Perhaps the most interesting development in the real estate industry right now is the one you can see the least. No spectacular architecture, no new skyscraper, no futuristic building. Instead, algorithms are making decisions in the background before anyone even steps inside a property. AI has long since become more than the new buzzword at every real estate conference. According to the current “Emerging Trends in Real Estate Europe 2026” study by PwC and the Urban Land Institute, 75 percent of European real estate executives now use AI or GenAI in their business — compared with 51 percent the previous year. The interesting question is therefore no longer whether AI is arriving in real estate. It has already arrived.

Perhaps hospitality is becoming more valuable than ever in a world where so much of our everyday lives takes place digitally. We communicate through screens, rely on algorithms for recommendations and increasingly experience how artificial intelligence is changing the way we interact. Yet, the desire for genuine encounters, meaningful conversations and places that bring people together seems to be growing. Restaurants, bars and cafés are more than just places to eat and drink; they are social spaces where people connect and share experiences.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the new witchcraft craze is that it has less to do with magic than it might initially seem. Of course, there are tarot cards, crystals, full moon rituals and videos explaining which herbs belong in your cocktail right now. But beneath all the aesthetics lies a rather simple longing: to stop having to understand, plan and optimise everything, if only for a moment. For years, self-improvement was the answer to almost everything. The morning routine had to get better, the calendar fuller, the next trip more productive. At some point, even relaxation came with its own KPI. And now, of all things, the opposite has become appealing. Lighting candles, drawing cards, going outside without immediately needing to know what the walk is supposed to achieve.