Aroundtown leases two hotels at Berlin’s Alexanderplatz to Leonardo Hotels for 20 years
Aroundtown signed 20-year leases with Leonardo Hotels for two Berlin Alexanderplatz properties totaling 624 rooms, rebranded from the former H2 and H4 hotels.
News
Restaurant Staff Scheduling: What to Consider Before Choosing Software
An operational guide for restaurant managers on diagnosing scheduling problems before selecting software, drawing on NRA 2025 data, turnover cost benchmarks, and skills-based scheduling research.
By Paulina Schmidt, Food and Beverage Copywriting Specialist, EHL
The IKEA experience: when great bundling gone rogue
Using an IKEA pricing mishap as a case study, a revenue manager argues hotels should sell bundles as unified value propositions without exposing internal component allocations.
By Fabian Bartnick, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer, PerfectCheck
New Research Reveals Travelers Are Two Years Ahead of the Travel Industry on AI
A four-party study finds 54% of travelers already use AI for trip planning, yet only 22% of DMOs offer AI capabilities, with 72% of DMO leaders warning that laggards risk irrelevance within two years.
Building Boutique Efficiency: How a Smart, Cohesive Tech Ecosystem Improves Property Performance & Guest Experience
The article argues boutique hotels should build integrated tech ecosystems rather than deploying piecemeal solutions, using connectivity, access control, and energy management as a unified foundation for operational efficiency.
By Speleos Dravillas, Chief Revenue Officer, Nomadix Inc.
Six steps between a lead and a group booking
Knowland's six-step guide covers account qualification, competitive analysis, personalized outreach, and tracking to help hotel sales teams convert group leads into bookings without adding headcount.
The Only Person Who Knows What AI Got Wrong Is at the Front Desk, Humans-as-Luxury Opens Rome Future Week, 30 Years at the Wickaninnish Inn
Wednesday brought hospitality.today's argument that the front desk agent at check-in is the only person in the hotel who knows the gap between what AI told the guest and what they found, Simone Puorto's Humans-as-Luxury thesis opening Rome Future Week, and Charles McDiarmid of the Wickaninnish Inn on three decades of storm watching, Relais & Châteaux, and leading sustainability across 580 properties. A $90B GCC and North Africa pipeline, revenue management's 2026 maturity check, and a record nine-property day rounded out the session.
My Place Hotels Relaunches Trend by My Place at 2026 Convention
My Place Hotels relaunched Trend by My Place at its 2026 Miami convention as a three-tier franchise platform targeting independent owners and conversion candidates seeking national distribution without heavy capital requirements.
US$90 Billion Hotel Pipeline Set to Expand GCC and North Africa Room Supply by 27 Percent
HVS data shows 200,000 rooms worth $90B in the GCC and North Africa pipeline, with Saudi Arabia leading at 110,000 rooms and over 55% of supply due by 2030.
Static vs dynamic pricing: What’s the best pricing strategy?
An explainer comparing static and dynamic hotel pricing strategies, with dynamic pricing tools starting at €100/month and delivering an average RevPAR increase of 21% for independent hotels.
By Daniel Foreman, Commercial Strategist, Lighthouse
Minor Hotels and Grupo Petra Expand Partnership in Paraguay, Announce New NH Hotel in Asunción
Minor Hotels and Grupo Petra signed two agreements in Madrid: a strategic partnership to develop NH, NH Collection, and Tivoli hotels across Paraguay, plus a management contract for a 116-room NH hotel in Asunción due in late 2029.
The Customer Is Always Right … and Five Other Lies
Six widely used customer service mantras are reframed, arguing that loyalty beats satisfaction, consistency beats "above and beyond," and employee-first culture drives better guest outcomes.
By Shep Hyken, Customer Service and Experience Expert, Keynote Speaker and Bestselling Author, Shepard Presentations, LLC.
Why Hotel Digital Merchandising Is Changing What It Means to Sell a Room
Amadeus SVP Javier Campo argues that attribute-based selling can close hotels' ancillary revenue gap versus airlines, but only if PMS, CRS, CRM, and operations are tightly coordinated to fulfill the digital promise.
Florencia Cueto Pedrotti, Director, Global Engagement & Sales Enablement, Shiji
IHG accelerates Malaysia Expansion with Debut of Garner Hotels and Franchise Model
IHG signs a two-hotel franchise deal in Malaysia, introducing the Garner brand and its franchise model to the country, with properties in Kota Kinabalu and Tawau opening between 2027 and 2029.
How Beaumier Uses Canary Technologies to Elevate the Guest Experience
Beaumier deployed Canary Technologies across its European portfolio to digitize mobile check-in, automate deposit payments, and capture OTA guest data to drive repeat bookings.
What Is RevPAR? Revenue per Available Room Explained
A practical guide to calculating RevPAR, interpreting the RevPAR index against competitive sets, and pairing the metric with GOPPAR and TRevPAR for a fuller view of hotel performance.
By Abigail Ward, Digital Communication Consultant, EHL
North American Appetite for International Travel Holds Strong Despite Growing Pressures
MMGY's 2026 survey of 2,518 North American travelers finds U.S. international spend dropping to $11,808 while Canadian spend rises to $8,800, with safety now outranking cost as the top travel barrier.
AAHOA Brings Hotel Owners to Capitol Hill to Advance Key Hospitality Priorities
AAHOA members held hundreds of Capitol Hill meetings during their 2026 National Leadership Advocacy Conference, pushing for expanded SBA loan limits, franchise protections, and credit card competition reform.
Charles McDiarmid of the Wickaninnish Inn on Storm Watching, Sustainability, and What It Really Means to Be a Relais & Châteaux Member
Charles McDiarmid shares 30 years of lessons from building the Wickaninnish Inn in Tofino, BC, covering Relais & Châteaux membership, storm watching as a destination concept, and leading sustainability across 580 hotels and restaurants.
Rome Future Week Opens with Simone Puorto’s “Humans-As-Luxury”: A Debate on Human Connection in the Age of AI
Simone Puorto's "Humans-as-Luxury" thesis argues that as AI automates hospitality operations, genuine human interaction will become scarce, economically valuable, and a defining luxury differentiator.