As the saying attributed to P.T. Barnum goes, "There is no such thing as bad publicity." German company Böcker certainly subscribes to the view after turning a press photo of one of its ladders used in the daring Louvre Museum heist into a viral marketing campaign.
Las Vegas faces declining tourism in the US, with hotel occupancy and room rates dropping for several months in a row. Despite these setbacks, the city is launching a new promotional campaign aimed at supercharging the travel industry. The “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” campaign focuses on evoking nostalgia and emotional connections to remind potential visitors of the city’s iconic appeal. By tapping into the sentiment of past experiences, this campaign aims to reinvigorate Las Vegas’ tourism sector and attract more visitors. With a strategic focus on highlighting the city’s unforgettable experiences, from resorts to entertainment, the new campaign seeks to combat the decline in tourism and boost the local economy. While the road to recovery may take time, Las Vegas is betting on this emotional and targeted approach to overcome the challenges facing the tourism industry and restore its position as a leading destination.
Las Vegas has been experiencing a decline in hotel occupancy for seven straight months, with some experts wondering if this trend will continue. Despite these challenges, the city is launching a new campaign to bring tourists back. The “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” campaign aims to evoke nostalgia and emotional connections with visitors. But with changing tourism dynamics and rising costs, only time will tell if this strategy will succeed in attracting tourists back to the city that once symbolised ultimate entertainment and escape.
Las Vegas has faced a continuous dip in hotel occupancy, with data from CoStar showing that the city has experienced a year-over-year decline for seven consecutive months, with preliminary figures for September forecasting an eighth straight month of decline. The September occupancy rate is down 7.2% compared to the same period in 2024. While the city saw a steep decline in June with a 14.5% drop, it continues to face challenges as it struggles to regain its former peak. This trend contrasts sharply with the national hotel occupancy market, which has remained steady.
Despite these setbacks, Las Vegas is attempting to regain its footing with a new campaign aimed at attracting tourists. The city’s hotel occupancy struggles reflect a shift in both domestic and international tourist behaviour. The trend highlights that the city’s tourism landscape may need a new, more compelling approach to appeal to modern travellers.
Andrew Woods, Director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Nevada, explains that domestic tourists are becoming more budget-conscious. This shift is one of the key factors driving the lower visitations to Las Vegas. Although people are still travelling, they are more selective about where they spend their discretionary income. Las Vegas, with its rising prices and perception of being less affordable than destinations like Orlando or Honolulu, has been impacted by this change in consumer behaviour.
As consumers increasingly look for more affordable vacation options, Las Vegas may have to rethink its pricing strategy and market communication. By addressing these new priorities and making the city more affordable for tourists, Las Vegas could reverse the recent decline in visitation and regain its status as a go-to tourist destination.
Another contributing factor to Las Vegas’ recent dip in tourism is the decrease in Canadian visitors. Canadian tourism to Las Vegas has fallen by 19.1% year-to-date, with Canadians traditionally representing around 12% of the city’s international visitors. The decline can be attributed to external factors beyond Las Vegas’ control, such as the economic fallout from the trade war and global political tensions.
With international tourism accounting for a significant portion of its visitor base, Las Vegas must address this challenge by creating stronger international marketing efforts. As Canadian tourism continues to drop, Las Vegas will need to diversify its tourism base and attract visitors from other regions to mitigate the impact of the downturn from this important market.
In response to the ongoing downturn, Las Vegas is leaning heavily on nostalgia with its new “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” campaign. This emotional approach seeks to reconnect potential visitors with the city’s glory days, when Vegas was known as the ultimate escape and entertainment hub. The campaign draws on powerful emotional triggers, reminding people of past trips to the city and highlighting the unforgettable experiences Vegas offers.
Amanda Belarmino, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Hospitality at the University of Nevada, highlights the effectiveness of nostalgia in tourism marketing. When tourists associate a destination with personal memories and emotional connections, they are often less price-sensitive. This emotional appeal could prove critical in drawing visitors back to Las Vegas and reviving its once-thriving tourism sector.
To further capitalise on the nostalgia-driven campaign, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) launched the “Fabulous 5-Day” sale in September. This event, which offered discounts on resorts, restaurants, and entertainment, is aimed at encouraging visitors to return to the city. The LVCVA reported that the sale was successful, driving “7.5 times more booking interest than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.”
