CHTA has commissioned FIU's Chaplin School to conduct a six-month, multi-destination study quantifying tourism demand, economic leakages, and local sourcing opportunities across at least six Caribbean jurisdictions.
Dragonfly Strategists CEO Caryl Helsel argues independent hotels should prioritize intuitive, connected technology that reduces screen time and frees staff to deliver genuine hospitality.
Meliá Hotels International continues to strengthen the international growth of its luxury portfolio with the signing of a new The Meliá Collection hotel in Lerici, a timeless seaside destination on Italy’s enchanting Gulf of Poets. Scheduled to open within 24 months under a franchise agreement with SoGes Group, the property will mark the company’s first hotel in the Ligurian Riviera and become its 18th hotel in Italy.
IHG Hotels & Resorts, one of the world’s leading hospitality companies, has signed a franchise agreement with Morina Development & Investment Co. LLC to introduce Cantonal Hotel Riyadh Noted Collection by IHG to the Kingdom. The signing marks the first Noted Collection hotel in the Middle East and a significant milestone for IHG’s premium collection brand, bringing a distinctive conversion-led proposition to one of the company’s most dynamic growth markets.
Reuben Brothers and Three Rules Capital received approval for Esencia, a $2B+ master-planned resort on Puerto Rico's southwest coast featuring Mandarin Oriental and Rosewood hotels, 1,200 residences, and a first opening targeted for late 2029.
The World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance announced its Global Summit in Paris (8-9 Dec 2026), covering climate risk, AI, CSRD compliance, and net-positive business strategy for its 66,000+ hotel network.
From zero-waste nose-to-tail menus to AI-assisted waste tracking, hotel chefs are emerging as key sustainability operators, cutting food costs while reducing carbon and landfill impact.
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.
Five-star resort and member of The Leading Hotels of the World, Carlisle Bay Antigua is continuing its multimillion-dollar renovation with the second phase set to debut in October 2026. Building on the successful launch of Phase One in October 2025, which introduced fully renovated Ocean, Bay and Garden Suites designed by London-based designer Miminat Shodeinde of Miminat Designs, the next stage of the transformation will unveil newly reimagined Carlisle Suites and twenty Beach Suites now known as Signature Beach Suites. The second stage will be co-led by Shodeinde alongside Cara Doherty, part of the ownership group of Carlisle Bay.
Four transactions across Singapore, South Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong total hundreds of millions in deal value, spanning acquisitions, a planned hotel redevelopment, and a serviced apartment sale.
Three Little Bears Retreat, a privately owned 65+ acre wilderness retreat with elevated cabins and lodges that boarders the Great Smoky Mountains Park, is now open, ushering in a new model of mountain travel with an ambitious vision: to create the type of destination long associated with Africa’s safari lodges, Alaska’s wilderness fishing lodges and the grand National Park Lodges of the American West, reimagined for America’s most visited National Park.
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.
A vendor-authored comparison of five team chat apps evaluating data ownership, access control, and location separation for hospitality businesses managing multiple properties.
Tuesday brought STR and Tourism Economics raising the 2026 U.S. RevPAR forecast to 4.4% on World Cup premiums while USTA, A4A, and AHLA jointly warned Congress a September shutdown could cost $1 billion weekly and disrupt six million travelers, a World Panel viewpoint on why hospitality must move from double to triple materiality in sustainability reporting, and Milestone's six-stage framework for winning the AI hotel recommendation layer from discovery through agentic booking. APAC's divergent H1 results, after-hours booking loss, and four property announcements rounded out the session.
The World Sustainable Travel Hospitality Awards opens entries for its third annual programme, with 22 categories aligned to the UN SDGs and a gala ceremony set for Paris on 9 December 2026.
HotStats H1 2026 data shows positive TRevPAR and GOPPAR growth across Japan, Singapore, Australia, and Southeast Asia, but aggregate figures mask significant divergence between markets.
Mandarin Oriental's 25-year-old Fan Campaign returns with pianist Yuja Wang and DJ Charlotte de Witte, translating their personal performance rituals into two new exclusive guest experiences launching August 4, 2026.
Minor Hotels, a leading global hotel owner and operator, has announced Avani Kota Kinabalu, a 352-key premium lifestyle hotel set to open in Q1 2027. Forming part of The Logg Luyang integrated development by KTI Landmark, the property will introduce the Avani brand to Sabah and expand Minor Hotels’ presence in Malaysia.
STR and Tourism Economics raise 2026 U.S. RevPAR growth to +4.4%, boosted by World Cup premiums, with 2027 growth moderating to +2.1% amid macroeconomic normalization.
USTA, A4A, and AHLA jointly urge Congress to pass a continuing resolution before Sept. 30, warning a shutdown could disrupt 6M+ travelers, delay 9,000+ flights, and cost $1B per week.