By Peter Szabo
Nicolas Peluffo of Awasi on Ultra-Luxury Lodge Travel, One Villa One Guide One Vehicle, and the Last Untouched Frontier in Luxury Travel
Awasi CEO Nicolas Peluffo outlines the brand's one-villa-one-guide-one-vehicle philosophy across five South American lodges, arguing the continent remains the most underdeveloped frontier in luxury travel.
Hotels need to stop selling rooms.
The author argues hotels must reframe corporate sales around outcomes like productivity, flexibility, and frictionless travel, not just room rates and availability.
By Fernando Vives, Hospitality Labs Ambassador & Chief Commercial Officer, Hospitality Labs
Latest
Dolly Parton's Songteller Hotel & Dolly's Life of Many Colors Museum Announce Joint Opening September 29
Dolly Parton's SongTeller Hotel – created in partnership with Dolly Parton and Herschend – and Dolly's Life of Many Colors Museum, created by Dolly Parton Productions, will officially debut together on September 29 in Nashville, marking the highly anticipated opening of two new destinations celebrating Dolly's extraordinary life and legacy.
EMEA's Flow-Through Problem: What 2027 Budgets Need to Catch
HotStats data shows cost lines including credit card commissions (+7.9%) and labour outpacing revenue growth across EMEA, warning that RevPAR-led 2027 budgets will overstate GOP in markets like London, Paris, and the Middle East.
Driftwood Capital Unifies Credit and Equity Under Co-CIO Leadership to Broaden Its Investment Platform
Driftwood Capital names David Resnick and David Steiner as co-CIOs to unify equity and credit under one team, targeting larger luxury, mixed-use, and ground-up hospitality deals.
Recent Appointments
View AllGeneral Management
Vuli Cakacaka has been promoted to General Manager at Nanuku Resort, Fiji
Operations & Strategy
Kate Shehan has been appointed as Executive Vice President at HVS Executive Search
Red Sea Global Unveils Nammos Resort AMAALA
Red Sea Global (RSG), the regenerative tourism developer, today announced the opening of Nammos Resort AMAALA, marking the launch of Nammos’ first resort hotel globally and a significant addition to AMAALA’s growing lifestyle and hospitality offering.
Beyond Budget Season: How Guest Intelligence Can Shape Hotel Technology Investment
Hospitality strategist Mark Fancourt argues hotels should replace annual tech budgeting with multi-year business planning, using guest and staff feedback diagnostically to identify capability gaps before selecting solutions.
By Shiji's Editorial Team, Shiji Group, Shiji
A hotel question is the expensive kind for an AI to answer
AI assistants are billed per web search, capped by developers, making hotel queries expensive and favoring already-known chains and OTAs over independent properties.
By Markus Busch, Editor/Publisher, hospitality.today
Cushman & Wakefield’s Head of EMEA Hospitality to Retire
Jon Hubbard retires after 40 years in hospitality and 7 years building Cushman & Wakefield's EMEA platform; Fred Le Fichoux, with 20+ years at the firm, steps up as successor.
The Inn of the Five Graces Unveils ‘Red Door,’ a Historic Private Villa in the Heart of Santa Fe
The Inn of The Five Graces announces the addition of Red Door, a private two-bedroom villa set within the historic Roque Tudesqui House in Santa Fe's Barrio de Analco. Hidden from the street behind an adobe wall, brick coping and its namesake weathered red wooden gate, the approximately 2,000-square-foot residence offers guests the rare opportunity to stay within one of Santa Fe's most storied historic homes.
Supplier News
View allGstaad Palace selects dailypoint as provider for guest data and customer relationship management solutions
Gstaad Palace, the iconic 5-star Swiss Alps property open since 1913, will use dailypoint to unify guest data from systems including protel, TAC, and aleno into a single central guest profile.
Forget Fly-and-Flop: Meet the Darecation
Pinterest's 2026 trend report names "Darecations" as a rising travel segment, with searches for adventure tourism up 75% and sports travel insurance purchases up 182% in two years.
Cendyn brings live hotel data to Google’s Search Campaigns for Travel in closed beta test
Cendyn joins Google's closed beta for Search Campaigns for Travel, combining live ARI feeds and first-party guest data with Google's AI to improve hotel search ad performance ahead of general availability.
Amsterdam founders launch Away.ai: an AI-based travel agent
Dutch founders Loes Daniels and Jorik Schröder launch Away.ai, an AI platform that books complete flight-and-hotel packages in minutes based on personal preferences, with a 2-4% travel credit rewards model.
Francis Louis Passerini appointed Chief Operating Officer of Blastness
Francis Louis Passerini, formerly Managing Director Italy MEA at D-EDGE for 24 years, joins Italian travel tech firm Blastness as COO to drive growth and operational scale across international markets.