This city-wide sale represents a strategic move to remind tourists that Las Vegas still offers exceptional experiences at every price point. Despite the ongoing declines in occupancy, the success of the sale shows that there is still strong interest in the destination when the right promotional offers are in place. As part of a broader strategy, Las Vegas aims to re-establish itself as the ultimate destination for unforgettable experiences, regardless of budget.
In addition to marketing efforts, Las Vegas is embracing technology to redefine the visitor experience. From AI-powered smart radios to RFID-enabled chips and digital wallet payments, the city is incorporating cutting-edge technology to enhance guest services and streamline operations. Relay CEO Chris Chuang likens these advancements to moving from “the flip phone experience to the iPhone,” illustrating the significant technological upgrades underway.
These technological advancements aim to improve the guest experience by providing seamless interactions, improving safety protocols, and allowing visitors to engage with the city in innovative ways. However, this shift towards automation also raises concerns about the potential for job displacement in the hospitality industry. Despite these concerns, the hope is that these technological upgrades will help modernise Las Vegas and appeal to younger visitors who expect a more tech-forward experience.
Despite the current tourism downturn, it is premature to label Las Vegas’ situation as a full-blown crisis. The city’s core economic driver—gaming—continues to perform strongly. In August 2025, Clark County casinos earned $1.03 billion in gaming revenue, marking an increase of 5.3% from the previous year. This consistent revenue stream suggests that while visitation has softened, the city’s gaming market remains robust.
Moreover, event-driven and convention travel continues to show growth, which is a positive sign for the future. As Andrew Woods points out, Las Vegas has seen solid revenue from these high-margin segments, indicating that the city’s fundamental economic health remains strong despite declining tourist numbers. These developments suggest that Las Vegas may be undergoing a shift in behaviour rather than experiencing a full-scale downturn.
As Las Vegas struggles with declining hotel occupancy and changing tourism patterns, its response through targeted campaigns and technological innovation highlights a city that’s adapting to new realities. The “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” campaign and strategic sales events have shown that there is still demand for the city’s unique offerings. However, only time will tell if these efforts will be enough to restore the city’s tourism numbers to pre-2025 levels. With its strong gaming revenue and growing convention business, Las Vegas remains resilient, but it will need to continue adapting to changing consumer preferences if it is to fully recover.
The post Las Vegas Faces Declining Tourism in US, But New Promotional Campaign Can Supercharge Travel Industry appeared first on Travel And Tour World.The luxury resort The Chedi Al Bait, nestled in the heart of Sharjah, is thrilled to announce the appointment of Ahmed Kamha as its new Director of Sales & Marketing. With nearly two decades of experience in the hospitality industry, particularly in the UAE and the wider GCC region, Kamha is poised to bring a wealth of expertise to the role. His appointment is expected to play a key role in enhancing the resort’s commercial strategy and solidifying its standing as Sharjah’s premier cultural retreat.
Ahmed Kamha’s professional journey in the luxury hospitality sector spans nearly 20 years, during which he has held senior roles with some of the most respected global hotel brands. His experience encompasses working with renowned names such as Marriott Hotels, Jumeirah Hotels, Oberoi Hotels, and Hilton Hotels, where he played an instrumental role in driving revenue growth and enhancing brand positioning across various markets.
In his new role at The Chedi Al Bait, Kamha is expected to utilize his strategic sales expertise to elevate the resort’s visibility and presence within Sharjah’s competitive luxury hospitality market. His focus will be on implementing key commercial initiatives that will enhance the guest experience while reinforcing The Chedi Al Bait’s reputation as a luxury destination blending culture and modernity.
The Chedi Al Bait, part of the prestigious portfolio of Chedi Hospitality, stands as a striking example of heritage preservation combined with luxury hospitality. Located in the Heart of Sharjah, which is known for its ambitious historical preservation project, the resort is a sanctuary that offers a seamless blend of traditional Emirati craftsmanship and modern design.
The resort itself is housed within a collection of 65 meticulously restored heritage homes, each reflecting a unique chapter of Sharjah’s rich history. These seven heritage houses offer guests an immersive experience into the cultural fabric of the emirate, while ensuring that modern luxury and comfort are never compromised.
This dedication to preserving the past while embracing contemporary hospitality makes The Chedi Al Bait not only a luxurious destination but also a place of historical significance. Kamha’s appointment will help ensure that the resort continues to deliver a world-class experience that celebrates Sharjah’s heritage while meeting the expectations of today’s luxury travelers.
