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
Outrigger Unveils Premier Suites & Villas Collection
Outrigger Resorts & Hotels has launched its Premier Suites & Villas Collection, a curated portfolio of high‑end beachfront accommodations across Hawaii, Fiji, Thailand, Mauritius and the Maldives. The new offerings feature expansive layouts, private elevators, and exclusive access to the Voyager 47 Club lounge with locally sourced breakfasts and evening bites. Each property blends refined interiors with destination‑specific design, from a private penthouse in Waikīkī to overwater pool villas in the Maldives. The rollout reflects a multiyear transformation aimed at delivering immersive, barefoot luxury experiences.
Travel Intent Remains Strong, but Traveler Behavior Is Shifting
Travel intent in the United States remains robust despite economic uncertainty, but how travelers plan trips is evolving. Booking windows have tightened by roughly 10%‑20% and average stays are shortening, reflecting tighter budgets. Cost sensitivity now drives nearly half of...
Best Western Chase Offer: Get 10% Back on $100-$320 Spend
Best Western’s latest Chase Offer returns 10% of spend as a statement credit, capped at $32 for purchases of $100 or more. The promotion runs through May 24, 2026, is limited to one use per cardholder, and applies only to...
How AI Search Is Reshaping Foodservice Marketing
Foodservice buyers now start supplier research with generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI, bypassing traditional search and direct outreach. Recent data shows 86% of Gen Z professionals use AI daily for B2B purchasing, and AI citations are...
Hotel Review: Four Seasons, Madrid
Four Seasons launched its flagship Madrid hotel, occupying a historic building on Paseo de la Castellana and offering 150 ultra‑luxury rooms. The property blends classic Spanish architecture with contemporary design, featuring marble bathrooms, high‑tech climate control, and a rooftop garden...
Longer Stays and Activity Participation Rise in Safari Tourism Trends
U.S. travelers now represent roughly half of all African‑safari bookings, outpacing every other source market. Average stay length at Asilia camps edged up to 2.8 nights, driven by remote locations such as Namiri Plains. Guest participation in activities surged, with...
Fort McMurray International Airport Earns Top AirportNEXT Scores Across North America
Fort McMurray International Airport (YMM) achieved the highest all‑time AirportNEXT variable scores in terminal experience, transportation access and technology services among participating North American airports. The AirportNEXT Stakeholder Engagement Assessment, developed with Airports Council International‑North America, evaluates infrastructure, facilities and...
Proven Brands for Exceptional Guest Experiences
Conair Hospitality, a division of Conair Corp., is promoting its portfolio of household‑name brands to the hotel industry. The offering spans personal‑care items, garment‑care tools, steamers, and kitchen appliances, all backed by fast nationwide distribution and expert support. By supplying...
Trinity and UBS Secure $600M Refi for Diplomat Resort in South Florida
Trinity Investments and UBS have refinanced the 1,000‑room Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood, Florida with a $600 million loan led by J.P. Morgan Chase ($420 million) and Citi ($180 million). The new mortgage pushes total debt to $600 million, up $148 million from the prior...
Here’s when Hospitality Becomes Unreasonable, According to One Food Expert
Adam Reiner, veteran of New York fine‑dining kitchens, released *The New Rules of Dining Out* to reshape how guests interact with restaurants. Drawing on his experiences at Babo and Carbone, he argues diners often lack insight into restaurant operations and...
Spotlight Interview: Stephen Klein, CEO and Co-Founder of Saivory
Saivory, founded by former Bain consultant Stephen Klein, offers AI‑powered tools that help restaurant chains reclaim first‑party digital sales. Its platform combines dynamic local landing pages with AI‑guided ordering flows to improve search visibility, reduce cart abandonment, and increase average...
Top 10 Metasearch Marketing Agencies for Independent Hotels
The article ranks the ten leading metasearch marketing agencies that help independent hotels capture direct bookings, featuring firms such as TravelBoom, Bookassist and Mirai. It explains how metasearch platforms—Google Hotel Ads, Trivago and Kayak—let hotels bypass costly OTA commissions that...
