A roundup of recent news from the maritime industry, including Samsara's new customer advisory board, a hotel tech integration, and updates on camping and mini golf trends.
## Samsara Announces 2026 North America Customer Advisory Board
Samsara Inc. (NYSE: IOT), a leading provider of connected operations solutions, has announced the formation of its 2026 North America Customer Advisory Board. The board includes executives from nearly 40 organizations spanning transportation, logistics, energy, and food distribution.
According to Samsara, the goal of the advisory board is to 'guide the company's product roadmap and ensure Samsara's solutions continue to meet the evolving needs of its customers.' The board members will provide feedback and insights to help Samsara develop new features and capabilities.
'Our customers are at the heart of everything we do at Samsara,' said John Bicket, co-founder and chief technology officer at Samsara. 'This advisory board will play a crucial role in shaping our future product direction and ensuring we continue to deliver innovative solutions that drive value for our customers.'
## Hotel Tech Integration Streamlines Labor Planning
In other maritime industry news, Actabl has launched a new integration that connects ProfitSword labor budgets with labor plans in Hotel Effectiveness. This integration is designed to help hotel operators streamline their labor planning processes across their portfolios.
'By seamlessly connecting ProfitSword's budgeting capabilities with Hotel Effectiveness' labor management tools, we're empowering hoteliers to make more informed, data-driven decisions about their workforce,' said Alex Shashou, co-founder and president of Actabl.
The integration allows hotel managers to automatically sync labor budgets with actual staffing levels, providing real-time visibility into labor costs and productivity. This can help hotels optimize their labor expenses and improve operational efficiency.
## Trends in Camping and Mini Golf
In the travel and leisure sector, a new report from The Dyrt found that four out of five campers aged 65 and over either camp more if already retired, or plan to camp more when they do retire. This suggests that the RV and camping industry may see a surge in demand from retirees in the coming years.
Meanwhile, Sports Challenge America is debuting a unique 18-hole outdoor miniature golf course in Bonita Springs, Florida. The course will feature sports-themed obstacles and challenges, offering a novel experience for golf and sports enthusiasts.
'We're excited to introduce this one-of-a-kind mini golf attraction that combines the fun of the sport with a variety of athletic-inspired elements,' said the company's CEO.
These trends indicate that the maritime industry can expect to see continued innovation and evolving consumer preferences in the travel and leisure sectors that it serves.