Following the global spotlight of COP30, Tivoli Hotels & Resorts continues its Brazilian expansion with the opening of Tivoli Maiorana Belém. This landmark property marks the brand’s first venture into Northern Brazil and its third in the country, joining established icons in São Paulo and Bahia.
David Leventhal challenges tourism’s “growth is always good” mindset, arguing that low-density, values-driven, regenerative hospitality can deliver both better guest experiences and stronger profitability. He explains how Playa Viva optimises resources, rebuilds degraded landscapes, involves local communities, and experiments with inclusive pricing models, while also tackling tough questions on aviation emissions, greenwashing, and how to scale without becoming extractive.
Regenerative hospitality reframes hotels from standalone assets into locally embedded infrastructures that strengthen ecosystems, communities, and destination resilience. Diane Binder argues that the real shift is from “doing less harm” to actively serving place – with independent and franchised hotels acting as catalysts for land restoration, cultural vitality, and shared prosperity, supported by new governance, measurement, and blended finance models.
Yves Carnazzola argues that the real shift facing hospitality is not from sustainability to regeneration as competing trends, but from seeing hospitality as an industry managing impacts to seeing it as a participant in living systems. Regeneration is framed as a reorientation of purpose: from efficiency and control to coherence, shared responsibility, and place vitality, supported by new governance, financing, and accountability structures.
Amanda Ho argues that sustainability, while valuable, is no longer enough for a hospitality industry facing climate instability, biodiversity loss, and social inequity. Regeneration is proposed as a deeper, place-based paradigm that asks a fundamental question: “What is this place asking of us?” Instead of treating hotels as isolated assets, it frames them as actors within living systems of community, culture, and ecology, illustrated through examples like Fogo Island Inn, Basata Eco-Lodge, and African Bush Camps.
Hilton plans to double its Brazil portfolio to nearly 60 hotels by 2030, with major expansion into new markets including Manaus, Natal, and airport locations.
Sofitel, a pioneer of French luxury hospitality since 1964, announces the transformation of Sofitel Rio de Janeiro Ipanema into the brand's first flagship hotel in Brazil. With its inauguration scheduled for end of 2026, the hotel will emerge as a renewed icon on Ipanema Beach, offering 172 rooms and suites and a bold expression of Sofitel's contemporary vision of luxury hospitality.
Professor Michail Toanoglou argues that hospitality must move beyond “low-impact” sustainability toward regenerative hospitality that actively strengthens the vitality of places: their ecosystems, cultures, communities, and economies. He lays out a new value architecture and six executive priorities for hotel leaders to embed systems thinking and place-based reciprocity into strategy.
Hotels are better positioned for the AI era than most people think. They own something no LLM can replicate: years of proprietary guest data and a direct relationship with the customer. That's a genuine competitive moat, and agentic AI is finally what turns it into action.
The takeaway that stays with me isn't about any single technology. It's about what AI can actually do to change the way we experience travel.An example of this was the live demo I gave on stage to change my own flight home - not by calling a helpdesk, not by navigating an app - but by having a natural conversation with an AI agent that handled everything live: rebooking, seat, baggage, transfer all in one simple phone call.The audience went quiet for a moment.
What stood out to me most at ITB Berlin this year was how much the conversation around AI has shifted from theory to real, everyday use. Hoteliers and operators are no longer asking whether AI matters, but where it can make the biggest difference for guests and teams right now.
Glenn Mandziuk argues that hospitality must evolve from “doing less harm” to actively regenerating the ecosystems and communities it depends on. Building on the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance’s Pathway to Net Positive Hospitality and shared data platforms like Vera-FY, he calls for accountable, place-based leadership and cross-industry collaboration that leaves destinations measurably better than we found them.
Dominic Paul Dubois argues that truly regenerative hospitality is a journey, not a label you can jump to because the word is fashionable. Using a luxury alpine resort as an example, it outlines three non-negotiable “inner development” stages, showing how each step must be in place before a property can credibly claim to benefit its community and environment more than it harms them.
Martim Gois argues that hospitality has a “fourth pillar” of sustainability it has mostly ignored: pesticide use, especially neonicotinoids applied in guest rooms to control bed bugs. As regulators, certifiers, and major buyers begin to recognise the massive biodiversity and health impacts of these chemicals, the industry is shifting from reactive, chemical-heavy pest control to prevention-based, pesticide-free systems, positioning pesticide elimination as a concrete, non-negotiable step toward truly regenerative hospitality.
The final phase of Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal's multi-year property-wide transformation is officially complete. The extensive renovation showcases the hotel’s commitment to delivering redefined accommodations and on-property experiences to both new guests and those who have called Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal “home” since its inception.
Adam and Bumjoo Maclennan argue that food & beverage is not a low-margin nuisance but the beating heart – and biggest lever – of regenerative hospitality. By shifting sourcing toward regenerative agriculture, empowering chefs as tastemakers, and designing menus that prioritise soil health, biodiversity, and zero waste, hotels can turn every meal into a catalyst for healthier ecosystems, communities, and guests.
Architect Francesco Allaix argues that in a world where six of nine planetary boundaries are already exceeded, sustainability alone is no longer enough – and even leading pioneers like Patagonia admit that “nothing we do is sustainable.” Drawing on regenerative principles, Doughnut Economics, and Studio Puisto projects in Lapland and Cyprus, he shows how adaptive reuse, ecosystem restoration, and data-driven design can nudge hospitality away from extractive models toward more regenerative practice, even if perfection remains out of reach.
Carlos Martin-Rios reframes foodservice as a powerful lever for regeneration, shifting the focus from “less harm” to actively improving soil health, water cycles, biodiversity, and community resilience. He shows how procurement, menu design, pricing, and kitchen operations can be redesigned around regenerative agriculture and outcome-based measurement, turning restaurants and hotels into stewards of living food systems rather than endpoints of an extractive chain.
Graeme Labe and Micayla Freeman argue that regenerative hospitality demands a fundamental shift in how designers see their role: from minimising impact to actively strengthening the living systems of place. Through examples from South Africa and Mexico, it shows how context-responsive architecture, local materials, and craft-based renewal can tie guest experience to long-term stewardship rather than one-off “sustainable” gestures.
Manuel Maqueda argues that “regenerative” hospitality is meaningless – and often pure greenwashing – if it is built on a linear “take–make–waste” model. He outlines a three-step journey from efficiency (doing things right) to circularity (designing out waste and toxicity) to true regeneration (actively restoring ecosystems and communities), warning that you cannot skip the circular step and still claim to heal.
Martin Hohn reflects on a personal journey from traditional hospitality management toward regeneration, arguing that sustainability has been diluted and cannot succeed as long as infinite economic growth clashes with planetary boundaries. Regeneration is framed not as a technological fix but as a social and mindset shift: a place-based, whole-systems approach that reconnects hospitality with life, community, and ecosystem health.
Nicola Gryczka Kirsch argues that regenerative hospitality is no longer an abstract ideal but a lived reality in places like Ibiti Projeto in Brazil, where tourism is designed as infrastructure for land restoration, community vitality, and long-term stewardship. Using the Lausanne Manifesto for Regenerative Hospitality as a compass, it shows how shifting mindsets, systems thinking and co-creation can turn hotels from extractive businesses into catalysts for thriving territories.