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Neil Gallagher of Soneva on Bare Luxury, Just What Matters, and the Evolution of Ultra-Luxury in the Maldives
Soneva CEO Neil Gallagher outlines the "Bare Luxury" repositioning following KSL Capital's 2025 majority stake acquisition, covering service philosophy, expansion into Africa and ski markets, and a shift from SOPs to emotional intelligence.
The Meeting With No Memory
An educational piece exploring how generative AI can transform the hotel daily operations meeting from a status broadcast into a pattern-spotting, decision-driving tool across all departments.
By Terence Ronson, Founder & Managing Director, Pertlink Limited
Latest
IHG Hotels & Resorts Signs Hotel Indigo Gosford, Bringing Lifestyle Brand to the Central Coast
IHG Hotels & Resorts has announced the signing of Hotel Indigo Gosford as part of an expanded strategic partnership with Urban Property Group, growing the relationship to three hotels across New South Wales.
IHG Hotels & Resorts Signs Crowne Plaza Newcastle, Returning Brand to the City
IHG Hotels & Resorts has announced the signing of Crowne Plaza Newcastle as part of an expanded strategic partnership with Urban Property Group, growing the relationship to three hotels across New South Wales.
Grand Hyatt Cancun Beach Resort to Debut a Fully All-Inclusive Experience
Hyatt announced that Grand Hyatt Cancun Beach Resort is expected to open in December as an all-inclusive property and will mark the Grand Hyatt brand’s highly anticipated debut in Cancun.
Recent Appointments
View AllPersonalization formats that keep luxury hotel websites on-brand
Luxury hoteliers can maintain brand consistency while personalizing the booking journey using three formats: embedded inliners, automatic content swaps, and branded overlay layers.
By Paige Lopez, Content marketer, Lighthouse
24th CIO Summit Brings Hospitality Technology Leaders to Milwaukee for Three Days of Insight and Networking
HFTP and Hospitality Upgrade hosted 76 CIOs and industry professionals in Milwaukee for the 24th annual CIO Summit, covering AI, cybersecurity, payments, and hotel economics.
50% of Hotels Use AI but Under 10% See Real Impact, Your Guest Reviews Are Now Read by Machines Not Guests, How Much Should a Hotel Budget for Marketing?
Tuesday brought the State of Distribution 2026 report from RateGain, NYU SPS and HEDNA finding AI adoption widespread across 58,000-plus properties but transformational impact rare and OTAs still dominant, hospitality.today's argument that guest reviews are now primarily read by AI systems determining search rankings rather than by prospective guests, and a World Panel viewpoint on the right marketing budget for a hotel property. Jan Freitag and Isaac Collazo on budgeting for a tough 2027 comp set, a 7% PMS public API finding, and six property announcements rounded out the session.
The 7% Problem
Only 7% of teams use GenAI in meetings despite 49% individual daily use, and the article maps two citable HBR book case studies directly onto hotel leadership and strategy session formats.
By Terence Ronson, Founder & Managing Director, Pertlink Limited
Six Warning Signs Your Independent Caribbean Hotel Has Outgrown Its PMS
Six operational red flags, including front desk bottlenecks, manual workarounds, and reactive guest service, that signal an independent Caribbean hotel's PMS can no longer support its operation.
By Bill Morris, Senior Account Executive, Maestro
Supplier News
View allCloudbeds launches RMS with deeper hotel intelligence built on unified data
Cloudbeds launches a native RMS powered by its Signals unified data layer, combining competitor rates, booking pace, and channel behavior with automated rate execution via its PMS.
Inn-Flow Introduces Connected AI for Hotel Purchasing with Native Accounting + Procurement Integration
Inn-Flow's new integration connects its Accounting and Procurement modules, giving hotel teams real-time budget, forecast, and open PO data within the purchasing workflow alongside AI-driven guidance.
Can Hospitality Make Longevity Part of Everyday Life?
