Category: Recent News

Veterans Day falling on a Tuesday, compared with Monday last year, slowed U.S. travel. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) for the week ending 15 November fell 4.6% on declining occupancy (-2.6 percentage points, ppts). Average daily rate (ADR) was also down (-0.5%), which was the industry’s first decrease since the week ending of 25 October.

Just four months following the completion of Marriott International’s acquisition of the citizenM brand, the company that founded, owns and operates citizenM hotels has unveiled its new name: Another Star.

Having worked in the hotel business for over four decades, I know most people think the numbers are the “hard” part of hospitality. There’s a common belief that the financials are best left to professionals who can sort out the complex interplay between the different departments of a hotel. It’s just too challenging and complicated for anyone who didn’t go to accounting school.

It may sound like an oxymoron, but the biggest capsule hotel in the world has just opened in central London. The Zedwell, in Piccadilly Circus, offers 1,000 sound-proofed, windowless ‘cocoons’, with prices from as little as £30 a night. A raft of other hotels drawing on the same low-space, low-cost concept is set to arrive in the capital in the coming years, serving as the catalyst — insiders believe — for a global proliferation. Novel, affordable, convenient and fun, the appeal of the capsule hotel is surprisingly broad — except for the claustrophobic.

When he began to reimagine Rome’s Fonseca Palace hotel as the new Orient Express La Minerva, architect Hugo Toro knew he would break at least one rule. “I hate orchids. I don’t understand when hotels put them everywhere,” he says. “Orchids have just become this blanket statement for luxury that has lost its feeling.”

Ever wished your hotel amenities could tell your brand story? This week, they can.

Barry Diller is one of business’s most candid and visionary strategists. Two decades after his last Phocuswright appearance, the chairman and senior executive of IAC and Expedia Group returns to the stage at a moment of massive transformation for travel and media alike. In this candid conversation, Diller shares his unfiltered take on where travel is headed, how technology is changing the game and the bold moves needed to stay ahead when the playbook is being rewritten in real time.

Travel discovery has moved far beyond OTAs and metasearch. Platforms like YouTube, TikTok and Reddit are shaping how new generations dream, research and even book their trips—compressing the path from inspiration to transaction. With hotel booking pilots rolling out on TikTok and creator-driven content dictating destination demand, the rules of engagement are shifting fast. Join our panelists from three of the biggest players as they unpack how social platforms are rewriting the playbook—and what travel sellers must do to win the next wave of travelers.

Hotel food and beverage isn’t simply a service line—it’s the second-largest revenue engine in the building (1) and, increasingly, the brand’s cultural calling card.

The European Travel Commission (ETC) has today presented the Reykjavík Declaration “Tourism for Europe, Europe for Tourism”, a joint commitment by its 35 member national tourism organisations to place communities and residents at the heart of Europe’s tourism future. Signed during ETC’s 110th General Meeting in Iceland, the declaration outlines a shared vision for tourism that enriches local life, regenerates destinations, and safeguards Europe’s cultural and natural heritage.