Today's Hotels Pulse
FAA says Spirit’s LaGuardia slots belong with another low‑cost carrier
The FAA Administrator argues that the coveted take‑off slots Spirit Airlines holds at New York’s LaGuardia should be reallocated to a different low‑cost carrier. Meanwhile, Spirit is preparing to auction off those slots to the highest bidder.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Airbnb leads $58M Series C in WeRoad
ASTA Hosts Live Event For Global Travel Advisor Day
The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) will celebrate Global Travel Advisor Day with a Facebook Live event on May 6 at 2 p.m. Eastern, sponsored by Sandals. The two‑hour broadcast will feature guest speakers, prize giveaways and a digital toolkit of social‑media graphics for participants. ASTA’s President Zane Kerby highlighted advisors as trusted advocates who add human care that technology alone cannot replace. The celebration aims to reinforce the profession’s value and foster collaboration across the travel ecosystem.
The Cheesecake Factory Surprises with Strong First Quarter
The Cheesecake Factory reported a stronger-than-expected first quarter, with same‑store sales up 1.6% year‑over‑year, surpassing its 1% forecast. Total company revenue rose over 5% to $978.8 million, and the chain projects Q2 revenue of $990 million to $1 billion. While overall traffic slipped...
Radisson Unveils First Verified Net‑Zero Hotels and AI‑Powered Group Booking System
Radisson Hotel Group opened its first Verified Net‑Zero properties in Manchester and Oslo and announced a partnership with AI firm hivr.ai to eliminate manual group rooming lists. The moves aim to accelerate decarbonisation across the portfolio while cutting back‑office errors...
Beyond the Boardwalk
The La Bahia Hotel & Spa opened in September 2023, converting a long‑abandoned historic property in Santa Cruz into a modern hospitality destination. The site, once home to student and exchange‑worker apartments serving the nearby Boardwalk, had been vacant for...
Chipotle Expands Drone Pilot, Accelerates Equipment Package Deployment
Chipotle is accelerating its technology rollout, installing a high‑efficiency equipment package in more than 600 restaurants and targeting 2,000 locations by year‑end. The chain has also deployed visual Chipotle Kitchen digital displays in 100 sites, with a full rollout planned...
FTC Commissioner Signals Opposition to United Airlines’ Grand Plans For a Mega Merger After Economy Class Experience
FTC Commissioner Mark Meador publicly criticized United Airlines’ cramped economy seats after a personal flight, signaling he may oppose United’s proposed mega‑merger with American or a potential JetBlue acquisition. His tweet highlights passenger‑space concerns that could trigger a formal FTC...
British Airways Launches Flights to St Louis
British Airways has launched a four‑times‑weekly nonstop service between London Heathrow and St Louis, marking its 27th U.S. destination and the first new U.S. route since 2023. The flights are operated by Boeing 787‑8 Dreamliners equipped with SpaceX Starlink Wi‑Fi, offering...
United Rebrands Select Domestic Premium Cabins as Polaris® Business Class
United Airlines has rebranded select nonstop domestic premium cabins as Polaris® Business Class, covering transcontinental routes between Newark‑Los Angeles and Newark‑San Francisco and long‑haul flights to Honolulu and Maui from Chicago, Newark and Washington. The change grants full‑fare Polaris passengers access...
Aarunya Nature Resort Unveils Its New Nature Pavilion, Advancing Sri Lanka’s Role in Conservation, Research, Education, and Regenerative Tourism
Luxury boutique Aarunya Nature Resort in Sri Lanka has opened a new Nature Pavilion, a purpose‑driven hub for ecological research, conservation, and guest education. Constructed over two years from locally sourced bamboo, mud bricks and lime‑free renders, the pavilion will...
PM Hotel Group Releases 2025 Annual Sustainability Report
PM Hotel Group released its eighth annual sustainability report, highlighting ESG progress for 2025 as it celebrates a 30‑year anniversary. The hotel operator logged a 5% year‑over‑year cut in energy‑use intensity, installed 18 Level 2 electric‑vehicle chargers at five properties, and...
A New Chapter for WTTC as It Unveils Its Global Team in Madrid
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) unveiled a revamped global leadership team from its Madrid headquarters, bringing together executives, former C‑suite leaders, and government figures. The new roster represents 21 nationalities across five continents and adds regional directors for...
