Category: Recent News

The International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC) in partnership with The Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) presented Ben Weprin, Founder and CEO of AJ Capital Partners and creator of several hospitality brands such as Graduate Hotels, Marine & Lawn Hotels & Resorts, Field & Stream Lodge Co., with the 2025 Pioneer Award. The Award each year recognizes an individual who is considered a pioneer in their field by making an outstanding contribution, achievement, or improvement in the hospitality industry.

Preferred Travel Group, the family-owned company that operates global travel and hospitality brands and programs: Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Beyond Green, Historic Hotels of America, Historic Hotels Worldwide, and PTG Consulting, proudly celebrated top honors – including 2024 Career Achievement Awardee, Michelle Woodley, and Top 25 Extraordinary Minds honoree, Jennifer Munro, alongside award-winning digital and social media campaigns – at the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) Adrian Awards Celebration on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, at the New York Marriott Marquis.

Virtuoso®, the leading global network specialising in luxury and experiential travel, accepted over 30 travel agency members since January 2024, highlighting the network’s ongoing commitment to strategically expanding its global footprint. Virtuoso’s Asia regions led the way by welcoming 10 new agency members, including seven in Greater China alone. This growth reflects the region’s substantial influence in luxury travel. In 2024, Virtuoso installed a dedicated team for North & Southeast Asia in addition to its established team within Greater China, allowing the network to better serve the varying needs of agencies, partners and travellers.

First Hospitality, a national hotel operating and development company, kicked off 2025 celebrating its 3,500+ associates and 40th anniversary at the company’s annual First Honors Awards Gala that took place in February 5-6 at the voco Chicago Downtown. In attendance was general managers and directors of sales from every property within the portfolio, the First Hospitality corporate team of associates, our valued hotel owners and asset managers, and brand partners including Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt and IHG.

With the rise of immersive technologies such as augmented reality and mixed reality, globe-trotting, skydiving, wine-tasting and many more exhilarating tourism activities can now be enjoyed from the comfort of one’s own home. We are living in the era of the metaverse – the seamless convergence of the real and virtual worlds. This trend heralds an upcoming transformation in tourism management and marketing, according to Professor Daniel Leung and Professor Michael Lin of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, working with a co-author. The researchers offer a vision of how the metaverse could reshape the tourism experience, highlighting both exciting opportunities for the sector and significant challenges ahead.

The guests staying at your hotel expect exceptional service, comfort, and a high sense of security. Ensuring the safety of all your hotel’s guests must be of utmost importance, which means it is imperative to do regular assessments of ways to improve security measures. Maximizing your hotel’s safety will safeguard your guests’ wellbeing, protect valuable property, and maintain your establishment’s reputation.

Marketing, at its core, is about making people want something. It’s about shaping perceptions so that customers actively seek out a product or service. Yet, time and time again, when diving into product research or company data, the first thing people highlight is what’s wrong—the market conditions, the competition, the regulatory challenges, the inclusion concerns. Important discussions, sure. But they don’t sell.

Let’s be honest, the current influencer marketing model for hotels often feels like a race to the bottom. Hotels are bombarded with requests for free stays, often from “influencers” with questionable engagement and a focus on their own personal brand, rather than the hotel’s story. Meanwhile, genuine storytellers and content creators who could truly showcase a hotel’s unique offerings are often overlooked. Something needs to change.

innQuest, a global leader in hospitality management software, is thrilled to announce its participation in the upcoming Ocean City Maryland Hotel, Motel, Restaurant Association Tradeshow. The event, one of the most significant gatherings for the Mid-Atlantic hospitality industry, will take place in Ocean City, Maryland, bringing together hotel operators, service providers, and industry professionals.

MGM Resorts International has completed the deployment of the next generation Amadeus Central Reservation System (ACRS) across MGM Resorts’ North American hotels, including Las Vegas and regional hotels. The cloud based ACRS offers advanced distribution capabilities enabling MGM Resorts to efficiently connect with its branded and third-party distribution channels.