Sonesta International Hotels Corporation (Sonesta) today announced the opening of Sonesta Select Houston IAH Greenspoint. Located at 300 United Leuva Circle in Houston, Texas, the 126-room, interior-corridor property is owned and operated by franchisee Jorge Romo.
Design Hotels adds 16 Palisociety properties across 9 U.S. cities, totaling 1,000+ keys, marking the largest single portfolio addition in Design Hotels' history.
W San Francisco, an electric urban oasis located in the heart of San Francisco’s cultural Yerba Buena District, today announced the forthcoming transformation of its iconic Living Room, marking the beginning of an exciting new chapter for the hotel’s signature social and cultural gathering space. Designed by HBA Architects, the renovation, which will take place throughout summer 2026 and debut this fall, arrives alongside an energetic lineup of seasonal programming designed to celebrate music, nightlife, creativity and community in Downtown San Francisco.
Ian Millar argues that AI has already taken control of the pre-stay guest journey and that the hospitality industry's most urgent challenge is not technological adoption but the development of genuine AI literacy among its leaders. Rather than treating AI as an IT concern, Millar makes the case that understanding data, prompting systems, exercising critical judgment, and maintaining human oversight are now core leadership competencies. The hotels that will thrive are not those with the most automation, but those with the organizational discipline, shared accountability, and cultural mindset to teach machines well and know when to override them.
As the technologist in the room looking through the lens of the melding of industry workforce and the application of technology, I find this development curious for a number of reasons:AI Singling Out: It's interesting to see the specific technology of AI singled out.
The recent court ruling highlights an important principle: AI adoption should not be a labor replacement solution. The more meaningful question is how AI can help employees work smarter, more efficiently, and ultimately more effectively.Hospitality has always been a people-centered industry.
Hospitality has never been just about systems, processes or efficiency. It has always been about people. The ruling highlights an important point: AI may change how we work, but it should not change what hospitality stands for.As an industry, we should not see AI only as a way to reduce labour costs.
Leonardo Caffo argues that AI and algorithmic image saturation have made pure aesthetic experience, the genuine "wow" of discovery, effectively impossible for the modern traveler. Yet rather than mourning that loss, he proposes a radical reorientation: the last virgin space of authentic experience is not the destination itself, but the friction between what AI leads us to expect and what reality actually delivers.
HVS analysis of Cleveland's hotel market highlights how leisure growth, convention recovery, and healthcare demand from Cleveland Clinic create a resilient, balanced lodging ecosystem through 2026.
Marriott's AI-powered conversational search tool launches in beta on Marriott.com and its mobile apps, with a full global rollout to 283 million Bonvoy members planned later in 2025.
Las Vegas Sands contributed $150,000 to The LGBTQ+ Center of Las Vegas to fund a mobile coffee truck employment program providing job training and housing pathways for 20 housing-insecure youth ages 18-24.
Zoltan Istvan challenges the hospitality industry to think beyond its most basic assumption: that its guests will remain human. From life extension drugs and brain implants to humanoid companions and autonomous AI entities, he maps a transhumanist future that renders current notions of the guest experience — and the guest itself — genuinely obsolete.
Sonesta International Hotels Corporation (Sonesta) today announced the opening of Sonesta Essential Longview, a recently renovated 50-room, upper-midscale interior corridor hotel located at 803 North Access Road in Longview an area of East Texas known for wineries and nature parks.
Rimrock Banff will open in summer 2026 following a $115M property-wide transformation that introduces more than 18,000 square feet of meeting and event space, across 10 distinctive venues. In fall 2026, the resort will join Emblems Collection, Accor’s new ultra-luxury brand, as the first Emblems Collection resort in North America. Overseen by newly appointed Director of Sales & Marketing David Marques, whose career in international luxury hospitality includes extensive experience leading group and event initiatives, the resort introduces a fresh interpretation of mountain luxury in one of Canada’s most sought-after locations for leisure groups, business meetings, incentive trips and social gatherings.
Sheraton Philadelphia University City Hotel, located in the heart of the city’s vibrant academic district, today announces the completion of its $60+ million renovation, unveiling a fully refreshed guest experience that positions the hotel as a dynamic gathering place for the University City community and visitors to Philadelphia alike. The comprehensive transformation introduces revitalized guest rooms, modernized communal spaces, and elevated dining offerings, including the debut of the brand’s signature &More Café.
One of my favorite short stories of all time is Der Sandmann by German Romantic author E. T. A. Hoffmann. At first reading, it is a Gothic tale about childhood trauma, but beneath the surface lies something far more unsettling: a philosophical autopsy of the fragile boundary between the human and the artificial, and, perhaps, a cautionary tale about the hospitality of tomorrow.
U.S. hotels posted a 5.3% RevPAR gain for the week of 31 May–6 June 2026, with Chicago leading Top 25 Markets on a 23.9% RevPAR jump driven by a World Cup send-off match.
A firsthand conference recap covering Marriott's owner-focused strategy, with sessions on ancillary revenue, AI in marketing, margin pressure, and brand conversion opportunities.
Hilton Boston Back Bay today announced the completion of an expansive, multi-million-dollar renovation of its 401-room hotel on Dalton Street. Located at the crossroads of the Back Bay, Fenway and Symphony neighborhoods—and steps from some of the city's most celebrated universities, research hospitals, music venues, and cultural institutions—the hotel enters its next chapter at a defining moment for Back Bay. New developments like Lyrik Back Bay and the arrival of the Lego Americas head office, along with the continued growth of Berklee College of Music and Northeastern University, are bringing fresh energy and creativity to the neighborhood. Hilton Boston Back Bay offers travelers a front-row seat to both the heritage and future of Boston.
The Hedges Inn, East Hampton’s iconic historic inn, reopened on June 11 following an interior redesign led by acclaimed designer and author David Netto. Known for his sophisticated yet irreverent style, Netto brings his distinctive aesthetic and deep East End roots to refresh the Inn’s storied character while preserving its historic charm and introducing a more refined, residential feel.
United States will never adopt the same ruling. It's a capitalist country where businesses needs (not the government) dictate business actions. Smart operators will implement automation where it makes sense and where it augments "human touch".
The classic philosophy in hospitality is that guests require services provided by super nice, smiling, well-trained humans. I believe this philosophy is greatly exaggerated, especially today. A great example of why guests do not care about human-provided services comes from the vacation rental sector.Today, 20% of roomnights are consumed at vacation rentals/ short-term rentals: houses, villas, condos and apartments.
So far I haven't personally seen AI actually cut jobs. I'm not saying it hasn't but I haven't personally seen it yet. It has however empowered people to do a whole lot more, so it might slow down future hires. But I haven't seen it replace anyone that was hired, unless the person utterly refused to learn how to use AI.
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.