Buy Status for Less: Save up to 30% on JetBlue Mosaic-Qualifying Tiles Through May 28
JetBlue is running a limited‑time promotion that slashes the price of TrueBlue elite‑status tiles by up to 30 % through May 28 2026. The discount applies to purchases of one to 250 tiles, with rates as low as $67.73 per tile for large...
Hyatt Reports 5.4% RevPAR Growth in Q1
Hyatt Hotels reported a 5.4% year‑over‑year increase in comparable systemwide RevPAR for Q1 2026, driven primarily by strong performance in its luxury chain scale. All‑inclusive resort net package RevPAR rose 7.4%, while net rooms grew 5% over the trailing twelve...
Uber Launches Hotel Bookings Feature in Partnership with Expedia
Uber announced a partnership with Expedia Group that embeds hotel bookings directly into the Uber app for U.S. users, initially offering access to more than 700,000 properties. Uber One members receive a 10% credit on bookings and at least 20%...
Wyndham Development Pipeline Reaches Record in Q1
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts reported a record development pipeline of over 259,000 rooms across more than 2,200 hotels, marking a 3% year‑over‑year increase. Global system rooms grew 4% in the first quarter, while U.S. RevPAR held steady and ancillary revenues...
Tourism Has Returned to Europe, Ease of Doing Business Has Not
European tourism has bounced back, with visitor numbers in cities like Berlin, Barcelona and Rome reaching pre‑pandemic levels. However, the industry’s operating environment has grown more difficult, as labor shortages, volatile energy costs and a patchwork of local taxes squeeze...
Patagonia’s Glacier Tourism Hits Record Visitor Numbers as Peso Weakens
Argentina’s Los Glaciares National Park reported its highest ever visitor count, with international travelers flocking to the Perito Moreno Glacier. A weak Argentine peso and expanded low‑cost airline routes have made the region an affordable adventure destination, prompting a surge...
St. Regis Launches Its First Hungarian Hotel in the Restored Klotild Palace
St. Regis Hotels and Resorts has opened The St. Regis Budapest, its inaugural Hungarian property, inside the restored Belle Époque Klotild Palace. The 63‑room, 39‑suite hotel brings the brand’s Butler Service and signature rituals to a UNESCO‑listed landmark, expanding St. Regis’ footprint in Central...
OYO Launches PRISM 2.0 AI‑Led Global Operating Layer for Real‑Time Finance
OYO announced PRISM 2.0, an AI‑led global operating layer that unifies pricing, demand, and finance on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. The upgrade brings near real‑time financial data to 35+ countries, aiming to eliminate siloed systems and accelerate decision‑making.
Booking Holdings Rolls Out Generative AI Assistants, Cutting Costs and Boosting Hotel Bookings
Booking Holdings announced that its generative‑AI assistants are now live on Priceline, Booking.com and OpenTable, delivering measurable cost savings and higher booking conversion. Executives said early tests show a clear uplift for users who interact with the AI agents, marking...
Red Robin Hires Long-Time Bloomin’ Exec as CFO
Red Robin announced the appointment of Mark Graff, a former Bloomin’ Brands executive, as its new chief financial officer effective May 4, 2026. Graff previously oversaw Bloomin’s $900 million Bonefish Grill and fine‑dining segment across more than 220 locations, giving him experience with...
Under the Hood: Napa Valley Adds Rooms While Demand Lags
Napa County’s hotel revenue is up year‑to‑date, but the gain stems mainly from higher average daily rates rather than a surge in room demand. Occupancy remains well below pre‑pandemic 2019 levels and is the slowest among major California regions, indicating...
Citi to End ThankYou Points Sharing in May 2026 — What Cardmembers Should Know
Citi announced it will discontinue the ThankYou Rewards points‑sharing feature on May 17, 2026, ending the ability to send or receive points between separate accounts. The change applies to every Citi card that earns ThankYou points, and members have until...
Building AI Employees for Hospitality: How AITropos Takes Orders Where Customers Already Are
AITropos has built an AI employee that takes restaurant orders entirely within WhatsApp, handling menu recommendations, modifiers, payment links and status updates. The founders iterated through three product forms—hardware for waiters, a waiter‑facing app, and finally a customer‑facing conversational agent—to...
JetBlue Launches New Up-to-125% Bonus on Points Purchases Through June 10 — But Should You Buy?
