Millennials and Gen Z Are Killing Stiff Luxury, Harassment Laws Changed but Has Hotel Culture?, Buying a Family-Run Hotel When the Owner Leaves

Three pieces end the week by looking at what sits underneath a hotel's standards. Adam Frost of Regent's University London gathers executives from hospitality, food and events who say Millennials and Gen Z still want excellence, just without the gatekeeping. Nasir Zahir asks whether hotel workplace culture has kept pace with stronger harassment laws and zero-tolerance policies, and concludes that it often has not. Enrique L. González of F2F Invest LATAM explains why the reported profit of a family-run hotel can overstate what a buyer will actually own. Signals carries a U.S. Travel Association forecast of an $11 billion drop in international visitor spending and CoStar's latest weekly U.S. results.

Goodbye, Gatekeeping: How Millennials and Gen Z Are Killing Stiff Luxury

Adam Frost argues that younger luxury guests value authenticity over ceremony and personality over polish, without lowering their expectations of quality. Sebastian Knoerr, Director of Rooms at London's Sloane Club, says younger members have had less practice with formal settings, so his club teaches the standard explicitly and lets the delivery flex. Kelly Licciardi of Restaurant Associates says affluent diners now want "substance and story over stiffness."

Frost's conclusion is that luxury may be getting more demanding, not less: a scripted service sequence is easy to audit, while warmth and judgement are not. That shifts hiring toward traits such as empathy and curiosity, and turns the sommelier from gatekeeper into guide. Kenan Simmons of SLH made a similar point on Wednesday, warning against "robotic yes sir, no sir" service. Read the article →

Sexual Harassment in Today's Hotel Business: The Laws Changed, But Has the Culture?

Nasir Zahir recalls a 1970s hotel culture in which general managers and corporate officers pursued female employees who had little power to say no. Laws, HR processes and zero-tolerance policies are far stronger today, but he argues that "people still do stupid things," and that annual online training is often a check-the-box exercise that does not change behavior.

He calls for training built around hotel realities, such as a guest exposing himself to a housekeeper or a complaint about a senior manager, and for investigations that apply the same standard however important the accused person is. He cites EEOC cases involving hotels, including a $370,000 settlement in 2022, and notes that allegations in pending litigation are not established facts. Read the column →

When the Owner Leaves: Buying a Family-Run Hotel in Latin America

Enrique L. González, who once ran a four-room hostel in Lima with his wife, writes that many Latin American hotels, including some with 100 rooms or more, depend on an owner who is also general manager and head of sales. His example is a Cusco hotel reporting US$250,000 in annual operating profit, where the owner took no market salary and a relative's travel agency generated more than half the bookings.

A buyer would have to replace those functions, so the profit would not carry over intact. González does not treat owner dependence as a defect. He suggests negotiating a transition: a defined period of owner involvement, a gradual handover of commercial relationships, a contingent payment or, for owners who want to keep the property, a lease or an operator. Read the analysis →

Signals

U.S. Travel forecasts an $11 billion drop in international visitor spending. The U.S. Travel Association expects inflation-adjusted international spending to fall 6.3% to $163 billion in 2026, with the U.S. share of global long-haul arrivals down from 10.3% in 2019 to 7.7%.

U.S. hotel RevPAR rose 9.7% in the week ending 31 October. CoStar reports Tampa and New Orleans leading the Top 25 Markets, driven by the World Series and major conferences.

WTTC launches three indices to measure tourism beyond visitor numbers. Built with Oxford Economics across 184 economies, the Power, Efficiency and Opportunity indices rank countries by economic power, environmental efficiency and employment opportunity.

Hotel ratings are rising while guest sentiment falls. Shiji's Q3 2026 benchmark of 11.9 million reviews puts its Global Review Index at 87.0% but positive sentiment at 69.8%, with average response times halving to 3.1 days. Shiji is a hotel technology vendor.

Domes Resorts plans three Greek openings for 2027. The properties will carry the Casa Cook and Cook's Club brands, after Domes became the major shareholder in Casa Collective in April 2026.

People

Ryan Lynn joins Cushman & Wakefield as Head of UK Hotel Capital Markets from Knight Frank. Rozenn Lavaur Fournier was appointed Director of Development for Greece and Cyprus at IHG Hotels & Resorts, and David Mariotti was appointed General Manager at Hotel Viking, which reopened in May 2026 after a full reimagination for its 100th anniversary.

Properties

Aman announced Amantaru, a new Caribbean destination in Puerto Rico, and Viceroy Park Avenue began taking reservations ahead of its February 2027 debut. Meliá will bring ME by Meliá to Asia with The Kasem House Bangkok Hotel. Nanju opens on December 24, and Bahia Principe reopens Bahia Principe Explore Jamaica in Runaway Bay and Bahia Principe Explore Costa Adeje in Tenerife on 1 December after renovations.