Cape Town Weighs Tourist Limits Amid Global De‑Marketing Trend
Richard Marshall, founder of Nox Cape Town, warned that while Cape Town isn’t yet in an overtourism crisis, rising visitor pressure could trigger restrictions similar to those in Barcelona and Venice. The city faces a debate between protecting jobs and...
Denver International Airport and Southwest Airlines Introduce Dedicated TSA PreCheck Touchless ID Self-Bag Drop Option for Passengers
Denver International Airport and Southwest Airlines have launched a dedicated TSA PreCheck Touchless ID self‑bag‑drop lane for Southwest flyers at the Jeppesen Terminal. The service uses facial‑comparison technology to verify identity without a physical ID scan, allowing eligible travelers to print tags and...
Airbnb Launches Airport Pickup Service in 125 Cities with Welcome Pickups
Airbnb announced a partnership with UK‑based Welcome Pickups to roll out airport pickup services in 125 cities across Asia, Europe and Latin America. The new offering is embedded in the Airbnb app, carries preset pricing and keeps the transaction within...
A Step-By-Step Guide to Transferring, Combining, and Sharing Citi ThankYou® Points
Citi ThankYou® points can be transferred, combined, or shared to unlock travel value, especially when held on elite cards like the Strata Elite, Strata Premier, or Prestige, which offer a 1:1 transfer rate to over 20 airline and hotel partners....
Airports Won’t Let Prices Rise — So They Tell Vendors To Add Surcharges
Airports are prohibiting concessionaires from raising menu prices directly and are instead encouraging the addition of a 3‑5% surcharge billed as an employee benefit or retention fee. The practice stems from high airport rents, mandated higher minimum wages, and “street‑pricing”...
Club Voyages
Club Voyages offers a home‑based travel agency model where self‑employed agents operate under its brand, keeping their client lists and receiving central systems, admin support, and access to an in‑house tour operator. Agents pay a one‑time £249 (≈$311) joining fee...
Experience It Now Travel
Experience It Now Travel offers a self‑employed, home‑working model for travel agents, leveraging Hays Travel’s iSell platform, supplier network, and regulatory protections. Agents choose from three entry tiers—$375, $440 or $1,900 joining fees plus monthly fees of $62, $113 or...
The Five Layers of the AI Travel Stack, and the Fight Over Which One Matters
The article maps the AI travel stack into five layers—model, orchestration, product, legibility, and an overarching OS/platform layer—and shows how major online travel agencies (OTAs) are staking bets on different tiers. Booking Holdings and Trip.com are developing proprietary large language...
Earth Day Travel: Sustainability at the Center of Luxury
As Earth Day nears, luxury travelers are gravitating toward eco‑focused resorts that blend high‑end service with regenerative practices. BodyHoliday in Saint Lucia showcases a plant‑based I‑TAL dining program sourced from its two‑acre organic garden and on‑site honey. In Australia, Sal Salis...
Designing the Hotel of 2026
The April 2026 issue of Hotel Business spotlights management rankings while exploring the future of hotel design, where experience, emotion and intentionality converge. Designers are shifting from pure aesthetics to holistic orchestration that blends technology, sustainability, wellness and storytelling. Five...
Vertical Travel Group Defies Slowdown with String of Big Bookings
Vertical Travel Group (VTG) announced a series of sizable bookings that have lifted its pipeline despite a broader slowdown in the travel sector. The company secured roughly $45 million in new contracts, covering over 20,000 travelers across Europe, North America and...
AAHOA Celebrates Excellence in Hospitality with Award Winners at Annual Convention
At the 2026 AAHOA Convention & Trade Show in Philadelphia, the Asian American Hotel Owners Association honored six members with awards recognizing leadership, community service, philanthropy, women’s ownership, young talent, and independent hotel excellence. Recipients included Vijay Patel of A-1...
Marina Bay Sands Establishes Closed Loop in Renewable Fuel
Marina Bay Sands has launched Asia’s first closed‑loop renewable fuel system, converting roughly 100,000 liters of used cooking oil each year into renewable diesel. The diesel powers the resort’s backup generators, delivering up to a 90% reduction in lifecycle greenhouse‑gas...
