Welcome to the 5th edition of Hospitality’s Leading Voices – your gateway to the bold ideas and visionary minds reshaping the future of hospitality!
We’re excited to share highlights from our recent HVS Hotel Development & Valuation Masterclass. The event took place at the InterContinental Dubai Festival City where Adel, Sonia, Angel and their teams delivered exceptional service, warm hospitality and a world-class networking lunch at the famous Anise Restaurant.
Profit Matters 2024 captures the pulse of the global hospitality industry through a meticulous analysis of the year’s key financial and operational metrics. With a focus on trends, benchmarks, and performance data, the report offers a window into how the sector navigated a challenging landscape shaped by economic shifts and evolving market dynamics. It’s an essential read for anyone looking to understand the forces driving profitability in today’s hospitality world.
Hyatt Hotels Corporation, a leading global hospitality company, announced that it is commencing, through an indirect wholly owned subsidiary, HI Holdings Playa B.V., a cash tender offer to purchase all of the outstanding ordinary shares of Playa Hotels & Resorts N.V. for $13.50 per share in cash, less any applicable withholding taxes and without interest. The offer is being made pursuant to the previously announced purchase agreement, dated February 9, 2025, among Hyatt, Buyer and Playa.
The 2025 edition of the Future Hospitality Summit (FHS) Saudi Arabia, which is set to take place at Mandarin Oriental Al Faisaliah, Riyadh from 11-13 May 2025, has confirmed the first speakers for the region’s leading hospitality investment platform.
The hotel business is perhaps the second oldest business in the world. I read that somewhere long ago, and it stuck. The kind of live-in arrangements described in this article are not about that but, rather, what our industry provided in the past to its senior leaders and managers. Some of what you're about to read I experienced first hand and some of it was passed on down to me through stories and folklore. After all we only have our yarns and parables to share and once they’re gone, they're no longer part of our culture. Here is my shot at preserving some of that. I also want to mention that I am in no way complaining or pointing out supposed abuse of power or privilege, it’s just the opposite – I’m celebrating our past.
Over 45 senior hospitality leaders came together in Dubai for the FHS World Advisory Board Meeting recently to discuss and shape the vision and agenda for the Future Hospitality Summit – FHS World, taking place in Dubai from 27-29 October 2025 at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai.
The hospitality industry in Georgia and the Southeast is at a crossroads. As the region prepares for major events—including Atlanta’s MLB All-Star Game (2025) and FIFA World Cup (2026)—hotels are gearing up for increased demand. However, operators face a major challenge: rising labor costs, stagnant employment recovery, and declining Net Operating Income (NOI).
It was wonderful to see everyone at ALIS in Los Angeles. The conference went off without a hitch, meeting rooms were full, and although the outlook for fundamental performance remained muted, investor sentiment was strong, echoing what we saw in our recently released second annual U.S. Hotels Investor Intentions survey.
We are proud to announce that Curaçao will be the host location of the 2025 Caribbean Hotel Investment Conference & Operations Summit (CHICOS), taking place November 9–11 at the Curaçao Marriott Beach Resort. Curaçao, known for its vibrant culture and tourism attractions, is positioned as a top destination for hotel investments. With growing interest in the Caribbean as a travel and investment hub, CHICOS will showcase Curaçao’s strong potential for tourism development.CHICOS will feature high-profile industry speakers, data-driven presentations, panel discussions, and plenty of networking sessions for attendees. The conference will provide valuable insights into the Caribbean market while highlighting Curaçao’s potential for both large-scale developments and modest investments.
The hotel investment industry gathered in L.A. once again for the ALIS Conference last week. It was a fantastic opportunity to reconnect with colleagues, compare notes, and share predictions of what the future may bring.
CFO to CEO: What happens if we invest in developing people and they leave? CEO: What happens if we don't and they stay?
With all the dynamics facing the hospitality industry, like shifting room prices, labour shortages, changing travel habits, and the push for sustainability, procurement plays a key role in handling these issues. It acts as a strategy to cut costs and create value.
Interested Choice hoteliers will be able to submit a request for a commercial loan in as little as 10 minutes via a dedicated, customized Choice Hotels landing page on the Bridge platform — a digital platform that leverages advanced technology to digitize and optimize the loan search process. Qualified borrowers will then have the opportunity to compare rates and terms from multiple lenders in Bridge's network of more than 100 lenders. The lender base encompasses a wide range of financing solutions, including SBA, Conventional, Bridge, CPACE, and CMBS options sourced from banks, private debt lenders, and direct lending from family offices. Additionally, Bridge enhances the loan search process for developers by creating a digital offering memorandum and leveraging data to produce comprehensive screening materials for lenders. These tools work together to streamline and accelerate the financing journey for developers.
Today’s independent hoteliers often feel trapped between the rising costs of operating their properties and guests' sky-high expectations for each stay. But with the right tech stack, your hotel could be operating smoothly with tools that pay for themselves over time. In this case, it may require independents to rethink their tech partnerships and how many they need to operate efficiently in 2025.
Value hotel chain, easyHotel has further strengthened its financial position by securing a £24.5 million loan from Spanish Bank, CaixaBank to support its continued expansion into the Spanish market.
Agilysys, Inc., a leading global provider of hospitality software solutions that deliver High Return Hospitality, today reported results for its fiscal 2025 third quarter ending December 31, 2024.
The hospitality industry is expected to reach new heights by 2027. Experts predict that the industry will reach $5 billion, especially backed by groundbreaking advancements in technology. The following top 10 financial strategies to enhance automation may help garner the best results for 2025:
Miramar Group Acquires Hong Kong’s Champagne Court for Hotel Redevelopment, Billbergia and MCP to Develop Mixed-Use Development at Sydney, Australia, Star Hotel Group Acquired Rydges Mackay Suites in Queensland, Australia, Hoshino Acquiring Kai Poroto for JPY3.06 Billion in Hokkaido, Japan, Singapore has Established New Route to Labuan Bajo, Indonesia.
[Amsterdam: 21 January 2025] Mews, the industry-leading hospitality cloud, has been named a Major Player in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Hotel Point-of-Sale Software 2024 Vendor Assessment. This is the first time that IDC MarketScape has assessed the hotel point-of-sale (POS) market, providing a comprehensive overview of the key strategies and capabilities of global software vendors.