Choice Hotels appoints CVS Health's Ali Keshavarz, a data and AI expert with McKinsey and Aetna backgrounds, to its board to support AI-driven growth across its franchise portfolio.
We didn't go to HITEC 2026 for the demos. We went for the conversations. We sat down with exhibitors right there on the show floor. No script, no prepared questions, just one starting point: tell us what you do, in plain language. This is where it went with Tanya Pratt, Global Vice President of Strategy and Product Management at Oracle Hospitality.
Vassilis Syropoulos argues that before hospitality can benefit from agentic AI, it needs to solve a problem most organizations are actively avoiding: the data foundation underneath it. Using the Prometheus metaphor to frame both the promise and the danger, he maps a four-quadrant framework that shows why clean data without hospitality context is still dangerous, and why trust — earned incrementally, proven on the record — is the only legitimate path to autonomous action.
A new gateway to the dramatic North Atlantic has opened. Today, the Faroe Islands' newest resort hotel, KG, welcomes its first guests in the town of Klaksvík. KG becomes a new landmark in one of the world's most remote destinations, leading with nature-centric design, hyperlocal dining and ocean-inspired wellness.
Rotana is pleased to announce the signing of Gudauri Ski Resort, the group's first ski resort and a milestone that introduces an entirely new category of hospitality to its global portfolio.
Survey of 1,250 APAC travel professionals finds 65% expect demand growth over the next 2-3 years, with India and Australia most confident, but payment complexity, legacy systems, and content gaps risk slowing momentum.
A practical guide for independent hoteliers explaining AI booking discovery, hallucination risks, GEO, and how connectivity to AI platforms determines whether bookings land direct or via OTAs.
A conference recap from HSMAI 2026 in San Antonio covering four recurring themes: resilient consumer spending, commercial team alignment, AI-driven hotel discovery, and the return to hospitality fundamentals.
Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) ,India’s largest hospitality company, today announced the opening of Ginger Gadchiroli, Mul Road.
Minor Hotels, a global hospitality leader with more than 640 properties in operation and under development across 66 countries, announces the signing of NH Collection Innsbruck Grand Hotel Europa, a landmark hotel in the heart of Innsbruck, one of Austria’s leading destinations for both leisure and business travel.
AI is not replacing search but expanding it, and hoteliers must adapt by optimizing for conversational queries, structured data, and AI-driven recommendation engines alongside traditional SEO.
WTTC and UNEP signed an MoU running through June 2028, committing to joint action on circular economy, plastic pollution, food waste, and biodiversity across the global travel and tourism sector.
STR analysis finds credit utilization and income band data outperform GDP and inflation as demand predictors for luxury and economy hotel segments, pointing to increasingly fragmented demand drivers by chain scale.
Major chains have built AI tools to defend direct booking conversions, but the discovery journey now starts on ChatGPT and Google AI, platforms brands cannot see, measure, or control.
Reflections from HITEC 2026 show hoteliers are not seeking more technology but simpler, better-connected systems backed by partners who reduce complexity and stay engaged post-implementation.
Pinellas County's beachfront hotel market is rebounding from 2024 hurricane damage with multiple property reopenings, luxury brand additions including two Marriott projects, and a growing development pipeline signaling long-term investor confidence.
Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H), in collaboration with HSL Properties and Desert Hospitality Management, today announced plans for the debut of Hyatt Regency Tucson Convention Center, expected to open in late 2027. The hotel will mark the first Hyatt Regency-branded property in Tucson and further strengthen Hyatt's brand presence in Southern Arizona.
The Wellness Tourism Association launched Six Principles for Responsible Retreats, the first global framework for retreat industry standards, as the market heads toward $363.9 billion by 2032.
The new Leonardo Smart brand is celebrating its première following the acquisition and opening of the Leonardo Smart Vienna Airport. The hotel is the first to operate under this new brand concept and establishes an important strategic milestone for Leonardo Hotels Central Europe. The opening also strengthens the group’s presence in Austria because it now grows the Leonardo portfolio to five hotels in Vienna and to a total of nine hotels and two master apartments across the country as a whole.
CHLAHF awarded $160,000+ in scholarships to 97 students across 18 California colleges, with recipients to be honored at a gala on November 5, 2026, at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel Spa.