Turn Down: 16 September 2025

This week on Punch Hospitality’s Turn Down, we’re delving into social media algorithm updates, how company’s are tackling the introduction of AI into their marketing teams, and restaurants adjusting offering to changing consumer appetites. Our marketing and strategy team have compiled some of the latest hospitality, marketing, and AI updates into one easy read, just for you.

Hospitality

• The Fat Duck (Heston Blumenthal’s restaurant) is considering introducing smaller portions to fit the needs of guests now taking Ozempic and other weight loss drugs. This understanding of changing appetites and willingness to evolve to diner’s needs allows the restaurant to continue thriving during a time of stress on many hospitality establishments. It’s a move many find controversial but may be the start of a trend as more people are now on GLP-1 drugs (7% of the UK population) than follow a vegan diet.
• Brian Chesky, co-founder of Airbnb, recently discussed his plan to turn Airbnb into the ‘everything platform’ after introducing experiences alongside their accommodations services. He stated he wants to create the ‘ultimate AI concierge for travel and life’, integrating AI search into the Airbnb app next year.
• 22% of U.S. travellers who use search engines for travel planning are already using AI-generated results.
• According to Hotels.com 2025 Hotel Room Insights survey, More than half of hotels (56%) say they feel pressure to keep upgrading their tech.
• London is considering implementing a ‘tourist tax’, like Manchester, Liverpool, and Paris already have in place. This is expected to raise in the region of £250 million a year to be reinvested in the capital.

Marketing

• Meta shared that:
  • Over half of time spent on Instagram is with Reels.
  • Reels sees 4.5 billion shares daily.
  • 85% of Gen Z surveyed say they’ve followed a business, and 80% have made a purchase after watching a Reel.
• 39% of US adults are using TikTok multiple times a week, and the growth of TikTok users 45 and over is outpacing the growth of younger demographics.
• Meta have introduced new Instagram follow metrics with the ability for advertisers to customise. Now brands can see the follow rate and the cost per Instagram follow at campaign, ad set, and ad level.
• Posting multiple stories a day on Instagram will now not decrease your reach of those stories.

AI

• Phocuswright has found that only 37% of travellers trust the answers they get from generative AI tools like ChatGPT.
• AI Mode is now available in five more languages worldwide including Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, and Brazilian Portuguese.
• 91% of SEOs reported that clients have asked about their company’s AI search visibility within the past year. 75% say their SEO team is in charge of their AI search optimisation, but only 47% say they’ve changed their SEO process for most/all of their sites to include AI search work.

If you got something out of this edition of Turn Down, make sure you take a look at last week’s post and drop us a message  with any burning questions about the world of hospitality marketing.