JetBlue has rolled out a buy‑points promotion that offers up to a 125 % bonus on TrueBlue points purchased through June 10 2026, lowering the effective price to 1.43 ¢ per point. The deal caps purchases at 200,000 points per transaction, costing $6,450 after...
Marriott Continues To Send Birthday Gift Cards To Bonvoy Members In 2026
Marriott International continues its birthday‑gift‑card tradition for Bonvoy members in 2026, now adding the e‑gift card to the mobile app. While the card appears in the app, redemption still requires presenting the card number and PIN at the front desk,...
You Can Score 500 Bonus Miles & More Miles Just for Downloading Lufthansa’s Mobile App — Here’s How
Lufthansa’s Miles & More app now grants a permanent 500‑mile bonus to members who download the app and log in for the first time. The promotion requires no purchase and automatically credits the miles after login. At an average valuation of about...
Your Pie Debuts Streamlined Business Model to Drive Southeast Growth
Your Pie, the fast‑casual pizza chain founded in 2008, announced a streamlined business model to fuel expansion across the Southeast. The plan targets metro Atlanta, the Chattanooga‑Knoxville‑Nashville corridor, and Columbia, SC, leveraging smaller footprints, simplified kitchens, and off‑premise dining. The...
WTTC, UN-Tourism and Uganda Signal Shift in Global Tourism Leadership
The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has added Uganda as its newest Destination Partner, expanding the council’s roster to roughly 40 national tourism bodies. Destination Partners allow governments to work directly with the private‑sector‑led WTTC, blending policy and market...
Novotel and Ocean Wise Remove Waste From Toronto’s Cherry Beach
Novotel, Accor’s founding brand, partnered with Ocean Wise for a shoreline cleanup at Toronto’s Cherry Beach on April 17, removing 182 pounds of waste. Thirty‑four volunteers collected 428 cigarette butts, 104 plastic pieces, 114 bottle caps and 71 food wrappers....
Post Hotel & Spa Welcomes Chef De Cuisine
Post Hotel & Spa in Lake Louise has appointed Sebastian Brand as its chef de cuisine. Brand, classically trained in Berlin, previously led culinary operations at art'otel Berlin, the Park Plaza Hotel Group, and opened the flagship NH Collection Dresden...
Germain Hotels Releases Its 2025 Impact Report
Germain Hotels unveiled its 2025 Impact Report, showing all 19 Canadian properties earned 4‑Green Key certification, a globally recognised sustainability standard. The chain slashed single‑use plastic water bottle purchases by 95% and cut disposable cup use 25%, while mobilising more...
Exploring the Frontier of AI in the Hotel Industry (Part 3)
The travel sector is moving from AI‑driven search to fully autonomous booking. In early 2026 Sabre, PayPal and MindTrip unveiled an end‑to‑end agentic AI system that can query real‑time inventory across 420 airlines and two million hotels, handling payment within...
Uber’s Hotel Deal Tells You More About Expedia’s Future Than Uber’s
Uber has introduced hotel booking within its U.S. app, leveraging Expedia Group’s Rapid API to offer access to over 700,000 properties. The service is bundled with Uber One, giving members 10 % back in Uber credits and a rotating 20 % discount...
The Highest ROI Marketing Channel Most Hotel Groups Ignore
Hotel groups are pouring roughly 80% of their marketing spend into acquiring new guests while neglecting the far cheaper, higher‑ROI channel of re‑engaging past guests. A single direct booking acquired via Google Ads can now cost $82‑$440, and OTA commissions...
Why Hotel Reviews Matter More Than Ever in the Age of AI
Hotel reviews have become a critical data source for AI‑driven search and recommendation engines, influencing visibility, positioning, and revenue. Platforms like Google, TripAdvisor, Meta and OTAs feed review text into algorithms that analyze sentiment, keywords and patterns to generate property...
Meeting & Events: The Last Hotel Commercial Blind Spot
Hotel revenue management has become algorithm‑driven, optimizing room rates in near real time, but meetings and events (M&E) lag behind, still relying on manual, experience‑based decisions. The article highlights the complexity of M&E—balancing rate cards, space holds, F&B minimums, and...
