In one of the most significant real estate milestones in the region over the past decade, Sofitel, the renowned French luxury hotel brand and part of Accor, announces the launch of its first branded residences in Argentina: Sofitel Residences Buenos Aires Madero.
Yasemin Oruc argues that luxury hospitality is uniquely positioned to lead a shift from “doing less harm” to regenerative, net-positive impact, treating hospitality as a living system embedded in people and place. This article explores how regenerative hospitality turns experiences into co-created, transformative journeys that support personal well-being while restoring ecosystems and communities. Luxury hotels, with their resources and cultural influence, can act as pioneers and prototypes for this regenerative way of life.
Jonathan Normand frames regeneration as the only viable path for hospitality in a world of ecological overshoot and collapsing trust, arguing that sustainability alone is no longer enough. It introduces the 7C Leadership Compass as a practical, deeply human guide for leaders who want to align business success with the long-term wellbeing of people, places, and the planet, and positions Moral Ambition plus cross-industry coalitions as the engine of real, regenerative change.
Mexican firm Grupo Imobiliario GFA, internationally recognized for setting new standards in high-end real estate development, and global hospitality leader Hilton (NYSE: HLT) today announces the signing of Waldorf Astoria Residences Guadalajara (The Residences). Expected to deliver in Winter 2029, this milestone project marks the debut of the first Waldorf Astoria standalone branded residence in Mexico and the Caribbean and Latin America and exemplifies the continued growth of the Waldorf Astoria residential portfolio globally.
IHG plans to nearly double its Mexico growth pace with 62 hotels in development, building on its current 187 properties and 5th largest global market position.
Maribel Esparcia Pérez argues that hospitality asset management must move beyond extractive, short-term models toward regenerative, resilient systems that account for climate risk, ecosystem health, and community wellbeing. Using examples like Casa Leonardo and Coron Natural Farms, she shows how regenerative practices can protect asset value, strengthen local resilience, and align with emerging financial and regulatory frameworks.
O’Shannon Burns argues that regeneration in hospitality is not a new label for sustainability or a framework to “roll out,” but an emergent, place-based practice grounded in relationships between people, land, culture, and more-than-human life. Drawing on global regenerative futures research, the article outlines four key orientations and challenges hospitality leaders to move from aspirational impact language toward honest accountability and structural change.
Starting from her own skepticism, Dr Natasha Montesalvo explores where regenerative tourism is already moving from rhetoric to reality, highlighting destinations and hotels that build regeneration into governance, design, and operations from day one. Through examples like Red Sea Global, Capella Ubud, Maroma and TTNQ’s Reforest partnership, she shows that measurable positive impact on ecosystems and communities is possible – but only when strong policy, thoughtful design, and long-term performance tracking replace vague “do good” intentions.
February 2026 RevPAR hit BRL 1,050.78, up 48% year-over-year, with peak Sunday performance reaching BRL 2,491.14 RevPAR and 93.7% occupancy.
Using Camiguin Island in the Philippines as a living laboratory, Mahe Besson explores regenerative tourism through the metaphor of acupuncture: small, precise interventions that unlock a destination’s own capacity to heal. Rather than rebuilding systems from scratch, she argues for carefully chosen “acupuncture points” such as teaching resorts, youth ocean programs, and co-created (un)Summits that let local ecosystems and communities regain their flow.
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.