G'day Group GM Louise Kipling shares how the 330-property Australian network transformed guest feedback from post-stay reporting into a real-time operational system, including mid-stay pulse checks and network-wide fixes driven by sentiment data.
ITC Hotels Limited today announced the signing of a management agreement for Welcomhotel by ITC Hotels Mysuru, a 99-key hotel in the culturally rich city of Mysuru, Karnataka. The signing marks another significant milestone in ITC Hotels’ growth strategy and further strengthens the presence of the Welcomhotel brand across key business and leisure destinations in South India.
Avani Hotels & Resorts has opened Avani+ Lanexang Vientiane Hotel, introducing the brand’s premium lifestyle hospitality to the Lao capital. Set on Fa Ngum Road, overlooking Chao Anouvong Park and the Mekong River, the 197-key hotel offers a fresh base for business trips, city breaks and riverside stays in Vientiane.
Vietnam's branded residence sector is now worth USD 8 billion, representing 20% of Asia's regional total and surpassing Thailand and South Korea, with 15,762 units in its pipeline across 47 projects.
Adam Mogelonsky makes the case that the longevity revolution is no longer a luxury niche but a structural shift in guest expectations and that the most overlooked opportunity lies not in spas or fitness centers, but in the guestroom itself. For time-poor travelers who rarely make it to hotel amenities, the room is the only wellness touchpoint that reaches everyone.
Trilogy Hotels takes over management of the 112-suite Sands Torquay Resort on Victoria's Surf Coast from 1 July 2026, expanding its Australian portfolio to 24 properties.
James Watson argues that AI's most promising role in hospitality design is not to generate atmospheres autonomously, but to give human designers the precision and responsiveness needed to make spaces that genuinely breathe — adapting in real time to occupancy, mood, and moment. The risk, he warns, is not that AI replaces designers, but that without strong human vision guiding it, it flattens the industry into an algorithmically pleasant, characterless sameness.
Set along the Son River and embraced by the limestone peaks of Phong Nha–Ke Bang UNESCO World Heritage Site, home to the world's largest cave system including the legendary Son Doong caves, Auko Eco-Wellness Lodges is set to open its doors on 20 July 2026, as a new expression of regenerative hospitality in Vietnam. This summer marks the perfect moment to be among the first to find your way.
Alan Young argues that voice recognition technology at the front desk is not a cost-cutting measure but a means of restoring something the industry has been quietly losing: the agent's attention. By offloading administrative commands to speech, the technology frees staff to do what no system can replicate — make a guest feel genuinely seen upon arrival.
Central Auckland apartment hotel, The Chancellor on Hobson, has completed a full soft refurbishment of all 65 guest rooms, delivering modernised contemporary accommodation in one of the city’s best-located properties.
Canopy Bangkok Sukhumvit is now accepting reservations ahead of opening its doors on 1 August 2026, marking the brand's debut in South East Asia. As a high-end boutique hotel brand, Canopy brings together layered design, considered food and beverage, and social spaces shaped by the neighborhood, offering travelers a welcoming sense of home while they discover somewhere new. Located on Sukhumvit Soi 12, the hotel will introduce a locally inspired experience to Asoke, one of Bangkok's most connected neighborhoods.
Adrian Zecha's Azuma Farm Koiwai launch is used as a lens to examine the 50-year structural rise of agriluxury, driven by guest demand for calm and simplicity in an overstimulated world.
Terence Ronson looks ahead to 2031, when frictionless automation will have made most hotels equally smart, equally efficient, and equally forgettable — and argues that the competitive differentiator will be a new role he calls the Human Experience Orchestrator. Part behavioral psychologist, part operational commander, the HXO is the person who reads the AI's outputs and then decides, with genuine human judgment, what to actually do with them.
The Ascott Limited (Ascott), the lodging business unit wholly owned by CapitaLand Investment (CLI), has announced the signing of Oakwood Thao Dien Ho Chi Minh City, as it continues to expand its presence across Vietnam's high-growth destinations.
The Ascott Limited (Ascott), the lodging business unit wholly owned by CapitaLand Investment (CLI), has announced the signing of Somerset Non Nuoc Da Nang Resort, as it continues to expand its presence across Vietnam's high-growth destinations.
The Ascott Limited (Ascott), the lodging business unit wholly owned by CapitaLand Investment (CLI), has signed Citadines Quy Nhon Resort, marking its first footprint in this emerging coastal city as it continues to expand its presence across Vietnam's high-growth destinations.
HARRIS Hotel & Conventions Sunshine Penang officially opens its doors today, marking the debut of the HARRIS brand in Malaysia and introducing a vibrant new hospitality, meetings and lifestyle destination in the heart of Ayer Itam.
In partnership with Verso Projects, a riverside renaissance at Shafston House will introduce Capella’s private residential expression to Brisbane in 2029.
ITC Hotels Limited announced the signing of a management agreement for Welcomhotel by ITC Hotels Salasar, a 145-key hotel set amidst one of Indias’s most revered spiritual destinations. Designed on a 6-acre site, the proposed hotel is envisioned to introduce a distinctive new destination that celebrates the region's rich cultural heritage while catering to the growing demand for pilgrimage tourism, destination weddings, social events, and experiential leisure travel.
Catherine Donaldson takes a decidedly practical approach, moving past the philosophical debates about AI in hospitality to focus on where it is already delivering measurable results today. From AI voice agents answering calls around the clock to agentic workflows that coordinate operations without manual handoffs, she maps five proven use cases and makes the case that the performance gap between adopters and laggards is already widening.