How to Turn the World Cup Into Your Direct Booking Moment
The 2026 FIFA World Cup, hosted across the United States, Mexico and Canada, creates a rare direct‑booking surge for hotels in host cities. Travelers are searching months ahead, and competition from OTAs and other platforms is intense. Hotels can capture...
Nightsky Camps Launches Low‑Impact 45‑Key Retreat on California’s Central Coast
Nightsky Camps, founded by Anatoly Mezhov, Irene Polo and David Smith, will open a 45‑key low‑impact hospitality retreat this summer on California’s Central Coast. The property features custom eco‑tents, a communal Camp Commons, and a wellness zone, aiming to blend...
Peak Season, Peak Performance: 5 Strategies to Maximize Revenue
With geopolitical uncertainty and shifting travel demand, hotels must fine‑tune summer pricing and availability to capture peak‑season revenue. RoomPriceGenie outlines five strategies: demand forecasting, year‑over‑year analysis, optimal pricing, event‑driven adjustments, and real‑time analytics. The guide emphasizes using tools like the...
Mount Juliet’s Manor House and Lady Helen Restaurant Reopen After €8 Million ($8.7 M) Renovation
Mount Juliet Estate has reopened its historic Manor House hotel and Michelin‑starred Lady Helen restaurant following an €8 million ($8.7 million) refurbishment. The project added 16 suites, preserved Georgian details, and aims to cement the estate’s position as a premier luxury destination...
Does This 15th-Century Villa Hotel Have the Best View in Florence?
Il Salviatino, a restored 15th‑century villa perched between Florence and Fiesole, now operates as a luxury boutique hotel offering sweeping city views. The property features 39 individually styled rooms and suites, a Michelin‑inspired restaurant, a spa, and landscaped gardens that...
Castlerock Finishes $13.5 Million Westin Nashville Revamp, Adds Tech‑Forward Meeting Spaces
Castlerock has completed a $13.5 million renovation of The Westin Nashville, refreshing all guestrooms and installing technology‑enhanced meeting spaces. The project, executed at roughly $29,600 per key and financed with $26.56 million of mezzanine debt from AllianceBernstein, aims to capture growing business...
Whitbread Slashes 3,800 Jobs After Tax Raid
Another slow hand clap for this government Premier Inn owner Whitbread to cut 3,800 jobs after Reeves tax raid https://t.co/VFhVpaqlwI
Seamless Guest Interaction Drives Restaurant Revenue
Restaurants are shifting focus from attracting diners to capturing intent the moment a guest reaches out. Real‑time, omnichannel responses—via Instagram, WhatsApp, email, web forms—turn inquiries into bookings and boost revenue. Operators that automate instant, on‑brand replies also free staff from...
Chipotle's Q1 Earnings: Tech, Sauce Innovation Drive Transaction Growth
Chipotle Mexican Grill posted $3.1 billion in Q1 2026 revenue, shifting focus back to transaction growth despite a 17 % drop in adjusted EPS to $0.24. The company credited four pillars—efficiency upgrades, new sauces, gamified loyalty and catering—to the rebound. High‑efficiency kitchen...
Diving Deeper: Looking Beyond Sales for Improved Restaurant Marketing
The upcoming Restaurant Marketing Workshop in Boston (June 2‑3) will feature a panel of industry leaders discussing how QSRs and fast‑casual brands can move beyond sales‑only metrics. Speakers from Dave’s Hot Chicken, Bikky Inc., and Condado Tacos will share a framework...
Under Canvas Appoints Brodsky as CEO
Under Canvas, the upscale outdoor hospitality brand, has named Noah Brodsky as its new chief executive officer, succeeding Matt Gaghen who will serve as executive chairman through 2026. Brodsky arrives from Lindblad Expeditions, where he was chief commercial officer, and...
A New Era of Race-Day Gastronomy
Silverstone will launch The Vale, an ultra‑premium hospitality concept, for the 2026 British Grand Prix from July 3‑5. The venue partners with Michelin‑starred Labombe by Trivet, led by chef Jonny Lake, to deliver a full‑day, all‑inclusive dining experience with curated wine...
How Good Is Google’s Gemini AI at Making Travel Plans?
Google’s Gemini chatbot, paired with the new Ask Maps feature, was tested as a single‑app travel planner for a 14‑day trip to Taiwan, Hong Kong, and a future Hawaii vacation. The AI quickly assembled flight options, restaurant suggestions, and activity itineraries, reducing...