Category: Recent News

The recent ruling by a Texas federal judge to vacate the Department of Labor’s (DOL) overtime rule sent shockwaves through the hospitality industry. The proposed salary threshold increase would have expanded overtime eligibility to approximately 3.6 million lower-paid salaried workers across industries, many of whom are employed in hospitality. While this decision provides temporary relief, it also opens the door for deeper introspection and strategic action.

Markham, Ontario, Nov. 19, 2024 — Today, paying for hotel stays is more secure than ever before thanks to an integration between the coveted All-In-One Cloud or On-Premise Maestro PMS solutions’ embedded payment platform, MezzoPay, and the b4checkin (b4) online payment solution, TransForm. MezzoPay embeds all payments for credit-card processing directly into the hotel PMS, enabling hotels to offer a seamless end-to-end payment experience from booking to check out. This partnership is also supporting hoteliers in their fight against chargebacks and fraud by fully obscuring credit card information through card-not-present (CNP) transactions, and other fraud prevention features.

As technology evolves, so do the demands of our industry and workforce. Yet, in hospitality, technology’s role should be simple: it must empower people, not replace them. Our industry revolves around human connections, and while automation can streamline operations, it’s the personal touch that brings guests back and drives team engagement. In a recent conversation with Rob Smith, CEO of Stonebridge Companies, we explored the balance between digital innovation and human interaction—a conversation that feels more relevant than ever as labor challenges and shifting guest expectations reshape hospitality.

Audubon International – the environmentally focused non-profit organization offering members numerous certifications and conservation initiatives to protect the areas where we all live, work, and play – announces that The Ritz-Carlton, Denver has attained Green Lodging/Green Hospitality Gold-level Certification for sustainable best practices.

Urban Rest, the innovative leader in flexible alternative accommodations, is excited to announce the opening of the first phase of Urban Rest Hackney, a new serviced apartment property in the vibrant East End of London. This marks an important step in the brand’s rapid growth across the UK and Europe, bringing its signature extended-stay offering to one of London’s most dynamic neighbourhoods.

Tripadvisor Group today announced the opening of its new office in Oxford, replacing its previous location in the city with an updated facility to support Tripadvisor’s activity-based work model.

Each quarter we reveal exclusive insights from our first-party data to help you tap into the latest traveler trends.

St. Regis Hotels & Resorts is proud to announce the debut of The St. Regis Belgrade, marking the brand’s first entry into Serbia. Founded in New York by John Jacob Astor IV more than a century ago, St. Regis celebrates its 120th anniversary this year with this significant addition to its global portfolio. Combining timeless glamour and vanguard spirit with local heritage the property is developed by Eagle Hills, a private investment and real estate development company based in Abu Dhabi and designed by the internationally recognized design firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Global (SOM).

As 2024 draws to a close, there is strong sentiment from the global business travel industry that the year outperformed expectations, paving the way for increased budgets, strategic investments and growth initiatives for 2025. This is according to a new research poll by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) where 86% of global business travel buyers and travel suppliers surveyed said that business travel performed on par or better than they anticipated in 2024.

On the 10-year anniversary of Barcelona’s clampdown on hosting1, Airbnb is calling on the city to rethink its approach to short-term rentals, as new analysis shows its policies are failing to ease housing and overtourism challenges.