American Airlines to Launch Electronic Boarding Gates at DFW for a More Seamless Experience
American Airlines will install approximately 20 dormakaba Argus Air XS electronic boarding gates in Dallas Fort Worth International Airport’s new Terminal C pier expansion, marking the first large‑scale deployment of the technology by a major U.S. network carrier. The gates,...
Cain Appoints Plunien to Drive EMEA Hospitality Investment
Cain International appointed Ina Plunien as senior vice president of hospitality to lead its expansion across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Plunien brings a decade of experience and a track record of managing luxury hotel assets worth over $3 billion....
Tanya Dixon, Salata Salad Kitchen
Tanya Dixon, Senior Director of Off‑Premise & Catering at Salata, steers the brand’s digital strategy and innovation for catering and take‑out channels. Over the past three years she has delivered more than 7 % annual growth in catering revenue and boosted...
GRAB PARTNERS WITH HO CHI MINH CITY TOURISM FESTIVAL 2026
Grab Vietnam partnered with the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Festival 2026, spotlighting the city’s culinary scene through the “Iconic Eateries” Awards that recognized 60 restaurants across three categories. The initiative introduced a Travel Pass, bundling rides, meals and shopping for international...
Steve Smyth, Taco John’s
Steve Smyth, with more than two decades at Taco John’s, has overseen operations, training, and now leads the Restaurant Technology division. Over the past 13 years he launched mobile ordering and delivery, migrated the chain to a cloud‑based POS, and...
A Moment to Purr: Giant Interactive Cat Appears at Hong Kong International Airport
Hong Kong International Airport has kicked off its Easter celebrations with "Moment to Purr," a giant interactive cat displayed in Arrivals Hall A. Travelers can engage the digital pet via a touchscreen kiosk that feeds and responds in real time. The...
Germany's Eurowings Takes Off From Gatwick Airport
Germany's Eurowings, a Lufthansa Group carrier, launched two new Gatwick routes this summer, offering 13 weekly flights to Cologne and six weekly flights to Stuttgart. The services, operating from Gatwick’s North Terminal, mark Eurowings’ first UK connection to Cologne and...
Buffet Breakfasts Could Be Less Wasteful
A new computer model reveals that hotel buffet breakfasts generate up to twice the food waste of à la carte service. The study quantifies the excess waste and identifies counterintuitive strategies—such as smaller plate sizes and dynamic replenishment—to cut losses....
Curator Hotel & Resort Collection Partners with EHVA.ai
Curator Hotel & Resort Collection has entered a Preferred Vendor partnership with conversational‑AI firm EHVA.ai, giving its independent‑hotel members access to 24/7 front‑desk automation at exclusive pricing. The AI platform will field guest calls, manage spa and future restaurant reservations,...
Report: Hospitality Tech Startups Raised More than $1B in the Last Year
Hospitality tech startups raised over $1 billion across 40 companies between April 2025 and March 2026, with property‑management systems (PMS) and AI‑driven platforms attracting the most capital. A three‑month surge from December 2025 to February 2026 produced three mega‑raises—Mews’s $300 million round, Kindred’s $125 million dual rounds,...
Emerald Cruises Launches Emerald Kaia From Cyprus
Emerald Cruises inaugurated its 128‑guest superyacht Emerald Kaia from Limassol, Cyprus, on an 11‑day Mediterranean debut that visited Rhodes, Kos, Spetses and Athens. A prior shakedown gave travel agents a full tour of the ship’s amenities, including the Night Market...
Hotels Go All-In on Pet-Friendly Perks
Hotels are expanding pet-friendly offerings beyond basic accommodations, turning stays into experiential programs for dogs and cats. In Manhattan, Kimpton Hotel Eventi now hosts full‑service dog weddings, while The Muse New York offers a Pampered Pet Package with in‑room pet...
Hotel Solaya Debuts in Old Town Scottsdale
Hotel Solaya opened in Old Town Scottsdale as part of Hyatt’s new JdV by Hyatt brand, with Dreamscape Hospitality handling management. The boutique property features 194 newly redesigned rooms and suites, a modern Mexican aesthetic, art‑filled public areas, a spa,...
