Charles McDiarmid of the Wickaninnish Inn on Storm Watching, Sustainability, and What It Really Means to Be a Relais & Châteaux Member
Charles McDiarmid shares 30 years of lessons from building the Wickaninnish Inn in Tofino, BC, covering Relais & Châteaux membership, storm watching as a destination concept, and leading sustainability across 580 hotels and restaurants.
Building Boutique Efficiency: How a Smart, Cohesive Tech Ecosystem Improves Property Performance & Guest Experience
The article argues boutique hotels should build integrated tech ecosystems rather than deploying piecemeal solutions, using connectivity, access control, and energy management as a unified foundation for operational efficiency.
Latest
Six steps between a lead and a group booking
Knowland's six-step guide covers account qualification, competitive analysis, personalized outreach, and tracking to help hotel sales teams convert group leads into bookings without adding headcount.
The Only Person Who Knows What AI Got Wrong Is at the Front Desk, Humans-as-Luxury Opens Rome Future Week, 30 Years at the Wickaninnish Inn
Wednesday brought hospitality.today's argument that the front desk agent at check-in is the only person in the hotel who knows the gap between what AI told the guest and what they found, Simone Puorto's Humans-as-Luxury thesis opening Rome Future Week, and Charles McDiarmid of the Wickaninnish Inn on three decades of storm watching, Relais & Châteaux, and leading sustainability across 580 properties. A $90B GCC and North Africa pipeline, revenue management's 2026 maturity check, and a record nine-property day rounded out the session.
Outbound Park City Opens Reservations Ahead of 2027 Debut
Outbound Hotels today announced that reservations are now open for Outbound Park City, a reimagined 180-room, 4.5-acre alpine retreat set to open in early 2027. With views of the Wasatch Mountains, Outbound Park City will feature design rooted in its surroundings, outdoor-focused amenities and spaces built for gathering.
Recent Appointments
View AllMy Place Hotels Relaunches Trend by My Place at 2026 Convention
My Place Hotels relaunched Trend by My Place at its 2026 Miami convention as a three-tier franchise platform targeting independent owners and conversion candidates seeking national distribution without heavy capital requirements.
Atlantis Dubai Announces Major Investment in Enhancements Across the Destination
Atlantis Dubai has announced a series of major enhancements across Atlantis, The Palm, Aquaventure World and Atlantis The Royal, as part of its continued investment in the evolution of the destination and the guest experience.
US$90 Billion Hotel Pipeline Set to Expand GCC and North Africa Room Supply by 27 Percent
HVS data shows 200,000 rooms worth $90B in the GCC and North Africa pipeline, with Saudi Arabia leading at 110,000 rooms and over 55% of supply due by 2030.
Park Hyatt London River Thames Residences Launches First of its Collection of Interior-Designed Apartments, Beginning with Christian Bense
Park Hyatt London River Thames Residences launches the first in a series of show apartments today, marking the UK debut of Park Hyatt-branded residences. Brought to market by Knightcrest, the collection comprises 103 ready-to-move-in homes, with the unveiling of two exceptional residences by South African designer Christian Bense offering a considered interpretation of cosmopolitan living. Further show apartments by a curated selection of designers will be showcased over the next six months.
Static vs dynamic pricing: What’s the best pricing strategy?
An explainer comparing static and dynamic hotel pricing strategies, with dynamic pricing tools starting at €100/month and delivering an average RevPAR increase of 21% for independent hotels.
Supplier News
View allVenuelocity Elevates Hotel Sales with the Launch of vProposal, a Design-Forward, Integrated Proposal Platform
Venuelocity launched vProposal, a mobile-optimized proposal platform that integrates with CRM and catering systems to help hotel sales teams create visual, data-synced group sales proposals.
Avalora Powers the Connected Hotel with Agentic AI and Cloud PBX
Avalora launches agentic AI assistant VAIA and a Cloud PBX platform for hotels, reporting up to 60% reduction in front desk call handling across tens of thousands of live rooms in North America, the UK, and Europe.
Actabl Appoints Susan Walker as Chief Financial Officer
Actabl names Susan Walker, former Stack Overflow CFO with 30+ years of finance experience, as its new CFO to lead financial strategy as the hotel tech firm expands its AI capabilities.
Stayntouch Powers Full PMS Migration Across Imperial London Hotels, Including the Largest Hotel in Western Europe
Stayntouch completed a cloud PMS rollout across all seven Imperial London Hotels properties, including the 1,379-room Royal National Hotel, the largest hotel in Western Europe.
Emerging Travel Group Launches ETG Marketing Hub Amid Rising Demand from Travel Industry Partners
ETG's new dedicated advertising unit connects hotels, airlines, DMOs and other travel brands with high-intent travelers across RateHawk, ZenHotels and external partner channels in 180 countries.