From Open Standards to Brand Experience: Rethinking the Hotel Key Card
The article argues that open-standard key card systems give hotels vendor flexibility and credential control, while sustainable, custom-designed physical cards double as brand touchpoints.
Beyond Transactions: Why Payments Are Becoming the Backbone of Modern Hospitality
FreedomPay's SVP Kevin Carson argues hotel groups must shift from fragmented payment systems to integrated commerce platforms to improve resilience, staff productivity, and cross-property consistency.
Not every lost group deserves a follow-up email
The piece argues that sales teams should use meeting intelligence platforms to prioritize re-engagement with lost group accounts based on actual booking activity, not generic outreach schedules.
W Scottsdale Debuts Transformed Living Room, Ushering in a New Era of Social Connection
W Scottsdale, located in the heart of the city’s vibrant Entertainment District, today announced the official debut of its newly transformed Living Room, introducing a bold new social destination inspired by the Sonoran Desert and redefining the way guests gather, work, celebrate and connect from day to night.
Rebirth of an Icon: Anantara Siam Bangkok Unveils a New Era with a Landmark Transformation
Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel, the grand dame of Thai luxury hospitality, embarks on a transformative new chapter following a comprehensive USD 50 million enhancement. For more than four decades, the landmark property in the Thai kingdom’s capital has welcomed generations of discerning travellers, hosted world leaders and celebrities and played a defining role in Bangkok's emergence as one of Asia's most celebrated destinations. The newly reimagined Anantara Siam strengthens its position as a living cultural landmark, where every stay becomes a celebration of Thailand's rich heritage, gracious Thai hospitality and timeless elegance.
196+ forum Munich: Jury selected ten nominated hotels for “Hotel Property Award 2026”
Ten hotels from five European countries are nominated for the Hotel Property Award 2026, to be presented at the 196+ forum in Munich on 7 October at Hotel Bayerischer Hof.
Safari comes naturally at the reopened andBeyond Phinda Vlei Lodge
Following a complete reimagining, andBeyond Phinda Vlei Lodge reopened in July 2026 as a new expression of one of Phinda's most intimate safari lodges. Set between rare sand forest and a wildlife-rich wetland known locally as a vlei, the lodge lies within the 29,866-hectare (73,800-acre) andBeyond Phinda Private Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, offering a different rhythm of safari. Here, wildlife, people and moments are naturally drawn together. With just six Suites, its refurbished spaces draw guests outdoors and further into the landscape, while retaining the sense of seclusion and privacy that have long defined the lodge. Welcoming children aged 12 and older, Phinda Vlei is particularly suited to couples, milestone celebrations and families travelling with older children.
UAE Minister of Economy and tourism set to officially open FHS World 2026 as organisers unveil investment-led agenda
FHS World 2026 takes place at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai from 29 Sept to 1 Oct, featuring 100+ speakers including the UAE Minister of Economy and a focus on investment, innovation, and deal-making.
The data fragmentation tax: What does disconnected data really cost hotel commercial teams?
Lighthouse argues disconnected hotel tech stacks cost commercial teams hours weekly and measurable revenue, citing a 2.7% median RevPAR uplift across 7,352 hotels using unified data tools.
By Jonathan Gough, Content Team Lead, Lighthouse
HOSTA 2026 report: Dutch hotel industry suffers from VAT increase
The HOSTA 2026 report by Horwath HTL forecasts a 2.5% drop in Dutch hotel demand and rising consumer prices as VAT on accommodation jumps from 9% to 21%.
Culture eats AI for breakfast: What your organization must believe before the rollout begins
A hospitality AI veteran argues that culture, not technology, determines AI success, offering five belief prerequisites hotels must audit before any platform rollout.
By Vassilis Syropoulos, Founder & CEO, Juyo
Hotel Distribution Is Splitting into Two Separate Ecosystems, Where AI Is Really Landing for Hotel Owners, Define the Decision Envelope Before AI Flies the Plane
Tuesday opened the week with Mirai's argument that hotel distribution is fracturing into a traditional web ecosystem and a parallel AI agent ecosystem requiring entirely different optimization strategies, a World Panel viewpoint on where AI spend, savings, and control are actually landing for hotel owners, and Pertlink's framework for defining AI decision envelopes before granting operational autonomy, drawn from Cathay Pacific's contrail-avoidance trial. Mews's 13% revenue lift from autopilot pricing, Away.ai's AI travel agent launch, and eight property announcements from Manchester to Dubai rounded out the session.
Why Your Digital Reputation Is Your Best New Sales Tool
A hospitality sales strategist argues that digital reputation now functions as a pre-sales tool, with buyers forming opinions via LinkedIn, podcasts, and AI long before any direct outreach occurs.
By Susan Tucker, Partner & COO, The Lure Agency, Lure Agency