A Canary Technologies survey found 70% of non-tippers would have tipped with a digital option, making NFC-enabled tipping a case for boosting valet earnings, morale, and retention.
A strategic guide for hotel management companies on deploying AI across multi-property portfolios, addressing standardization, sequencing, and governance challenges that single-property operators never face.
Officials of the 523-room Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor at Camden Yards today announced the completion of the first phase of a two-part, multi-million dollar, property-wide renovation. Phase one included fully upgrading and enhancing all guest rooms and the concierge level. Phase two, which will include upgrading the lobby, restaurant and meeting spaces, is expected to commence in Q1 2027. Operated by HEI Hotels & Resorts, a leading hospitality investment and management company, and owned by SC Baltimore Hotel LLC, a New York-based hotel development firm, the hotel has been redesigned to provide the latest technological features and amenities most requested by today’s business and leisure travelers.
The AHLA Foundation's NRFT Survivor Fund hit a $10M milestone, with nearly 30% more grants awarded in 2026 to 16 organizations nationwide combating human trafficking.
Expedia Group acquired Layla, an AI-native conversational travel planning platform founded in 2023, to accelerate personalized trip discovery and booking at scale.
Radisson Hotel Group launches Long Stays by Radisson Hotels, a B2B extended-stay proposition with tiered pricing, standardized booking conditions, and aligned commissions targeting relocation firms, TMCs, and corporate buyers.
Grand Cayman Marriott Resort is entering a new chapter as it restores its beachfront and introduces a series of enhancements designed to elevate the guest experience along the island's most celebrated coastline.
Treasure Island TI Las Vegas Hotel – Handwritten Collection officially opens its doors this week under Handwritten Collection, a portfolio of bespoke hotels from Accor that celebrate authentic stories, passionate hosts and individuality. Inspired by the idea that every hotel has a unique story to tell, Handwritten Collection preserves the original character of each address while connecting it to Accor's global hospitality ecosystem. As part of the portfolio, the hotel now benefits from the company's global distribution platform and loyalty program, ALL Accor, while remaining true to the story that has defined the resort for more than three decades.
The Pinnacle Jamaica is an exclusive luxury residential lifestyle estate developed by LCH Developments and Ennismore, a joint venture with Accor, offering a unique living experience that is both architecturally distinctive and authentically rooted.
GBTA's 2026 BTI report projects global business travel spending will hit $1.71 trillion, with trip volume growing just 1.3% versus 7.2% spending growth, reflecting rising transportation costs.
White Lodging will break ground this month on a new Autograph Collection® hotel in Charlotte’s South End neighborhood, marking the company’s fifth Autograph property in its national portfolio of more than 60 hotels. Situated at South Tryon Street and Bland Street – at the heart of Charlotte’s fastest-growing mixed-use corridors – the project is the first full-service lifestyle hotel in South End and underscores White Lodging’s long-term commitment to Charlotte as a priority growth market.
After more than 35 years in hotel leadership, I've seen our industry evolve through major technological shifts. I began my career as one of the youngest leaders in the hotel, and today I'm often the person with the deepest institutional knowledge and operational experience.
My first honest lesson with AI was this: the technology was never the hard part. The people were. Our earliest AI applications were practical — sentiment analysis and review response support, demand forecasting tools, and pre-arrival personalization.
As a General Manager, my biggest learning has been that AI is not a replacement for hospitality—it is an enabler of better hospitality.Our first steps with AI focused on improving productivity rather than replacing people. We have used AI to support content creation, communication, brainstorming, data analysis, guest feedback summarisation and operational planning.
Hilton (NYSE: HLT) has opened Canopy Bangkok Sukhumvit, marking the debut of its lifestyle brand, Canopy Hotels, in South East Asia. Set in Bangkok’s vibrant Asoke neighborhood, the hotel brings together public spaces by award-winning interior design studio AvroKO, four distinctive dining concepts and city-curated experiences that reflect Bangkok’s layered character and creative energy. The opening represents another milestone in Hilton’s expanding lifestyle portfolio across Asia Pacific.
A 2026 Amadeus report found 69% of travelers trust AI summaries enough to book without further research, making AI discoverability the top demand strategy cited by hotel GMs.
Monday opened August with Americas Great Resorts' single-day audit finding five hotels capturing half of all AI recommendation slots across six US luxury markets, a demolished Miami hotel still being recommended 108 days after implosion, and a sharp analysis of agentic booking's unresolved commission question across three competing models. Hyatt Q2 results showed RevPAR up 5.9%, Greek hotel revenue up 10.1%, and Wynn Palace securing approval for a USD 900M-plus Macau expansion.
The GBTA Foundation's inaugural Gala at Chicago's Field Museum honored leaders in sustainable and inclusive business travel, raised $83,250 for student career scholarships, and announced 2026 Impact Award winners.
A roundtable podcast covering staff wellbeing, career development, and regional collaboration in Kent hospitality, featuring voices from Champneys Eastwell Manor, HOSPA, and Hospitality Action.
A single-day audit of 824 AI hotel recommendations across six US luxury markets found just 23 properties captured half of all slots, and a demolished Miami hotel was still being recommended 108 days after implosion.
A hospitality operations professional argues that hotels over-index on outcome metrics like RevPAR and satisfaction scores, missing earlier signals of operational drift that experienced managers can see but systems cannot.
Hard Rock Hotel Cancun and Hard Rock Hotel Vallarta will pause operations in summer 2026 for a full renovation, reopening late December 2026 with upgraded rooms, public spaces, and new music memorabilia collections.