Amid an uncertain economy, new data from Lighthouse reveals that consumers are simply adopting a more strategic, cautious, and spontaneous approach to travel.
Galveston’s lodging market is being reshaped by capital investments and regulatory changes. Since 2019, more than $400 million has been spent on new cruise terminals, resort redevelopments, and boutique hotel conversions, while cruise passenger counts reached a record 1.7 million in 2024. With new projects underway and new short-term-rental oversights, growth will be affected by shifting supply and demand dynamics.
The first half of 2025 brought the sharpest global hotel rate slowdown since the early post-pandemic years. After two years of steady growth, momentum stalled, and in many markets, prices fell back significantly. But the story isn’t uniform. While most regions struggled, Europe remained resilient, and Japan surged ahead as a clear outlier.
Convention Centers have emerged as a hub of industry, commerce, culture, and architecture. Since they first marked the maps in the mid-20th-century U.S., they have become a symbol of economic progress. As the global events industry rebounds from the COVID-19 pandemic’s disruption, convention centers across the U.S. are rapidly transforming to meet the evolving expectations of today’s planners and attendees. Events are no longer just about networking and sharing information; they are full-fledged experiences, powered by smart infrastructure, flexible layouts, immersive technology, and access to vibrant urban surroundings.
A sobering downturn: Official data reveals a clear slump in the first half of 2025, with declines in visitor volume, RevPAR, and room rates.
While inflation, geopolitics and trade disputes represent possible headwinds against overall travel growth, the current demographic situations for Canada and numerous other advanced economies amount to a prevailing tailwind that will propel growth in the luxury hotel category for the rest of the decade if not longer.
The European serviced apartment sector recorded a solid performance in 2024, supported by robust leisure demand and a recovering corporate segment. In spite of above-average increases in supply in this asset class, the occupancy levels observed amongst the serviced apartments surveyed exceeded expectations. While traditional hotels mostly capitalised on average rate growth, serviced apartments saw performance improvements primarily led by rising occupancy. Our analysis of approximately 6,000 units across the continent provides a comprehensive snapshot of the sentiment surrounding serviced apartment operations across Europe, highlighting the strengths and challenges faced by this increasingly competitive asset class.
Tourism is big business, bringing millions of inbound visitors not just into entire countries each year, but sometimes tens of millions into just a single city. This brings pressure on local housing markets and services.
Edinburgh is the economic, cultural and political capital of Scotland and is considered one of the UK’s primary powerhouses. This reputation has fuelled significant population growth over the past decade, with the Edinburgh metropolitan area reaching nearly 559,000 residents in 2024, a 12.0% increase since 2014. A compact city steeped in history, with notable cityscapes and exceptional views, Edinburgh is a renowned weekend-break destination with an international airport recording strong passenger growth and fast rail links on the East Coast Mainline branch. As the second most visited city in the UK after London, Edinburgh’s appeal lies in its cultural vibrancy and strategic location. Moreover, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe continues to be a global cultural highlight. In 2024, the festival sold approximately 2.6 million tickets (compared to 2.5 million in 2023), reaffirming its status as the largest annual arts festival in the world.
Indonesia, officially known as the Republic of Indonesia, is the world’s largest archipelagic nation, spanning over 1.9 million square kilometres across more than 17,000 islands. Strategically located between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, it stretches over 5,000 kilometres and shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Malaysia. With a 2024 estimated population of 284.4 million, Indonesia is the fourth most populous country globally.
With large crowds set to descend on Lille, Cannes and Montpellier, hotels in these cities have a golden opportunity to boost revenue. For independent hoteliers especially, staying informed and agile is essential to capturing their fair share of this spike in demand.
Read the latest edition of the HVS ANAROCK monthly industry update, MONITOR (Monthly Overview of National Industry Trends and Hospitality Report), for the key trends in the Indian hospitality industry.
As Germany prepares to host some of Europe’s biggest events, hotels should be adjusting their strategies to take full advantage of these major revenue opportunities. For small and mid-sized independent hoteliers, staying ahead of these shifts is key to their success.
At this year’s Future Hospitality Summit Africa, the message from the stage was clear: pipelines are growing, investor interest remains steady and nearly every region is positioning itself as open for business. But beneath the optimism lies a more pressing reality - Africa doesn’t have a development problem, it has a delivery problem. Keynotes and panel discussions unpacked this disconnect in detail. The gap between development ambition and operational execution remains significant. For stakeholders involved in hospitality investment and advisory across the continent, this misalignment poses both a risk and an opportunity.
The Oregon Coast is a popular drive-to destination market that thrives on tourism. The coast offers a variety of vacation spots, from large, bustling tourism hubs to more rural destinations with small-town charm. Home to nearly 30 cities and towns, the coastal region is divided into three major sub-regions: the Northern and Central sub-regions feature the major tourism destinations, including Newport, Lincoln City, Cannon Beach, and Astoria, while the Southern sub-region relies primarily on travel to state parks. The coast’s proximity to Oregon’s major commercial centers, including Portland, Salem, Eugene, and Medford, provides the area with reliable demand for hotels. This demand peaks from May through October given the mild weather and the multitude of popular outdoor recreational activities during this period.
Have you ever found yourself buried in spreadsheets, trying to manually forecast your hotel's revenue? I’ve been there, and I know how frustrating and limiting those traditional methods can be. But imagine this: spending less time crunching numbers and more time crafting strategic decisions that truly move the needle for your hotel. In this article, we'll go over how modern technology and integrated strategies can transform your revenue management, making your hotel competitive, agile, and ready for the future.
It's no secret that Nashville has emerged as a top-tier destination for tourism, commerce, and conventions. Tourism exploded as the city’s popular music-related attractions gained national attention and social groups flocked to the Broadway Historic District to enjoy the array of venues named for a multitude of country music stars. At the same time, corporate relocations and investment flourished as the city’s business-friendly environment, relatively low cost of living, and strong quality of life attracted many firms, including major technology companies like Oracle and Amazon. During this period, hotel demand (and subsequently hotel supply) expanded rapidly, kickstarted by the opening of the Music City Center convention facility in 2013. Through 2019, Nashville hotel occupancy levels soared, and developers were unable to build hotels fast enough to keep up with demand.
Barcelona, the capital of Spain’s Catalonia region, is famed for its distinctive architecture, rich cultural heritage and vibrant atmosphere. In 2024, Catalonia outpaced the national economy with a 3.6% growth in GDP (compared to Spain’s 3.2%) with tourism remaining a key driver, contributing around 14.0% of Barcelona’s GDP.
The Algarve is one of Portugal’s most popular tourist regions, accounting for approximately 30% of overnight stays in the country. Known for its mild climate and 3,000 hours of sunshine annually, it first rose to prominence in the 1960s as an upscale alternative to the Mediterranean. Today, it remains a favourite for retirees and second-home buyers from Northern Europe. The region is also considered one of the world’s leading golf destinations, hosting 31 of Portugal’s 75 golf courses. Strict development controls have preserved much of the coastline, distinguishing it from other overdeveloped European resorts.
There is no doubt the White Lotus series will bring in a small boom for Thailand and an even bigger boom for the hoteliers of Ko Samui island. The Four Seasons hotel chain, which hosted all three seasons of the White Lotus series, has done a spectacular job in marketing their properties through the power of entertainment.