Thailand luxury hotel transactions recorded THB 2.2bn in 2025
JLL data shows APAC luxury hotel transactions hit $2.1bn in 2025, up 77% since 2017, with Thailand's Bangkok, Phuket, and Samui posting double-digit ADR growth since 2019.
Asia Pacific - Latest
CrescentRating and Chameleon Strategies Launch Asia's Most Detailed Outbound Travel Intelligence Resource
The Asia Pacific Outbound Traveler Handbook 2026 covers 26 Asian source markets with actionable intelligence for destination marketers, airlines, and tour operators, available free at AsiaTravelTrends.com.
Punthill Epping officially opens in Melbourne’s booming north
LiveStay has officially opened the doors to Punthill Epping, a new 100-key apartment hotel positioned within Melbourne’s rapidly growing northern corridor and the landmark $2 billion New Epping urban renewal precinct developed by Riverlee.
Hotel Yearbook Article The Hotel Yearbook 2026 - Technology Edition
The Invisible Shortlist
Kurt Weinsheimer draws on 25 years in online travel to argue that the shift to AI-powered discovery is categorically different from every platform change that came before it. When a search returns five options instead of fifty, being sixth is the same as being invisible — and most hotels have no idea how they appear, or whether they appear at all, on the shortlists AI systems are already building.
By Kurt Weinsheimer, President and GM Properties, Sojern
Hotel Yearbook Article The Hotel Yearbook 2026 - Technology Edition
The Death of Blue Links: Hospitality Marketing After Search
Antonio Picozzi argues that the thirty-year paradigm of search-driven hospitality marketing is collapsing and that generative AI is replacing the logic of discoverability with an entirely different logic: one where being understood matters more than being ranked, and where a hotel's digital identity is only as strong as its least consistent data source.
By Antonio Picozzi, CEO & Founder, dAirect
Hotel Yearbook Article The Hotel Yearbook 2026 - Technology Edition
From Search to Synthesis: Visibility in an Answer-Based Internet
The pre-stay booking funnel has fundamentally shifted, and most hotel tech stacks are nowhere near ready for it. Alessio Re maps the three-layer challenge hotels now face - getting cited by AI systems, owning accurate and structured data, and having a vendor stack capable of converting agent-driven discovery into actual bookings - and argues that treating this as an SEO problem with new vocabulary will not get the industry far enough, fast enough.
By Alessio Re, Co-founder, Elegia
The Dali EDITION Opens in Yunnan, Marking a New Chapter for Contemporary Luxury in Southwest China
Defined by the dramatic interplay of Cangshan Mountain’s peaks and the stillness of Erhai Lake, Dali unfolds as a place shaped by nature, heritage, and a long-standing spirit of artistic and cultural exchange. EDITION, part of Marriott Bonvoy’s portfolio, reimagines this storied destination with the opening of The Dali EDITION, bringing a refined, contemporary perspective to Southwest China.
Hotel Yearbook Article The Hotel Yearbook 2026 - Technology Edition
Choice Architecture in the Age of Algorithms
Giuseppe Italiano examines the pre-stay journey through the lens of behavioral economics and philosophy, arguing that algorithms have become the primary architects of traveler choice — nudging, filtering, and framing decisions in ways most guests never consciously register. The danger, he contends, is not that machines are making choices for us, but that we are gradually losing the discernment to notice, or care.
By Giuseppe F. Italiano, Deputy Rector of AI, Luiss University
ITC Hotels Expands Rajasthan Footprint with Signing of 140-Key Welcomhotel Jaipur
ITC Hotels Limited today announced the signing of a management agreement for a 140-key Welcomhotel by ITC Hotels Jaipur in Rajasthan. This signing further strengthens ITC Hotels’ presence in the majestic state of Rajasthan—one of India’s most loved leisure destinations and reinforces the growing footprint of the Welcomhotel brand across state capitals and high-demand destinations.
Pemako Hotels Announce Full-Scale Renovation of Pemako Thimphu
As part of an extensive transformation led by internationally renowned design firm P49 Design — whose portfolio spans some of the world's leading luxury hospitality projects across Asia, Africa and the Pacific — Pemako Thimphu, part of Bhutan's first locally owned and operated luxury hotel group, is entering a new era. Set for completion by the end of 2027, the full-scale renovation will see the hotel's guestrooms and public spaces thoughtfully reimagined through a contemporary lens, while remaining deeply rooted in the rich cultural identity and spirit of Bhutan.
The Unbound Collection By Hyatt Welcomes Its First Hotel In Thailand, THE BARAI HUA HIN
Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) today announced the opening of THE BARAI HUA HIN, marking the debut of The Unbound Collection by Hyatt brand in Thailand.
