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.
Opinion Articles
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
Inside Newport's Compass Circle Councils: Turning Collaboration into a Competitive Advantage
Newport Hospitality Group's Compass Circle Councils unite property and corporate leaders in two working groups covering commercial strategy and operations, sharing best practices across the portfolio to drive performance and owner returns.
By Whitney Altizer, Chief Commercial Officer, Newport Hospitality Group
We Were Never Eight, We Were One
An operator-turned-founder argues that hotel groups have optimized individual functions at the expense of cross-functional rhythm, and introduces PHAL OS, an AI leadership layer targeting top-10 hotel groups.
By Saurabh Prakash, CEO and Founder, PHAL
Luxury Begins Where Standards End
A hospitality veteran argues that emotional connection and cultural intelligence, not SOPs or luxury amenities, are the true differentiators driving long-term guest loyalty.
Hospitality Leadership Isn't About Having More Skills, It's About Having the Right Ones
EHL's new Hospitality Leadership Skills Report, based on 40 years of research and interviews with 22 senior executives, identifies 30 sub-skills across four domains, with self-leadership as the non-negotiable foundation.
By Bianca Lüthy and Dr. Sowon Kim
When Luxury Outside Hospitality Learns to Host, What Happens to Hotels?
Non-hotel luxury brands like Audemars Piguet and NYC listening club Stylus are reshaping guest expectations around atmosphere and belonging, challenging hotels to rethink pricing, identity, and what makes their experience irreplaceable.
By Sébastien Felix, Founder, Influence Society
Transitioning Out of Hotel Operations into Asset Management or Hotel Consulting? You Need to Think Like an Owner
A guide for hotel operations professionals on the financial frameworks owners, asset managers, and consultants use, covering NOI, capital stacks, debt sizing, and equity structures.
By Stephen Rushmore, Hotel Valuation Expert and Founder of HVS, Hotel Valuation Software
The Hospitality Industry Has Been Looking at Demand All Wrong
A 30-year hotel developer argues that repeat visitation, driven by universities, medical districts, and community ties, is a more reliable demand signal than traditional destination discovery metrics.
By Gary Brandels, CEO, Scholar Hotels
Azuma Brand Launch Signals Larger Hotel Category Trends
Adrian Zecha's Azuma Farm Koiwai launch is used as a lens to examine the 50-year structural rise of agriluxury, driven by guest demand for calm and simplicity in an overstimulated world.
By Adam Mogelonsky and Larry Mogelonsky
Why Hospitality Outperforms: Culture as a Performance System
The article argues that hospitality outperforms other industries not through better strategy but by operationalizing culture via six disciplines: visible leadership, daily routines, clear standards, empowerment, real-time feedback, and team systems.
By Michael J Taylor, Regional General Manager, Pyramid Global Hospitality
Five Trends Every Hotel Leader Needs to Watch in 2026
An operator from Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina outlines five priorities for 2026: personalization, immersive F&B, on-property activations, mainstreamed wellness, and event-aligned programming.
By Dan Shaughnessy, Director of Sales & Marketing, Marriott
The Most Undervalued Leadership Skill in Hospitality is Operational Empathy
The author argues that leaders who understand frontline operational realities, not just guest metrics, drive stronger service consistency, employee retention, and long-term guest loyalty.
By Kyle Gartman and Priyanko Guchait
When the Familiar Stops Working, Great Leaders Twist
A leadership consultant argues that adapting to disruption requires actively reworking familiar strategies, citing a hospitality client turnaround built on improved communication, accountability, and proactive leadership.
By Gary Hernbroth, Founder, Training for Winners
From Strategy to Execution: What HSMAI and HITEC Revealed About Hospitality’s Next Chapter
An attendee recap of HSMAI and HITEC in San Antonio finds AI reshaping hotel discovery and commercial alignment, while cautioning operators to prioritize real problems over trend-chasing.
By Kirsten Mosco, CHDM, Vice President of Media and Communications, Newport Hospitality Group
Accor's Orient Express CEO Gilda Perez-Alvarado on Luxury Hospitality
Gilda Perez-Alvarado, CEO of Orient Express and Group Chief Strategy Officer at Accor, discusses how luxury brands endure by anchoring to core principles rather than surface-level identity.
The Job That Wasn't
A hotel finance consultant recounts a sophisticated recruitment scam impersonating a real recruiter, drawing parallels to financial verification discipline in hotel operations.
By David Lund, The Hotel Financial Coach, David Lund
Correcting the Focus: Fixing the Industry’s Fundamental Misunderstanding of Technology vs. Hospitality
The author argues that hospitality executives are confusing process automation with genuine human care, and that technology should support backend operations only, never replace front-line human interaction.
By Mark Fancourt, Co-Founder & Principal Consultant, TRAVHOTECH
Wings of Technology, Roots of Humanity: AI Can Rescue a P&L, But It Cannot Rescue a Heart That Wants to Leave
The author argues mid-scale hotels need both lightweight AI for revenue optimization and a human-centered "Homestead Culture" to address 70-80% annual frontline staff turnover that technology alone cannot fix.
By Dr. Tong Yin, Founder and doctoral researcher, InsightBridge Global LLC