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Neil Gallagher of Soneva on Bare Luxury, Just What Matters, and the Evolution of Ultra-Luxury in the Maldives
Soneva CEO Neil Gallagher outlines the "Bare Luxury" repositioning following KSL Capital's 2025 majority stake acquisition, covering service philosophy, expansion into Africa and ski markets, and a shift from SOPs to emotional intelligence.
The EU AI Act Is Changing How Hotels Present Themselves
Article 50 of the EU AI Act, in force since August 2026, requires hotels using AI-generated visuals, videos, and chatbots to meet specific disclosure and transparency obligations.
By Sébastien Felix, Founder, Influence Society
Latest
The Nell New York Unveils Design Vision by Rockwell Group and Pierre & Co.
Aspen Hospitality, a division of Aspen One, today unveiled the design vision for The Nell New York, the forthcoming Nell Hotels property opening in fall 2027 at 10 Rockefeller Plaza. The 134-room hotel will be the first and only hotel within Rockefeller Center and New York City's only Relais & Châteaux property, bringing Nell Hotels' signature approach to warm, personalized luxury to one of the world's most recognizable cultural landmarks.
HOSPA expands events portfolio with acquisition of leading industry conference
HOSPA acquires the 20-year-old National Hotel Marketing Conference from Martin Evans, with the next edition scheduled for 27 May 2027 at Hilton at St George's Park.
New Orleans Marriott Announces Completion of Property-Wide Guest Room Renovation and Reimagined M Club
New Orleans Marriott today announced one of the most significant property transformations in its recent history: a full guest room renovation and a reimagined M Club, bringing a new level of contemporary comfort and style to one of the city's most iconic addresses. Located at 555 Canal Street in the French Quarter and near Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and Caesars Superdome, the hotel sits at the intersection of celebration and innovation.
Recent Appointments
View AllOperations & Strategy
Michel Albahari has been appointed as Chief Operating Officer at Solmar Hotels & Resorts
Operations & Strategy
Doug Kaminski has been appointed as Executive Director at Stay Healdsburg
Hospitality Veteran Releases an Insider's Guide to Hotel Operations, Management, and Industry Trends
Robert A. Rauch, a 50-year hospitality veteran, releases a 20-chapter book covering hotel operations, revenue management, AI, cybersecurity, sustainability, and leadership development.
The Tides Inn Unveils Renovated Accommodations, Immersive Chesapeake Experiences and the Debut of its Signature Widgeon Oyster
The Tides Inn, The Chesapeake’s waterfront hideaway for restoration and inspiration, has recently debuted the next phase of its multi-year evolution with newly renovated accommodations, immersive guest experiences and distinctive culinary offerings that further deepen guests’ connection to one of America’s most storied waterways. Highlights include redesigned balcony rooms and suites led by the renowned Summerour Architects and Norris Studio, an expanded lineup of ecology and history-focused programming, and the launch of the Widgeon Oyster—the resort's first signature oyster varietal, cultivated through the same shoreline restoration efforts that have helped revitalize the surrounding Chesapeake ecosystem.
IHG Hotels & Resorts Signs Hotel Indigo Gosford, Bringing Lifestyle Brand to the Central Coast
IHG Hotels & Resorts has announced the signing of Hotel Indigo Gosford as part of an expanded strategic partnership with Urban Property Group, growing the relationship to three hotels across New South Wales.
IHG Hotels & Resorts Signs Crowne Plaza Newcastle, Returning Brand to the City
IHG Hotels & Resorts has announced the signing of Crowne Plaza Newcastle as part of an expanded strategic partnership with Urban Property Group, growing the relationship to three hotels across New South Wales.
The Meeting With No Memory
An educational piece exploring how generative AI can transform the hotel daily operations meeting from a status broadcast into a pattern-spotting, decision-driving tool across all departments.
By Terence Ronson, Founder & Managing Director, Pertlink Limited
Supplier News
View allOutdoor travel stays strong in 2026 as AI enters trip planning
RMS survey of 1,500 campers across the US, UK, Australia and NZ finds 66% plan to camp more in 2026, with online search now the top discovery channel and AI tools used by 14% for trip research.
Otel Launches Otel Academy, a Webinar Series that Cuts Through the AI Noise for Hotels.
Otel AI launches a free webinar series for hoteliers, with the first 41-minute episode featuring former Accor Group CTO Floor Bleeker on building a practical AI strategy.
Cloudbeds launches RMS with deeper hotel intelligence built on unified data
Cloudbeds launches a native RMS powered by its Signals unified data layer, combining competitor rates, booking pace, and channel behavior with automated rate execution via its PMS.