As Director of Sales & Marketing, Kamha’s primary responsibility will be to oversee the resort’s commercial strategy. His role will involve leading key initiatives aimed at elevating the property’s brand positioning and increasing its visibility within Sharjah and the broader UAE market. He will also focus on fostering strategic relationships with clients and partners, while creating targeted campaigns that resonate with the resort’s luxury clientele.
The goal of Kamha’s leadership in this role is to reinforce The Chedi Al Bait’s identity as a cultural retreat, ensuring that it stands out as one of Sharjah’s most exceptional and highly regarded destinations. His deep knowledge of the hospitality sector and his proven ability to drive sales will be critical in achieving these objectives.
Throughout his career, Ahmed Kamha has made significant contributions to the hospitality industry, particularly in the realm of sales and marketing. His ability to adapt to changing market dynamics and develop innovative strategies has earned him a reputation as a leader in the field. Kamha’s experience in luxury hospitality and his strategic approach to market development will be key assets as The Chedi Al Bait seeks to expand its influence within the competitive UAE hospitality market.
Kamha’s expertise will also be instrumental in maintaining and enhancing the resort’s brand presence, ensuring that The Chedi Al Bait remains a preferred destination for guests seeking a blend of history, culture, and modern luxury.
The Chedi Al Bait is a true embodiment of Sharjah’s cultural heritage. As the emirate’s most ambitious historical preservation project, it provides an exceptional setting for both local and international guests to immerse themselves in the rich traditions of the UAE while enjoying modern luxuries. The resort’s unique concept, which combines heritage homes with contemporary hotel amenities, provides guests with a truly authentic experience of Emirati culture.
Each of the seven heritage houses within the resort reflects a different chapter of Sharjah’s history, making The Chedi Al Bait an ideal place for those seeking to experience the emirate’s past while enjoying the comforts of a luxury resort. Under Kamha’s leadership, The Chedi Al Bait is poised to further elevate its position as a top-tier cultural and luxury destination.
Chedi Hospitality, known for its legacy of excellence, continues to manage The Chedi Al Bait with an unwavering commitment to providing guests with an unparalleled experience. This commitment to timeless elegance and cultural richness is at the heart of the resort’s identity.
Through the guidance of Chedi Hospitality and Kamha’s strategic leadership, The Chedi Al Bait will continue to preserve the heritage of Sharjah while offering guests an extraordinary experience that blends contemporary comfort with cultural authenticity.
The announcement of Kamha’s appointment follows a series of notable leadership changes within Chedi Hospitality. Mahmoud Sakr was appointed General Manager at The Chedi Muscat, and Karim Bizid was named Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the company. Additionally, Stephan Schupbach assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO), further strengthening the leadership team within the organization.
These appointments reflect Chedi Hospitality’s commitment to enhancing its leadership and ensuring that its properties continue to offer exceptional service and experiences for its guests.
The appointment of Ahmed Kamha as Director of Sales & Marketing at The Chedi Al Bait represents an exciting development for both the resort and Chedi Hospitality. With his extensive experience in the luxury hospitality sector, Kamha is set to drive key initiatives that will elevate the resort’s visibility and brand positioning. His leadership will play a crucial role in ensuring that The Chedi Al Bait continues to stand as one of Sharjah’s most distinguished cultural retreats, offering guests a blend of heritage, luxury, and modern sophistication.
The post Ahmed Kamha Appointed Director of Sales & Marketing at The Chedi Al Bait, Sharjah appeared first on Travel And Tour World.Want to keep track of the largest startup funding deals in 2025 with our curated list of $100 million-plus venture deals to U.S.-based companies? Check out The Crunchbase Megadeals Board.
This is a weekly feature that runs down the week’s top 10 announced funding rounds in the U.S. Check out last week’s biggest funding rounds here.
This was another active week for large startup financings. AI data center developer Crusoe Energy Systems led with $1.38 billion in fresh financing, and several other megarounds were AI-focused startups. Other standouts hailed from a diverse array of sectors, including battery recycling, biotech and even fire suppression.
1. Crusoe Energy Systems, $1.38B, AI data centers: Crusoe Energy Systems, a developer of AI data centers and infrastructure, raised $1.38 billion in a financing led by Valor Equity Partners and Mubadala Capital. The deal sets a $10 billion+ valuation for the Denver-based company.
2. Avride, $375M, autonomous vehicles: Avride, a developer of technology to power autonomous vehicles and delivery robots, announced that it secured commitments of up to $375 million backed by Uber and Nebius Group. The 8-year-old, Austin, Texas-based company said it plans to launch its first robotaxi service on Uber’s platform in Dallas this year.
