A bold new chapter in Caribbean hospitality begins with the opening of Ordovician Beach Resort, a 47-room luxury retreat located on Isla Grande within Portobelo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Overlooking Panama's northern Caribbean coast, the newly reimagined resort blends elevated design with environmental sustainability and a deep commitment to community.
Minor Hotels, a global hotel owner and operator with over 640 properties across 57 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, Europe, the Americas, Africa, and the Indian Ocean, has officially opened its first hotel in Peru as part of its regional expansion plans. nhow Lima opened on 1 August and is set to transform the city's accommodation, gastronomy, and entertainment scene with its disruptive and innovative approach.
As Live Aqua celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2025, the brand is ushering in a bold new chapter of luxury hospitality with the introduction of Devossion by Live Aqua - a spirited, adults-only, all-inclusive resort designed around connection, celebration, and unforgettable experiences. With its Grand Opening in October 2025, Devossion will transform an iconic beachfront property into Mexico's most engaging adults-only destination.
Four Seasons Hotel Buenos Aires announces the completion of a meticulous restoration and enhancement project of La Mansión Álzaga Unzué, an architectural jewel declared a Cultural Heritage Site of the City of Buenos Aires and a symbol of the city's history.
In the past, legacy technologies in hospitality used to be closed systems, reluctant to open up to third-party integrations, applications and solutions. This type of technology prevented property and its guests from adopting some very innovative and much-needed applications and services.
According to HotelMarketingWorks.com, most hotels allocate between 4-8% of their total revenue for marketing activities. New hotels: 10% of projected revenue Established properties: 4-6% of actual revenue Luxury hotels: Up to 8% of revenue Seasonal adjustments are also recommended as follows: High Season: Increase budget by 20-30% Shoulder Season: Maintain regular budget Low Season: Reduce budget by 20-30% or redirect to advance bookings
The question of what percentage of total revenue should hoteliers be spending on marketing should not be answered by comparing with OTA, but rather by looking at product lifecycle and corporate goals. By product lifecycle, we mean where the hotel is standing in terms of lifetime existence: launching stage, early growth, maturity, descaling or declining?
We are seeing a clear and growing commitment from major hotel groups, such as Ascott, Mandarin Oriental, Best Western Hotels, Barcelo, and others, that are continuing to advance their sustainability agendas, regardless of regulatory pressure. These companies understand that sustainability is no longer a trend or a nice-to-have; it's a business imperative.
By JoAnna Abrams, CEO and Andrea Foster, EVP Development-Hospitality for MindClick
The delay to the CSRD may offer temporary regulatory breathing space, but it also exposes a deeper truth: sustainability in hospitality and tourism cannot and must not be contingent on government stipulations. If our industry's environmental strategy remains reactive, led only by legal obligation, we risk falling behind both planetary urgency, public expectation and YES, opportunities for regenerative profitability that impact not only our businesses but the local society and environment.
“Facing sustainability deprioritization?” I think the concern is justified since a large section of the hospitality sector has traditionally operated on a ‘compliance-first’ approach when it comes down to sustainability commitments.
The delay to the CSRD may offer temporary regulatory breathing space, but it highlights a deeper truth: sustainability in hospitality and tourism must not depend solely on government mandates. If our industry remains reactive, driven only by compliance, we risk falling environmentally, socially, and economically behind.
Indeed, there is a real risk that goals driven by political ambition, political agenda in the best sense of the word, may be deprioritised. I recently wrote a piece titled "Where Do We Stand Now?" to better understand the current state of play.
We are already witnessing the emergence of the Personal AI Agents. ChatGPT Operator, Google Gemini AI Agent, Microsoft Copilot AI Agent, Claude AI Agent, etc. are already a fact and their travel research, planning and booking capabilities are growing by the minute.
In my writings over the past decade, I have frequently returned to the notion that artificial intelligence is not merely an additional layer in the technological stack, but rather a reconfiguration of the Internet's ontological architecture. It redefines not only how we book, but also how we come to know, how we choose, and ultimately how we experience. AI is not simply the new interface, it is the new epistemology.
This is a crucial discussion for anyone serious about the future of hospitality. The reality is clear: with advanced AI coming to the forefront, both the way guests engage with hotels online and the technology behind those interactions are fundamentally changing.
About 18 months ago, some people on LinkedIn touted that Conversational Interfaces would kill off websites. Current status? Tumbleweed. Visuals sell things, text supports. Websites enable owners to portray their brand and products/services as they see fit.
The rapid advancement of AI, especially agentic technologies, is fundamentally changing hotel distribution and guest engagement. Recent data shows that only about 25% of AI-generated hotel information now comes from hotel websites; the rest is sourced from OTAs, public databases, and proprietary data.
I don't believe AI will make hotel websites obsolete. If we learn anything from the past, every obstacle creates opportunity. Technology's direction isn't a single script; there are multiple paths and approaches. Where a problem needs to be solved, a tool will emerge to solve it.
Seamless Data: The Truth About Why Your Organization Isn't There Yet In the dynamic landscape of hospitality, the growing momentum towards unified hotel technology and seamless data flow across departments and guest touchpoints is undeniable.
The idea of crafting experiences around a centralized, real-time guest profile represents more than a technical upgrade; it signals a paradigm shift. We are moving from an analog conception of hospitality to a computational one, where data no longer serves the experience but is the experience.
Mexico Grand Hotels is set to redefine the Cabo San Lucas boutique scene with the highly anticipated debut of Kadún, a 110-room retreat opening in October 2025 just steps from El Médano Beach and the iconic Cabo Marina. Offering a soulful blend of heritage, design, and barefoot elegance, Kadún invites travelers to experience Baja California Sur through a more intimate, grounded lens.
The rumors about the inevitable end of the "traditional" search engines like Google at the hands of AI Search are highly exaggerated. According to latest data by SEMrush, based on the last 12 months, people interact with search engines 34 TIMES more often than with AI search.
This is ongoing learning, as LLMs continue to learn. But GEO is built on top of SEO. It has to get its knowledge from somewhere. It means UCG (ie reviews) is more important, specific content is more important and understanding your target market is more important.
I work with many hoteliers and when it comes to the topic of online discovery, the first question I ask is: have you tried to search for your property, or lodging in your area, on different AI tools lately? It's quite surprising how so few have done it.
The speed of change is extraordinary! This rapid shift to AI summaries and conversational search marks a critical turning point for hotel content. Simple keyword-stuffing is ending; AI thrives on deep context and relationships, not raw data.
Marriott International, Inc. announced the signing of seven City Express by Marriott hotels in Brazil with FÁBRICA DE HOTÉIS marking the brand's anticipated debut in the country. This milestone is part of a broader multi-unit development agreement to open 30 City Express by Marriott properties across Brazil's Northeast region over the next 15 years.
A collection of locally rooted boutique hotels across Mexico, Namron Hospitality has announced the opening of a new hotel in Oaxaca, marking the brand's expansion onto Mexico's southern Pacific coast. Casa Yatí is now open, offering a serene and luxurious coastal sanctuary that invites guests to slow down and connect with the ocean and the sun, and surrender to the awe-inspiring nature that surrounds the new bespoke property.