Behind the Stays This Week in Hospitality: Capital One’s Hopper Play, LuxUrban’s Collapse, Google’s AI Booking Push
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A big week of structural shifts in travel and hospitality.
Capital One moves to acquire Hopper’s installed software and hire key hotel and engineering teams — signaling a deeper push into owning the traveler journey.
The team explores the LuxUrban collapse which predates the Sondor fall out but has an eerily similar story.
And Google announces that hotel and flight bookings are coming directly into AI Mode, collapsing research and booking into a single conversational experience.
We break down what these moves mean for distribution, loyalty, hotel operators, and the future relationship between brands, banks, and big tech.
This Week in Hospitality is presented to you by Journey.
Journey is a loyalty platform built specifically for independent boutique hotels and high-touch hospitality brands. Our mission is to give operators the same powerful rewards engine, data intelligence, and guest insights that major chains rely on — without asking them to give up the individuality, soul, or story that makes their property extraordinary.
If you’re an owner or operator of an extraordinary, independently owned and operated hotel or residence — and you want to see whether your property is a fit for the Journey Alliance — you can learn more and apply at alliance.journey.com.
Key Topics & Timestamps
00:00 — Intro
03:10 — Story #1: Capital One Set to Acquire Hopper Travel Software
15:22 — Story #2: Yet Another Hospitality Company Files For Bankruptcy: LuxUrban
30:34 — Story #3: Hotel and flight bookings are coming to Google's AI Mode
44:30 — "Spice of the Week"
Your Hosts:
Zach Busekrus — Journey
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachbusekrus/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthestays/
Scott Eddy — Global Travel & Hospitality Expert @MrScottEddy
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrscotteddy/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrscotteddy/
Ben Wolff — Founder of Onera & Oasi
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-wolff/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uniquestaysguy/
Edwin Kramer — Luxury Hotelier Consultant & Former GM
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwinckramer/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edwinkramer/