Inn-Flow Introduces Connected AI for Hotel Purchasing with Native Accounting + Procurement Integration
Inn-Flow's new integration connects its Accounting and Procurement modules, giving hotel teams real-time budget, forecast, and open PO data within the purchasing workflow alongside AI-driven guidance.
Can Hospitality Make Longevity Part of Everyday Life?
Novotel's "Longevity Everyday" philosophy, activated through its first Longevity Week in September 2026, offers a blueprint for wellness resorts to embed longevity as a scalable, behaviour-driven guest experience.
dormakaba to acquire Alliants, connecting hotel access with digital guest experience
dormakaba acquires Alliants, a UK-based guest experience platform serving 100,000+ hotel rooms, to combine physical access control with digital guest engagement in a single end-to-end hospitality solution.
roommaster Heads to NoVacancy 2026 with a New Look & Modern Hospitality Tech Tools
roommaster will demo its reimagined PMS platform at NoVacancy 2026 in Sydney, promising 60% fewer clicks, 3x faster performance, and 99.95% uptime for small hotel teams.
Not All Innovation Is On The Show Floor: UrVenue Invites Hospitality Leaders to an Open House During One of Las Vegas’ Busiest Gaming Weeks
UrVenue is hosting an interactive technology showcase at its new Las Vegas Strip HQ on Sept. 30, offering guided sessions on experience inventory, guest journey management, web design, and its OpenTable integration.
Grand Hyatt Cancun Beach Resort to Debut a Fully All-Inclusive Experience
Hyatt announced that Grand Hyatt Cancun Beach Resort is expected to open in December as an all-inclusive property and will mark the Grand Hyatt brand’s highly anticipated debut in Cancun.
Personalization formats that keep luxury hotel websites on-brand
Luxury hoteliers can maintain brand consistency while personalizing the booking journey using three formats: embedded inliners, automatic content swaps, and branded overlay layers.
By Paige Lopez, Content marketer, Lighthouse
24th CIO Summit Brings Hospitality Technology Leaders to Milwaukee for Three Days of Insight and Networking
HFTP and Hospitality Upgrade hosted 76 CIOs and industry professionals in Milwaukee for the 24th annual CIO Summit, covering AI, cybersecurity, payments, and hotel economics.
50% of Hotels Use AI but Under 10% See Real Impact, Your Guest Reviews Are Now Read by Machines Not Guests, How Much Should a Hotel Budget for Marketing?
Tuesday brought the State of Distribution 2026 report from RateGain, NYU SPS and HEDNA finding AI adoption widespread across 58,000-plus properties but transformational impact rare and OTAs still dominant, hospitality.today's argument that guest reviews are now primarily read by AI systems determining search rankings rather than by prospective guests, and a World Panel viewpoint on the right marketing budget for a hotel property. Jan Freitag and Isaac Collazo on budgeting for a tough 2027 comp set, a 7% PMS public API finding, and six property announcements rounded out the session.
The 7% Problem
Only 7% of teams use GenAI in meetings despite 49% individual daily use, and the article maps two citable HBR book case studies directly onto hotel leadership and strategy session formats.
By Terence Ronson, Founder & Managing Director, Pertlink Limited
Six Warning Signs Your Independent Caribbean Hotel Has Outgrown Its PMS
Six operational red flags, including front desk bottlenecks, manual workarounds, and reactive guest service, that signal an independent Caribbean hotel's PMS can no longer support its operation.
By Bill Morris, Senior Account Executive, Maestro
Hospitality America Deepens Executive Leadership to Maximize Performance, Enhance Accountability
Hospitality America appoints two new executives and redefines two existing VP roles, creating dedicated leadership centers for revenue strategy, marketing, technology, and enterprise enablement.
More Than 50% of Hotels Use AI, but Under 10% See Real Impact, Finds State of Distribution 2026 Report from RateGain, NYU SPS and HEDNA
The third edition of the State of Distribution report, based on 270+ hotel brands and 58,000+ properties, finds AI adoption widespread but transformational impact rare, with OTAs still dominating over direct channels.
The morning after: AI’s trust problem and what hospitality leaders should do about it
Public trust in AI is eroding as Forrester, Pew, and UC Berkeley data show employer regret over AI-driven layoffs, rising workloads, and only 16% of US adults believing AI will benefit society.
By Alan Young, VP, Strategy | Hospitality, Infor
Peachtree Group Begins Construction on 480-Room Dual-Branded Embassy Suites by Hilton and Tempo by Hilton in Downtown Austin
Peachtree Group (“Peachtree”), a vertically integrated investment and asset management firm, announced it has begun construction on a 480-room dual-branded Embassy Suites by Hilton and Tempo by Hilton in downtown Austin, marking one of the group’s most significant hotel developments to date.