GoTo Foods Appoints Chief Digital and Development Officers
GoTo Foods appointed Biplav Misra as its first chief digital officer and Tatiana Lambert as chief development officer, expanding a leadership overhaul that began with CEO Omer Gajial earlier this year. The hires are designed to accelerate disciplined growth, improve...
Christina Tosi's Milk Bar Opens in Sydney for AMEX Delicious Month
Christina Tosi’s Milk Bar will operate from May 1‑3 at Ace Hotel Sydney’s Good Chemistry café, offering Cereal Milk soft‑serve and a limited‑edition Aussie‑inspired dessert. The pop‑up is tied to American Express’s Delicious Month, a campaign that has poured over $216 million...
Will the 2026 World Cup Bring Tourists Back to the U.S.?
The 2026 FIFA World Cup, featuring a record 48 teams, will be co‑hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. Organizers hope the tournament will draw millions of international fans, but rising ticket prices, proposed social‑media border checks and lingering...
Atrium Hospitality Hosts 2026 SPIRIT Leadership Conference
Atrium Hospitality convened nearly 400 senior leaders at the Embassy Suites in Rogers, Arkansas for its 2026 SPIRIT Leadership Conference. The multi‑day event celebrated 2025 achievements, reinforced the company’s Service‑Perseverance‑Inclusion‑Respect‑Innovation‑Teamwork values, and featured a keynote on "The Human Edge" by...
Booking.com Confirms Data Breach Impacting Millions of Travelers
Booking.com announced that unauthorized parties accessed reservation data for potentially millions of guests. The company reset reservation PINs and warned users of phishing attempts. The breach raises fresh security concerns for the online travel market.
Hot Off The Press – April 2026
Hotel Business’s April 2026 issue spotlights MXR Hospitality on the cover, examines the rapid expansion of ECHO Suites Extended Stay by Wyndham, and features a Q&A with White Lodging’s Conner White. Additional articles explore the role of data in hotel...
Corinthia Hotels Expands Italian Portfolio with New Tuscan Resort
Corinthia Hotels announced the development of Corinthia Borgo di Perolla, a new luxury resort in the Tuscan countryside, in partnership with entrepreneur Gaetano Buglisi and his BGenera Group. The resort, set within the 13th‑century Perolla Estate, will feature 80 guest...
Toast Launches Integrated Drive-Thru Platform for Quick-Service Restaurant Chains
Toast introduced Toast Drive‑Thru, an integrated platform that unifies point‑of‑sale, digital menu boards, kitchen display and AI voice‑ordering for quick‑service restaurants. Targeting over 140,000 U.S. drive‑thru lanes, the solution streamlines order capture and reduces hardware fragmentation. Early adopters report faster...
Stripes Beauty Partners With Canyon Ranch to Launch Menopause-Focused Spa Treatments
Stripes Beauty, the menopause‑focused wellness brand founded by Naomi Watts, has partnered with luxury spa operator Canyon Ranch to launch a suite of spa treatments aimed at mid‑life women. The initial rollout will appear at Canyon Ranch’s Tucson, Arizona and...
SpotOn’s Rapid Fund Debuts and Other Digital Transactions News Briefs From 4/14/26
SpotOn Transact rolled out Rapid Fund, a service that makes card deposits available within 30 minutes and teamed with Parafin to launch SpotOn Capital, giving restaurants faster cash‑flow tools. BlueSnap completed a deep integration with SAP Cloud ERP and S/4HANA,...
Just You Puts Five New Tours on Sale
Just You launched five new escorted tours on April 14, adding to its specialist solo‑travel brochure. The lineup includes three Max 20 tours—Andalucia, Secret Sicily and a 21‑day Silk Road adventure—priced from roughly $3,580 per person, plus a Scandinavia classic at...
Florida Hotel Sues Southwest Airlines After Flight Attendant Caused Extensive Damage When Sprinkler System Went Off
A Fort Lauderdale hotel sued Southwest Airlines for more than $215,000 after a flight attendant allegedly triggered the sprinkler system, flooding her room, several other guest rooms and communal areas. The lawsuit, filed by the Renaissance Hotel, claims the attendant...