Category: Recent News

IHG Hotels & Resorts, one of the world’s leading hotel companies, announces the signing of its first Garner hotel in Türkiye in a franchise agreement with FRT Turizm and support by AB Consulting led by Ahmet Bilgin. The 126-guestroom hotel will consist of four separate buildings and is expected to open in 2025. The signing comes just one month after IHG held its Turkish Investor Day and introduced the Garner brand to the market.

In the fast-paced landscape of digital marketing, staying ahead of the curve is crucial, especially for businesses in the travel industry. One powerful tool that has transformed the way hotels and resorts attract guests is hotel metasearch. In this blog post, we will focus on the key aspects of hotel metasearch and its pivotal role in shaping effective travel marketing strategies.

The Ikoi Spa at Hôtel Balzac is now open in Paris’ new five-star hotel just off the top of the Champs-Élysées in the 8th Arr. Inspired by traditional Japanese techniques, the Ikoi Spa at Hôtel Balzac provides a range of treatments and massages on tables or tatami mats offering travelers to the heart of the French capital a sanctuary “where one feels good” as its name in Japanese implies. The Ikoi Spa’s treatment menu, crafted together with the French natural beauty brand Omnisens, brings together dream protocols to revitalize tired faces and bodies, with authentic rituals such as the signature anti-aging treatment, the Kobido facial treatment, and massages like Shiatsu, Take, and deep tissue massage. The holistic experience is designed to offer unique moments of escape with massages that make use of green tea oil and bamboo shoots, to rituals of pressure-point massage to rebalance energy, and facial massage to promote lifting. Spa therapists combine Japanese beauty techniques with Fre…

Mews, the industry-leading hospitality cloud, today announced $100 million in financing from Vista Credit Partners, the subsidiary of Vista Equity Partners and a strategic credit and financing partner focused on the enterprise software, data and technology markets.

The World Committee on Tourism Ethics (WCTE), an impartial body reporting directly to the World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) General Assembly, met under interim chair and with a new composition. After deliberations, the Committee agreed to issue the following statement:

YOTEL has announced plans to expand its portfolio in the UK and Europe with the opening of YOTEL Belfast. Slated to open in late 2026, the new-build hotel will be situated in the historic Shaftesbury Square in central Belfast, just minutes’ walk from some of the city’s most popular attractions, including Queen’s University and the Botanic Gardens.

Highgate, an industry-leading hotel management, investment, technology, and development company, today announced the rebranding of four of its managed portfolio assets in Algarve, Portugal under the Marriott International umbrella. Each located within the Salgados Beach resort destination, the newly rebranded and co-located Westin Salgados Beach Resort, Algarve; The Residences at The Westin Salgados Beach Resort, Algarve; Algarve Marriott Salgados Golf Resort & Conference Center; and Marriott Residences Salgados Resort, Algarve, will be the first Highgate managed properties in Portugal to join Marriott International’s portfolio.

Preferred Travel Group, parent company of Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Beyond Green, Historic Hotels of America, Historic Hotels Worldwide, PTG Consulting, and Beyond Green Travel, is reaffirming its commitment to sustainable tourism and climate action with the development of a comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CAP). Created in partnership with the Travel Foundation, a prominent international sustainable tourism organization, this initiative builds on the organization’s signing of the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism. It underscores Preferred Travel Group’s proactive role in leading by example to drive necessary change within the travel industry.

Innovations are decisive for the success of developing and securing the future of the tourism industry. As the World’s Largest Travel Trade Show, ITB Berlin offers these innovations a groundbreaking platform. From 4 to 6 March 2025 the eTravel Stage, an integral part of the ITB Berlin Convention, will be focusing on technological change and digital progress in the travel industry. Experts can share their knowledge with an international audience of trade visitors at a total of five theme tracks. With the ITB Innovators, ITB Berlin puts the spotlight on the visionaries in the travel industry. The future-oriented platform presents the latest products, innovations and services by ITB Berlin’s exhibitors that have the potential to make a long-term impact on the industry.

In an era of relationships and personalisation, a Customer Relationship Management system (CRM) has become the king. And especially for hospitality, this type of software is turning into a key element of every hotel’s tech stack.