Hotel Yearbook Article The Hotel Yearbook 2026 - Technology Edition
The Future of Hospitality Depends on Human AI Literacy
Ian Millar argues that AI has already taken control of the pre-stay guest journey and that the hospitality industry's most urgent challenge is not technological adoption but the development of genuine AI literacy among its leaders. Rather than treating AI as an IT concern, Millar makes the case that understanding data, prompting systems, exercising critical judgment, and maintaining human oversight are now core leadership competencies. The hotels that will thrive are not those with the most automation, but those with the organizational discipline, shared accountability, and cultural mindset to teach machines well and know when to override them.
By Ian Millar, Senior Lecturer Hospitality Technology, EHL
Expert Views (4)
Mark Fancourt, Co-Founder & Principal Consultant, TRAVHOTECH
As the technologist in the room looking through the lens of the melding of industry workforce and the application of technology, I find this development curious for a number of reasons:AI Singling Out: It's interesting to see the specific technology of AI singled out.
Linchi Kwok, Professor and Department Chair, CAL Poly Pomona
The recent court ruling highlights an important principle: AI adoption should not be a labor replacement solution. The more meaningful question is how AI can help employees work smarter, more efficiently, and ultimately more effectively.Hospitality has always been a people-centered industry.
Jayanti Jayanti, Senior Lecturer in Hospitality Management, University of West London
Hospitality has never been just about systems, processes or efficiency. It has always been about people. The ruling highlights an important point: AI may change how we work, but it should not change what hospitality stands for.As an industry, we should not see AI only as a way to reduce labour costs.
Hotel Yearbook Article The Hotel Yearbook 2026 - Technology Edition
Preface II: The Last Virgin Space: Aesthetic Resistance in the Age of AI-Mediated Travel
Leonardo Caffo argues that AI and algorithmic image saturation have made pure aesthetic experience, the genuine "wow" of discovery, effectively impossible for the modern traveler. Yet rather than mourning that loss, he proposes a radical reorientation: the last virgin space of authentic experience is not the destination itself, but the friction between what AI leads us to expect and what reality actually delivers.
By Leonardo Caffo, Professor of Art and Philosophy, Pegaso University (Italy) / Director of Rethinking Lampedusa Research Centre (Made Program University), Made Program University
Cebu gets a bold new beat as Radisson RED makes its Philippine debut
Cebu's hospitality scene is about to get louder, brighter and far more playful. Radisson RED Cebu Mandaue has officially opened at Astra Centre, a dynamic mixed-use destination with a lifestyle shopping mall at its core, marking the first Radisson RED hotel in the Philippines. With 144 stylish rooms, statement-making design and a social-first energy, the hotel introduces a vibrant new stay for travellers who like their experiences expressive, connected and full of personality.
Courtyard by Marriott Debuts in Okinawa with a New Beachfront Escape
Set along Kise Beach overlooking the pristine waters of Nago Bay in northern Okinawa, the hotel brings Courtyard by Marriott’s warm, modern hospitality to one of Japan’s most beloved island escapes. Famed for its subtropical climate, crystal-clear waters and easy island rhythm, Okinawa draws millions of domestic and international visitors each year. The hotel sits approximately 72 kilometers, or one hour’s drive, from Naha International Airport.
Hyatt Place Seoul Pangyo Celebrates Official Opening
Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) today announced the official opening of Hyatt Place Seoul Pangyo, marking the debut of the Hyatt Place brand in Seoul. The property is situated in the heart of Pangyo, Korea’s leading IT and business hub. With contemporary design, comfortable accommodations, thoughtfully planned spaces and excellent accessibility, it is an ideal stay for both business and leisure travelers.
Hotel Yearbook Article The Hotel Yearbook 2026 - Technology Edition
Preface I: The Post-Human Traveler: Redefining the Guest
Zoltan Istvan challenges the hospitality industry to think beyond its most basic assumption: that its guests will remain human. From life extension drugs and brain implants to humanoid companions and autonomous AI entities, he maps a transhumanist future that renders current notions of the guest experience — and the guest itself — genuinely obsolete.
By Zoltan Istvan, Public Figure in Transhumanism, Zoltan Istvan
Accor Opens Bookings for Reimagined Novotel St Kilda Ahead of October Debut
Accor has announced a new chapter for one of Melbourne’s most iconic coastal addresses, with Saint Kilda Beach Hotel currently undergoing a landmark transformation led by owner ERDI, ahead of its reopening as Novotel St Kilda in October 2026.
Hotel Yearbook Article The Hotel Yearbook 2026 - Technology Edition
Foreword by the Editor-in-Chief: The Olympia Effect
One of my favorite short stories of all time is Der Sandmann by German Romantic author E. T. A. Hoffmann. At first reading, it is a Gothic tale about childhood trauma, but beneath the surface lies something far more unsettling: a philosophical autopsy of the fragile boundary between the human and the artificial, and, perhaps, a cautionary tale about the hospitality of tomorrow.
By Simone Puorto, Head of Emerging Trends and Strategic Innovation, Hospitality Net