An 800-Room, Five-Star, Often-Overbooked Juggernaut
A nostalgic memoir excerpt from a former Hong Kong Hilton front-of-house team member, recalling life managing an 800-room five-star property in the pre-digital era of the 1970s.
News
WTTC and WGS Launch New Era of Public-Private Collaboration to Shape the Future of Travel & Tourism
WTTC and the UAE's World Governments Summit signed an MoU to strengthen government-industry dialogue on tourism growth, innovation, sustainability, and workforce challenges globally.
How Can Luxury Hotels Stay Authentic Without Diluting the Brand?
An industry perspective on why luxury hotels must define brand-specific authenticity rather than defaulting to warmth or informality, with practical questions for GMs on training judgment over scripts.
By Dr. Andreea Antonescu, Associate Professor, Les Roches
The Invisible Ink
Anthropic and other major AI providers now embed invisible watermarks in AI-generated text, per an EU transparency rule that took effect August 2, 2026, and this marking is global, not EU-only. The catch: a detected mark only shows content was processed by AI, not that AI wrote it, so a non-native speaker's human-written draft that got a grammar check can trigger the same flag as fully generated copy.
By Terence Ronson, Founder & Managing Director, Pertlink Limited
HSMAI Opens Nominations for Gilbert Award and Top 25 Extraordinary Minds
HSMAI is accepting nominations through September 30 for the Gilbert Award for career achievement and the Top 25 Extraordinary Minds, with ceremonies in Q1 2027.
The Measure of Meaning: Luxury Hospitality's Most Promising Era Is Just Beginning
The author introduces the Global Luxury Hospitality Hierarchy (GLHH), a five-criterion qualitative framework ranking 60+ operators on philosophy and distinctiveness, arguing these are now measurable and essential to durable pricing power.
By Yogesh Dutt, Chef Pâtissier and Founder, Abode of Yogi
Beyond Occupancy: Building Profit, Purpose, and Legacy in Hospitality
Westgate Resorts' Jared Saft argues that financial metrics alone don't define hospitality success, outlining how embedding philanthropy and people-first values into operations builds long-term resilience.
By Jared Saft, Chief Operating Officer, Westgate Resorts
HFTP Board of Directors Approves Bylaws Updates
HFTP's Global Board approved bylaws updates effective August 2026, consolidating membership categories, modernizing governance language, and expanding scope to include cruise lines, trains, and a broader range of hospitality professionals.
GBTA Convention 2026 Unites the Global Business Travel Industry to Connect, Learn, Innovate and Shape the Sector's Future
GBTA Convention 2026 drew 5,500+ attendees from 47 countries at McCormick Place, with the newly released BTI forecasting record global business travel spend of $1.71 trillion in 2026.
The End of More for More’s Sake
Kempinski's CEO argues that luxury hospitality has confused abundance with value, and that the competitive edge belongs to hotels that offer precisely what matters rather than accumulating amenities and upsells.
By Barbara Muckermann, Group Chief Executive Officer, Kempinski
The Wrong Questions
Hospitality boards focus AI oversight on data privacy and vendor compliance, but rarely ask who is accountable when AI-driven operating decisions in revenue, F&B, or housekeeping go wrong.
By Terence Ronson, Founder & Managing Director, Pertlink Limited
The Bridge Between Today's Hotel and Tomorrow's Hotel Starts with One Simple, Meaningful Step
A hospitality veteran argues that AI adoption succeeds only when hotels first clarify the experience they want to create, using personal stories from a hotel front desk and a New Orleans stay to illustrate the point.
By Are Morch, Digital Transformation Coach for Hotels, Are Morch, AI Champion
GBTA Foundation Recognizes Changemakers and Raises Support for the Next Generation of Business Travel Talent
The GBTA Foundation's inaugural Gala at Chicago's Field Museum honored leaders in sustainable and inclusive business travel, raised $83,250 for student career scholarships, and announced 2026 Impact Award winners.
The Discipline Era of Luxury Hospitality
Crescent Hotels & Resorts argues that luxury hospitality has entered a discipline era, where selective, operationally-ready expansion protects asset value and brand equity better than rapid scaling.
Behind the Smile: What Really Stresses CEOs and Managing Directors in Hospitality
An honest look at the hidden pressures facing hospitality CEOs and MDs: financial leakage, chronic staff turnover, real-time reputation risk, compliance shifts, and non-stop reinvestment demands.
By Francisca Fasua, Founder, Aurelia Hospitality Services
The Next Disruption Will Not Be a Cheaper OTA
AI travel agents could become the most powerful gatekeepers yet, deciding which hotels guests ever see, while hidden fees and labor reduction risks threaten luxury service quality.
By Anthony Paul Ruffino, Hotelier – Experienced Hotel Industry Professional, Hospitality Management Services, Inc
Turning around a struggling hotel
A short opinion piece argues that hotel turnarounds succeed not through refurbishment but through strategic clarity, using Kings Court Hotel's community-focused repositioning as a practical example.
Ryan Haynes, Director/Lead Consultant, Hoteliers' Voice Podcast/ Haynes MarComs Ltd
Cayuga Hospitality Consultants Elevates Industry Icons to "Legacy Member" Status
Cayuga Hospitality Consultants introduced a "Legacy Member" tier for consultants with 10+ years of active membership, recognizing eight industry veterans including Haydn Kramer of Valley of the Moon Partners.
Darshana Jariwala of Bridgeton on Connecting the Dots Between Brand, Product, and Experience
Bridgeton's Darshana Jariwala explains how a CPG-rooted "Center of Excellence" function bridges brand, product, and operations across a portfolio of boutique lifestyle hotels in New York and beyond.
Leadership Under Pressure: How The David Kempinski Tel Aviv Turned Crisis Into an Operating Philosophy
GM Guy Klaiman shares how David Kempinski Tel Aviv stayed operational and broke performance records by prioritizing staff welfare, cultural investment, and adaptive leadership through COVID and the post-October 7 crisis.