Sue Decker will not seek reelection at Vail Resorts' 2026 Annual Meeting after 11 years, with the board shrinking to nine members before a new independent director search targets a return to ten in early 2027.
David Lund partners with BCHA for a six-session online course covering hotel P&L, budgeting, labor costs, and the financial mindset shift from department head to GM, running September–October 2025.
A fully automated hotel is not the future of hospitality. It is a different product category entirely and comparing the two does a disservice to both. The self checkout analogy is bit construed in my opinion. Self-checkout did not evolve retail.
As a hotel General Manager, I see the human-free hotel as an evolution in efficiency, but not a replacement for hospitality. Automation can significantly improve the guest journey by streamlining check-in, room access, payments, and routine service requests.
I have no problem with hotels using more technology. Guest apps, keyless entry and digital check-in can make things easier for guests and save my team a lot of repetitive work.But a hotel with no people involved in the guest journey is different.
BLLA has themed its 17th Boutique Hotel Owners Conference around the "Age of Wonder," scheduled for October 19-20 at Westlake Village Inn in Southern California.
HSMAI is accepting nominations through September 30 for the Gilbert Award for career achievement and the Top 25 Extraordinary Minds, with ceremonies in Q1 2027.
GBTA Convention 2026 drew 5,500+ attendees from 47 countries at McCormick Place, with the newly released BTI forecasting record global business travel spend of $1.71 trillion in 2026.
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.
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.
After more than 35 years in hospitality across Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, Courtyard, Sheraton, and Hard Rock, I've witnessed a fundamental shift in what defines a successful General Manager.Earlier in my career, the GM's role centered on service excellence, team leadership, culture, and guest satisfaction.
The tension described in this question is not a future concern for luxury GMs. It is the daily reality of the role right now. I oversee two properties within a complex institutional ownership structure with exacting financial standards.
The expectations of a luxury hotel General Manager have changed significantly over the past decade. Today, owners are looking for more than operational excellence, they expect a trusted business partner who understands investment priorities, protects asset value, and can confidently navigate an increasingly complex ownership landscape.From my perspective, however, this evolution should not come at the expense of what defines our industry.
Newport Hospitality Group's Compass Circle Councils unite property and corporate leaders in two working groups covering commercial strategy and operations, sharing best practices across the portfolio to drive performance and owner returns.
GBTA's 2025 Annual Business Meeting covered financial performance and org highlights, and announced five newly elected Board of Directors members starting August 5 at Convention in Chicago.
GBTA backs the Quiet Skies Act, which gives the DOT 180 days to enforce a voice call ban on commercial flights that Congress mandated in 2018 but never implemented.
HFTP partners with The Hospitality Law Conference for a half-day roundtable at the Washington, D.C. event on October 28–29, 2026, targeting legal, development, and finance professionals.
AHLA CEO Rosanna Maietta marks the first anniversary of the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, citing billions in capital investment and job creation driven by the no-tax-on-tips and overtime provisions.
An operator from Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina outlines five priorities for 2026: personalization, immersive F&B, on-property activations, mainstreamed wellness, and event-aligned programming.
Las Vegas Sands donates $300,000 to Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth, bringing total contributions to $3.2M since 2014, funding shelter expansion, capacity-building, and statewide advocacy.
A firsthand conference recap covering Marriott's owner-focused strategy, with sessions on ancillary revenue, AI in marketing, margin pressure, and brand conversion opportunities.
Marriott International details its Los Angeles wildfire response, including 12,000 meals distributed, $245,000 in associate relief, and $1M in donated goods, alongside ongoing community celebrations for displaced and unhoused students.
120 GBTA members from 31 states met with Congress to advocate for business travel priorities, citing $624B in U.S. economic impact, 6.7M jobs, and key policies on aviation, SAF, and border efficiency.
Chip Conley joins the Not Done podcast finale to discuss founding Joie de Vivre, his role as Airbnb's Modern Elder, a never-before-told Marriott-Airbnb partnership attempt, and lessons from two near-death experiences.