3. Redwood Materials, $350M, battery recycling: Battery recycling company Redwood Materials closed a $350 million Series E round led by Eclipse Ventures with participation from new investors including Nvidia’s NVentures. Founded in 2017, the Carson City, Nevada-based company has raised over $2 billion in known equity funding to date.
4. Uniphore, $260M, agentic AI: Uniphore, developer of an AI platform for businesses to deploy agentic AI, closed on $260 million in a Series F round that included backing from Nvidia, AMD, Snowflake Ventures and Databricks Ventures. The round sets a $2.5 billion valuation for the Palo Alto, California-based company.
5. Sesame, $250M, voice AI and smart glasses: San Francisco-based Sesame, a developer of conversational AI technology and smart glasses, picked up $250 million in a Series B round led by Sequoia Capital. The startup is headed by former Oculus CEO and co-founder Brendan Iribe.
6. OpenEvidence, $200M, AI for medicine: OpenEvidence, developer of an AI tool for medical professionals that has been nicknamed the “ChatGPT for doctors” reportedly raised $200 million in a GV-led round at a $6 billion valuation. Three months earlier, OpenEvidence pulled in $210 million at a $3.5 billion valuation.
7. Electra Therapeutics, $183M, biotech: Electra Therapeutics, a developer of therapies against novel targets for diseases in immunology and cancer, secured $183 million in a Series C round. Nextech Invest and EQT Life Sciences led the financing for the South San Francisco, California-based company.
8. LangChain, $125M, AI agents: LangChain, developer of a platform for engineering AI agents, picked up $125 million in fresh funding at a $1.25 billion valuation. IVP led the financing for the 3-year-old, San Francisco-based company.
9. ShopMy, $70M, brand marketing: New York-based ShopMy, a platform that connects brands and influencers, landed $70 million in a funding round led by Avenir. The financing sets a $1.5 billion valuation for the 5-year-old company.
10. Seneca, $60M, fire suppression: Seneca, a startup developing a fire suppression system that includes autonomous drones that help spot and put out fires, launched publicly with $60 million in initial funding. Caffeinated Capital and Convective Capital led the financing for the San Francisco-based company.
We tracked the largest announced rounds in the Crunchbase database that were raised by U.S.-based companies for the period of Oct. 18-24. Although most announced rounds are represented in the database, there could be a small time lag as some rounds are reported late in the week.
Illustration: Dom Guzman
As startup and larger company CMOs debate AI’s value and utility in marketing, it’s marketing itself that is in need of disruption — or, at least, a rebrand — in the AI era.
Marketing is too often oversold. We talk about it as a mystical force that transforms brands, moves markets and rescues struggling businesses. But in our eagerness to champion its potential, we’ve created a credibility crisis. By overpromising and, sometimes, underdelivering, marketers aren’t just disappointing investors, clients, boards and CEOs — we’re eroding trust in our own discipline.
It’s time to reset expectations: Marketing in the AI era is powerful, but — like AI itself — only when we’re honest about what it can’t do.
Marketers love big ideas, including the belief that a viral campaign or clever tagline can single-handedly save a business.
The reality is far less glamorous. When these overhyped initiatives inevitably fail to deliver the promised results (because no marketing can compensate for a flawed product, poor market fit or operational failures[SI1]), marketing gets blamed for shortcomings that were never within its control. This creates a vicious cycle where executives grow increasingly skeptical, viewing marketing as more art than science, more cost than investment.
What makes this situation worse is how we respond. Instead of confronting these unrealistic expectations, we double down on proving our worth through increasingly complex attribution models and vanity metrics that only other marketers care about. We track click-through rates, engagement scores and brand lift studies while the rest of the business cares about one thing: Are we driving sales and pipeline? If we can’t answer that question clearly, we’re failing at our most fundamental job.
This isn’t to diminish marketing’s importance. When aligned with strong products and operations, it’s incredibly powerful. But its power comes from working in concert with the rest of the business to drive something bigger, not from some mythical ability to transcend business realities.
Marketing can amplify strengths and expose weaknesses, but it cannot create substance where none exists. No amount of clever branding can fix a fundamentally broken product. No social media strategy can compensate for terrible customer service. No viral campaign can save a business with flawed unit economics. Marketing acts as a magnifying glass — it makes good things better and bad things worse.