Cloudbeds and Oolio Partner to Connect Hotel Stays, F&B and On-Property Revenue
Cloudbeds integrates with Oolio's Bepoz, Swiftpos and Idealpos POS platforms to enable real-time F&B charge posting to guest folios across Australian hotels, resorts and pub groups.
Ireckonu calls for unification of fragmented data to unlock revenue potential
Ireckonu research finds hotels miss re-engagement opportunities with up to 20% of guests due to fragmented data, with only 28% of guest activity captured through room bookings.
Aphy launches the AI platform for hoteliers, executing tasks autonomously, 24/7, in real time.
Aphy AG launches an agentic AI platform for independent hotels that autonomously handles reservation checks, payment verification, OTA commission reconciliation, and inbox management 24/7.
IHCL Announces the Opening of Ginger Goa, Arpora
Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), India’s largest hospitality company, today announced the opening of Ginger Goa, Arpora.
Minor Hotels and Grupo Petra Expand Partnership in Paraguay, Announce New NH Hotel in Asunción
Minor Hotels and Grupo Petra signed two agreements in Madrid: a strategic partnership to develop NH, NH Collection, and Tivoli hotels across Paraguay, plus a management contract for a 116-room NH hotel in Asunción due in late 2029.
The Customer Is Always Right … and Five Other Lies
Six widely used customer service mantras are reframed, arguing that loyalty beats satisfaction, consistency beats "above and beyond," and employee-first culture drives better guest outcomes.
Why Hotel Digital Merchandising Is Changing What It Means to Sell a Room
Amadeus SVP Javier Campo argues that attribute-based selling can close hotels' ancillary revenue gap versus airlines, but only if PMS, CRS, CRM, and operations are tightly coordinated to fulfill the digital promise.
IHG accelerates Malaysia Expansion with Debut of Garner Hotels and Franchise Model
IHG signs a two-hotel franchise deal in Malaysia, introducing the Garner brand and its franchise model to the country, with properties in Kota Kinabalu and Tawau opening between 2027 and 2029.
How Beaumier Uses Canary Technologies to Elevate the Guest Experience
Beaumier deployed Canary Technologies across its European portfolio to digitize mobile check-in, automate deposit payments, and capture OTA guest data to drive repeat bookings.
What Is RevPAR? Revenue per Available Room Explained
A practical guide to calculating RevPAR, interpreting the RevPAR index against competitive sets, and pairing the metric with GOPPAR and TRevPAR for a fuller view of hotel performance.
Treehouse Hotel Manchester is Branching Out
Treehouse Hotel Manchester is climbing higher. Following a headline-making debut in March 2025, the groundbreaking hotel from the one-of-a-kind hospitality brand created by Barry Sternlicht, Founder and Chairman of Starwood Hotels, is unveiling a major expansion. The hotel is introducing new rooftop destinations, a collection of premium suites that transform the property's upper levels into a magical escape high above the city, and more ways to gather, play, sweat, and reset. Now, Treehouse Hotel Manchester is more than a hotel: It's an urban resort where dining, nightlife, wellness, entertainment, and work all come together under one roof.
@HOME by Best Western® Debuts in Southeast with New Extended-Stay Hotel
BWH® Hotels, the leading hospitality enterprise comprised of three hotel companies including WorldHotels™, Best Western® Hotels & Resorts and SureStay® Hotels, today announced the opening of @HOME by Best Western McDonough, a newly constructed five-story, 128-suite extended-stay hotel. Located at 34 Liberty Industrial Parkway, the property brings contemporary, apartment-like lodging to one of the fastest-growing logistics and industrial corridors in the Southeast.
Tamarind Reopens as an Autograph Collection All-Inclusive Resort, Completing the Transformation of Marriott's Barbados Collection
Tamarind, Barbados, an Autograph Collection All-Inclusive Resort, proudly announces its reopening following an extensive transformation, welcoming guests to a reimagined oceanfront retreat on the island's celebrated Platinum West Coast. More than the unveiling of a revitalized resort, Tamarind's reopening marks the completion of the Barbados Collection's comprehensive portfolio-wide renovation strategy, a multi-million investment that transformed all seven resorts across the destination over two years.
Autograph Collection Welcomes Leopard Sands Kruger Park, Celebrating the Wildlife, Heritage and Stories of the Lowveld
Leopard Sands Kruger Park joins Autograph Collection, marking the brand's first safari lodge in South Africa. Inspired by the XiTsonga phrase garingani wa garingani ("let me tell you a story"), the lodge draws on the traditions, craftsmanship and cultural heritage of neighbouring Tsonga communities, offering a distinctive perspective on Kruger National Park and the surrounding region.