In this strategic episode, Dylan Cole, Managing Director EMEA at Revinate, debuts as co-host, and applies regional context to the five major 2026 hospitality trends. While hyperpersonalization, unified tech stacks, real-time decisioning, cybersecurity and privacy, and guest engagement platforms matter globally, Dylan demonstrates how UK and Ireland hoteliers use personalization to defend margins against OTA dominance, DACH guests demand clear consent without creepiness, Northern Europe expects zero tolerance for generic communication, and Southern Europe leverages personalization for in-stay revenue. He reveals that operations teams drive tech unification over IT departments, real-time data priorities vary from survival to precision to value capture, and privacy functions as a brand promise rather than compliance checkbox across European regions.