Another limit for marketing is that, to the untrained eye, marketing isn’t the most technical business function. No matter where anyone sits in the organization, you can bet they have an opinion on marketing. Everyone is an expert in marketing, no matter how much they actually know about it.
In short, marketing gets mislabeled and misunderstood all the time. Too often, it’s presented as the solution to every business problem, which only reinforces the understanding that marketing is fluff rather than a core driver of disciplined, scalable growth.
The path to marketing’s credibility begins with a simple but tough idea: We need to stop talking and start listening to the numbers, to our colleagues and to the market itself. When our marketing works, we won’t need to shout about it. I’m a firm believer in “no marketing our marketing;” it should speak for itself, with results reflecting a growing pipeline, increasing revenue and organic advocacy from customers.
And when something isn’t working, we should be the first to raise our hand and say so, not the last. The most respected marketers I know aren’t the ones who always claim success; they’re the ones who can clearly articulate why something failed and what they learned from it. Marketing should be a laboratory where we test hypotheses, not a stage where we perform predetermined successes. The key is ensuring that every experiment, whether it succeeds or fails, teaches us something valuable about our customers, our messaging or our channels.
This honesty transforms perceptions across the organization. When we swiftly sunset failing campaigns, prioritize business outcomes over vanity metrics, and deliver unfiltered customer feedback, we shift from being seen as a cost center to becoming true strategic partners and business drivers.
By focusing less on proving our worth and more on driving results, we actually become more valuable. And by treating marketing as a discipline of continuous learning rather than perfect execution, we make it far more likely that we’ll eventually find those breakthrough ideas that truly move the business forward.
When we can look our peers in the eye and say, “Here’s what worked, here’s what didn’t, and here’s what we’re doing next,” we’re no longer just marketers — we’re business leaders who happen to specialize in growth.
Shafqat Islam is the president at Optimizely. A lifelong builder of marketing technology, he co-founded and served as CEO of Welcome (formerly NewsCred), a global leader in enterprise content marketing, from 2007 to 2021. Under his leadership, Welcome pioneered the content marketing platform category, now known as Optimizely CMP. Following Optimizely’s acquisition of Welcome in 2021, Islam served as general manager and CMO before being elevated to president in 2024.
Illustration: Dom Guzman
A new Seattle startup is betting that artificial intelligence can take marketing off the plate of small business owners.
Omada.ai, founded earlier this year by longtime tech entrepreneur Pete Christothoulou, officially launched Tuesday with what it describes as an “AI marketing team” designed to handle the day-to-day digital marketing tasks for small and midsize business owners.
Backed by Crosslink Capital, HubSpot Ventures, and Seattle-based firm Ascend, the startup says its platform can plan, create, and optimize marketing campaigns automatically for less than $9 per day.
Instead of developing a single marketing “copilot” or dashboard, Omada’s approach is a set of coordinated AI agents — a marketing assistant, social media manager, designer, video producer, and more — that collaborate like a virtual team. Users interact through a simple chat interface, and the system handles tasks such as posting content, running ads, responding to customers, and tracking performance.
“Their agent-based architecture delivers a truly autonomous and proactive system that gives small business owners the access to capabilities and marketing expertise they’ve never had access to before,” Adam Coccari, managing director at HubSpot Ventures, said in a statement.
Omada’s pitch is that it acts less like another app and more like a full-service team — a “do-it-for-me” model rather than “do-it-yourself.” Its agents are built on proprietary infrastructure that coordinates specialized AI models for language, vision, and audio tasks. The company says the system learns each business’s tone and goals over time, continuously optimizing campaigns.
Omada enters an increasingly competitive space. A growing number of startups use generative AI to help businesses create content and automate tasks — including Seattle-area companies Gradial, Adora, and Forum3. Larger companies such as HubSpot, Canva, and Adobe have also embedded AI marketing tools into their small business offerings.
Christothoulou co-founded Omada with Siva Muthukumarasamy, a longtime engineering leader who was CTO at Peel Technologies, as well as Andrew Miller, a veteran marketing exec who worked at Xembly as head of user acquisition.
Omada marks Christothoulou’s latest foray into applying automation and data intelligence to the marketing world. He previously co-founded and ran Marchex, a Seattle-based advertising analytics company that went public in 2004 and helped pioneer digital call tracking for marketers.
Christothoulou served as CEO at Marchex until 2016 and later launched Xembly, a Seattle startup that developed an “AI chief of staff” to automate productivity tasks. The company shut down its consumer service last year.
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