Novotel's "Longevity Everyday" philosophy, activated through its first Longevity Week in September 2026, offers a blueprint for wellness resorts to embed longevity as a scalable, behaviour-driven guest experience.
dormakaba to acquire Alliants, connecting hotel access with digital guest experience
dormakaba acquires Alliants, a UK-based guest experience platform serving 100,000+ hotel rooms, to combine physical access control with digital guest engagement in a single end-to-end hospitality solution.
roommaster Heads to NoVacancy 2026 with a New Look & Modern Hospitality Tech Tools
roommaster will demo its reimagined PMS platform at NoVacancy 2026 in Sydney, promising 60% fewer clicks, 3x faster performance, and 99.95% uptime for small hotel teams.
Not All Innovation Is On The Show Floor: UrVenue Invites Hospitality Leaders to an Open House During One of Las Vegas’ Busiest Gaming Weeks
UrVenue is hosting an interactive technology showcase at its new Las Vegas Strip HQ on Sept. 30, offering guided sessions on experience inventory, guest journey management, web design, and its OpenTable integration.
Unifocus launches AI-powered platform to transform workforce and operations management in hospitality
Unifocus launches Claira, an AI-native end-to-end workforce and operations platform built for hoteliers, with a specific focus on the historically underserved select-service segment.
Agilysys to Spotlight the Power of a Connected Guest Ecosystem in the Age of AI at NoVacancy 2026
Agilysys SVP Frank Pitsikalis will lead a keynote and two panels at NoVacancy 2026 in Sydney, covering AI in hotel ops, evolving guest expectations, and ancillary revenue strategies.
Hospitality America Deepens Executive Leadership to Maximize Performance, Enhance Accountability
Hospitality America appoints two new executives and redefines two existing VP roles, creating dedicated leadership centers for revenue strategy, marketing, technology, and enterprise enablement.
More Than 50% of Hotels Use AI, but Under 10% See Real Impact, Finds State of Distribution 2026 Report from RateGain, NYU SPS and HEDNA
The third edition of the State of Distribution report, based on 270+ hotel brands and 58,000+ properties, finds AI adoption widespread but transformational impact rare, with OTAs still dominating over direct channels.
The morning after: AI’s trust problem and what hospitality leaders should do about it
Public trust in AI is eroding as Forrester, Pew, and UC Berkeley data show employer regret over AI-driven layoffs, rising workloads, and only 16% of US adults believing AI will benefit society.
By Alan Young, VP, Strategy | Hospitality, Infor
Peachtree Group Begins Construction on 480-Room Dual-Branded Embassy Suites by Hilton and Tempo by Hilton in Downtown Austin
Peachtree Group (“Peachtree”), a vertically integrated investment and asset management firm, announced it has begun construction on a 480-room dual-branded Embassy Suites by Hilton and Tempo by Hilton in downtown Austin, marking one of the group’s most significant hotel developments to date.
Rio de Janeiro hotels posted best August in 10 years
Rio de Janeiro hotels hit their highest August RevPAR since the 2016 Olympics, reaching BRL612.29, driven by the Copa Libertadores at Maracanã and Festival Medio y Medio.
Extended Stay America Hosts Annual Franchise Owners Conference
Extended Stay America's annual Dallas conference highlighted franchise growth since 2018, doubling its franchised hotel count, and recognized top-performing owners across operations, guest experience, and development.
PATA and ATTIA Formalise Organisational Partnership to Advance Travel and Technology Collaboration in Asia Pacific
PATA and ATTIA have signed an MOU to collaborate on events, policy advocacy, and marketing across the Asia Pacific travel and technology sector.
Hilton Signs 10 Spark by Hilton Hotels as UK Growth Gathers Pace
Hilton signs 10 Spark by Hilton hotels across England and Wales via a strategic deal with AG Hotels Group, adding 672 rooms in cities including Cardiff, Coventry and Derby, with openings expected from late 2026.
International Luxury Hotel Association Adds Culture, Wellness and AI Sessions to INSPIRE 2026 Agenda
ILHA's INSPIRE 2026 conference, set for December 15-17 at JW Marriott Bonnet Creek in Orlando, adds sessions on AI ROI, wellness science, and human connection in luxury hospitality.
Can Your Hotel Repeat Its Best Month
This opinion piece argues that a strong financial period only proves past delivery, and sustainable performance requires alignment between revenue strategy, demand profile, cost structure, and operational capacity.