real Time), Blake Reiter and Daniel Foreman dig into why a K-pop supergroup might choose a non-traditional tour stop and what that decision appears to unlock for regional hotel demand. Along the way, they break down sharp price pops tied to ski season mom...

In this Lighthouse Quick Take, Blake explores how hotel pricing in San Jose evolved over the full booking window leading into Super Bowl Sunday. Using price evolution data from nearly a year out through game week, he walks through how rates responded to season kickoff, the halftime performer announcement, playoff outcomes and last-minute demand. The analysis highlights why pricing momentum often s...

In this Lighthouse Quick Take, Blake returns to Milan hotel pricing as the Winter Olympics draw closer, updating an earlier analysis from late last year. With the event just weeks away, advertised prices across all segments remain well above last year’s levels, led by the four-star category where demand is most concentrated. Blake examines how pricing held steady through much of the booking window...

In this launch episode of The D.I.R.T. (Data in Real Time), Blake Reiter and Daniel Foreman break down how hotel prices moved across global markets over the prior two weeks and what those movements signal. The episode covers seasonal demand shifts, event driven rate increases tied to festivals, tournaments and commencements, and meaningful price corrections in shoulder season and convention market...

This interview explores how revenue strategy changes at the ultra luxury end of hospitality, where personalization, experience design, and distribution discipline matter as much as price. Daniel Foreman speaks with Batuhan Sahin, Group Director of Revenue at Maxx Royal Resorts & Voyage Hotels, about moving from global hotel chains into a highly autonomous luxury brand environment. Batuhan shar...

In this Lighthouse Quick Take, Blake Reiter revisits US resort fee data after new transparency rules required hotels to show total prices upfront. Using updated Lighthouse data, he examines what those rules revealed about how common resort fees are and how hotels adjusted once fees became fully visible to guests. The findings show that most US hotels still avoid resort fees, but adoption varies wi...

In this Lighthouse Quick Take, Blake explores how market dynamics influence direct booking conversion using Lighthouse data from calendar year 2025. The analysis compares two US markets, New York City and Denver, to show how differences in traveler intent, market structure and pricing environment shape direct channel performance. While New York City hotels see more visitors engaging with booking e...

In this Lighthouse Quick Take, Blake explores the gap between what travelers search for and what they ultimately book, focusing on length of stay differences between solo and group travelers. Using direct channel benchmarking data from The Hotels Network, now part of Lighthouse, the analysis compares solo travel demand in Tokyo with group travel demand in Cancun. The data shows solo travelers tend...

The viral Netflix show 'K-Pop Demon Hunters' created a significant impact on South Korea's tourism and hotel industry in 2025. The movie became a global phenomenon with four soundtrack songs hitting the Billboard Hot 100, leading to a 56% increase in flight searches and 26% jump in hotel searches to South Korea by June 2025. While demand spiked immediately after the movie's release, hotel pricing...

In this podcast episode we explore the key trends in the hospitality and travel industry as we reflect on 2025 and look ahead to 2026. Blake and Daniel cover the divergence in spending power, the resilience of travel despite economic pressures, the impact of AI on travel planning, and the importance of personalization in hospitality. We'll also follow up on persisting trends, like the challenges f...

Sometimes you see a piece of analysis that’s so cool you have to share it—so welcome back to Lighthouse Quick Takes ⚡️ Now that the World Cup group stage matchups are set, which host cities are positioned for the biggest travel + lodging demand impact? In this episode, we break down Daniel Forman’s Host City Power Rankings (16 → 1)—based on matchup quality, star power, weekend timing, repeat team...

On today’s Quick Take, we’re stirring up a little friendly rivalry: Milan vs. Paris. We'll explore how each city’s Fashion Week impacts hotel pricing and performance. We break down year-over-year trends by star class across both seasonal collections: 📉 Milan: pricing softness for Spring/Summer and only modest improvement for Fall/Winter 📈 Paris: strong pricing growth across every segment, with s...

In this episode of the Spotlight Podcast, we were lucky enough to land an interview with Fernando Vives, Chief Commercial officer of one of the fastest-growing hotel chains in the world. Fernando is a seasoned hospitality industry expert, and in this interview he shares his journey from a computer science enthusiast to a C-suite executive at Minor Hotels. In this podcast episode, Daniel and Laura...

Can a Netflix drama drive real-world hotel bookings? In this episode of Lighthouse Quick Takes, Blake Reiter breaks down how the Season 3 premiere of Bridgerton created ripple effects in the hospitality market of Bath, England – the show's real-life backdrop. We dive into three key hospitality metrics around the May 16, 2024, release date: 21.5% surge in hotel search volume in just two weeks 2.4%...

The Winter Olympics are coming to Milan—and hoteliers across the globe are watching closely. In this Lighthouse Quick Take, Blake Reiter dives into the hotel pricing trends leading up to the 2026 Winter Olympiad in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo. Drawing comparisons to Paris 2024, this video breaks down how three-star, four-star, and five-star hotel pricing is evolving in the months before the games.

In this conversation, Daniel and Blake examine the shifting balance between hotels and short-term rentals, drawing on new data from Booking.com searches. They discuss why the share of short-term rentals surged and then stabilized, how seasonality and market size shape visibility, and what the new Listing Multiple metric reveals about distribution strategy. The discussion also explores regulation’s...

In this episode of the Spotlight podcast, Daniel and Blake discuss the pricing and revenue management implications of playoff games for hoteliers. They explore how playoff games can significantly impact hotel pricing and occupancy rates, emphasizing the importance of understanding market dynamics, star power, and strategic pricing. The conversation covers various sports, including NFL, MLB, and Ch...

In this Episode of the Spotlight Podcast, we talk with Jason D'Agostino of Visions Hotels about the evolving role of revenue managers in the hospitality industry, particularly in the context of increasing data complexity and the integration of AI technologies. We'll talk all about how revenue managers are adapting to new tools and challenges as data gets more complicated and AI becomes commonplace...

This episode of the Spotlight podcast was recorded live in London at our first ever Lighthouse Luminate London event in April 2025! Daniel and Blake sat down for a interview with Ingela Heintz (Norlandia Hotels) and Kelly Cronin (Village Hotels), two industry leaders who are re-shaping commercial strategy at their organizations. In this episode we touch on the theme of how revenue management is ev...

In this episode of The Spotlight podcast, we were lucky enough to have 2 special guests, Nadine from our Product team, and Jordan Hollander, Co-Founder of Hotel Tech Report! In this conversation we'll explore the transformative impact of AI on the hotel technology sector, discussing how it unlocks underutilized software features, the evolution of funding in hotel tech, and the future of jobs in ho...

In this conversation, Ed and Daniel talk through the rise of multi-generational travel, what makes the Evermore Resort so unique, the growing demand for larger accommodations, the competitive landscape of short-term rentals in Orlando, and the strategies employed to attract international guests. Ed also shares insights into the luxury resort market and the innovative revenue management practices a...

In this live episode of The Spotlight Podcast, Daniel, Blake, Kerry, and Jennifer share stories of successes (and failures), innovative approaches to revenue management, and how to go against the grain and make an impact in the organization. They emphasize the importance of collaboration, data-driven decision-making, and the balance between intuition and analytics in the hospitality industry, but...