Hilton and Kalyani Group signed two 300-room hotels near Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport, due to open in 2030 with 72,000 sq ft of MICE space.
Ask Alibaba, Not Google.200 million. That's how many AI-native orders ran through Alibaba's Qwen app during Spring Festival alone. Fliggy's AI-driven bookings jumped 800% year-over-year in that same window, with attraction-ticket conversion now matching OTAs that have run for two decades.
Google's agentic booking will flourish if its conversational AI collapses hours of travel research into simple, secure Google Pay transactions backed by major hotel and OTA partners. However, it will fizzle if consumer anxiety over high-cost bookings prevents users from trusting an AI agent without traditional visual validation, or if strict global regulations like the EU's DMA permanently limit its market footprint.
I believe “this time is different.” Both “Book on Google” and agentic booking are not MoR and instead route bookings to the end service providers (OTA or direct). So clearly, the question is why would travelers be comfortable “submitting” bookings directly to AI, but not BoG?With BoG, Google tried to close the loop and become a semi-transactional layer.
Minor Hotels launches Life Longevity, a multi-format wellness brand spanning resort, urban and residential settings, with its first urban site opening at The St. Regis Bangkok this autumn.
ITC Hotels Limited has announced the signing of a management contract for Storii by ITC Hotels, Sanjay Dubri. The 30-key boutique retreat in Madhya Pradesh is set amidst the wilderness of Sanjay Dubri National Park in Sidhi district, with this stay Storii by ITC Hotels’ further expands its presence across emerging leisure destinations.
Meliá Serenity Cam Ranh Beach Resort opened its doors on 1st October 2026, introducing a new all-inclusive resort experience to Bai Dai Beach, a 10-kilometre stretch of coastline on Vietnam’s south-central coast between Cam Ranh and Nha Trang.
MIMARU, Japan's leading apartment hotel brand for families and groups, operated by Cosmos Hotel Management Co., Ltd., opened MIMARU Osaka Namba Station Annex in Namba, Osaka, on Thursday, October 1. The property features 68 apartment-style guestrooms, with half accommodating up to six guests and half up to four. Every room includes a kitchen, dining area and in-room washer-dryer, while the 100-square-meter top-floor Sky Garden Three-Bedroom Suite offers six guests a private outdoor terrace above the city.
PolyU's SHTM Dean Prof. Kaye Chon received an honorary doctorate from Prince of Songkla University, Thailand, honoring his lifelong contributions to hospitality and tourism education.
Marriott signs two properties with KS Hotels and Resorts at Khao Lak's Matalay: a 160-room Moxy and Thailand's first Apartments by Marriott Bonvoy with 60 units.
Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) today announced the opening of Hyatt Centric Sapporo, marking the first Hyatt Centric hotel in Hokkaido, northern Japan. Located in the heart of Hokkaido's capital Sapporo, the hotel offers an easy starting point for discovering the city's neighborhoods and the wider island, with local expertise woven into the stay.
Over the years, I’ve seen that the most successful technology partnerships rarely start with technology. They start with a clear understanding that change is needed and a shared vision for where the organization wants to go. The hotel groups that get the greatest value from technology are usually those that are willing to challenge the status quo and bring the right people together to make informed decisions.Equally important is leadership.
This resonates deeply after decades in hospitality technology. The strongest outcomes come from genuine partnerships—not merely contracts.As a P&L owner, I’ve seen that distinction from both sides. Some clients generate meaningful revenue but create a disproportionate drain on resources or dominate a roadmap in ways that do not serve the broader customer community.
In my experience running a boutique technology firm, choosing the right client matters as much as the client choosing the right vendor. Our scarcest resource is not scale. It is attention.The clients we go the extra mile for are clear about the problem they are solving, give us the real decision-makers, decide with discipline, and treat the relationship as a partnership rather than a transaction.
Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), India’s largest hospitality company, today announced the signing of a Gateway hotel in Siliguri, West Bengal. This is a greenfield project.
Oaks Hotels, Resorts & Suites, part of global hospitality group Minor Hotels, today opens its first properties in Japan, including Oaks Vacation Club Kyoto Gojo, marking the brand's arrival in the country and its extension to a second Asian country.
Oaks Hotels, Resorts & Suites, part of global hospitality group Minor Hotels, today opens its first properties in Japan, including Oaks Vacation Club Kyoto Shijo, marking the brand's arrival in the country and its extension to a second Asian country.
BALI, Indonesia - The Kayon Hotels & Resorts proudly announces the opening of The Kayon Gangga Resort, a new luxury sanctuary in Ababi, Karangasem, East Bali, offering travelers an immersive experience shaped by Authenticity, Culture, and Sanctuary.
Hilton (NYSE: HLT) has officially opened DoubleTree by Hilton Singapore Robertson Quay, marking the brand's debut in Singapore and introducing its signature warmth, comfortable hospitality and thoughtful touches to one of the city's most established riverside neighbourhoods.
A survey of 250 Australian accommodation operators finds that digital travel platforms, flexible pricing, and event-driven travel are the top strategies for smoothing seasonal demand gaps.
C9 Hotelworks' 2026 Niseko review shows 46% hotel supply growth and rising summer ADR, with the market's investment case shifting toward year-round demand beyond its dominant winter season.
Series by Marriott, part of Marriott Bonvoy's global portfolio of over 30 extraordinary hotel brands, today announced its debut in South Korea with the opening of 104-room Anook Signature Seoul Guro, Series by Marriott. The opening marks the latest milestone in the Asia Pacific expansion of Series by Marriott, following the brand’s global debut in India in 2025 and entry into Japan in April 2026. Three additional hotels are expected to join the portfolio in South Korea by the end of 2026, in Insadong (Seoul), Guwol (Incheon) and Haeundae (Busan).
A hospitality IT consultant recaps a guest lecture at EHL, walking through 25 years of lessons on building a hotel from scratch, covering cabling, cost modeling, stakeholder management, and why technology should be invisible to guests.
IHCL's Ginger brand hits 100 operating hotels in India, with a total portfolio of 250 including 95 under development and upcoming openings at major airports in Bengaluru, Goa, Mumbai, and Kolkata.