Hotel Openings

🍣 Seven Sushi & Robata, launched on November 20 in Houston's Chinatown at Dun Huang Plaza, offers a 4,000 sq ft space seating 160. Guests enjoy all-you-can-eat sushi and robata with two pricing tiers: $37 for core items and $57 including premium additions. Open until midnight, the menu features both Japanese and Chinese architectural elements. Grace and Leo Xia, also known for Duck N Bao and Hongdae 33, manage the restaurant, which includes a full bar with unique cocktails.

🍴 Gavin Kaysen opened three new restaurants in three weeks. Bellecour in Edina, Minneapolis, opened on November 18, offering French-style breakfast and lunch. A North Loop Minneapolis location followed on December 6, adding bistro-style dinners. The Merchant Room, a New American brasserie, opened December 8 at Naples Beach Club, Florida. These expansions are supported by a strong team, including Alexandra Motz, pastry director, and Zachary Byers, head sommelier.

🏖 MOAB, Utah—In 2025, Hilton unveiled the Slackline Moab hotel, part of the Outset Collection. The 138-room establishment welcomes explorers with features like outdoor fire pits, pet-friendly rooms, and a gear shop. Guests can engage in guided hiking, biking, and stargazing. Amenities include the Little Station Coffee + Kitchen and an outdoor pool. Designed for outdoor enthusiasts, Slackline Moab aims to connect visitors to the spirit of Moab’s red rock country.

🏨 Procaccianti Companies will renovate the Hyatt Regency Lexington, Kentucky, starting next summer. The project, approved by Kentucky’s Tourism Development Incentive Program, involves refreshing 366 guestrooms, guestroom corridors, and public areas, plus redesigning the restaurant and bar, adding a marketplace, and expanding the fitness center. TPG Hotels & Resorts will manage the hotel, while TPG Development & Construction will handle the renovation. The upgrades aim to enhance guest experience and support Lexington's downtown growth.

🏠 McKays Hotel, part of Turas Hotels, expanded in Pitlochry with a £250,000 conversion of an Italian café into a townhouse. Opened recently, it offers seven en-suite rooms and two self-catering apartments. This follows a £1.25m investment three years ago. Pitlochry, attracting 500,000 yearly visitors, benefits from tourism boosts like Alan Cumming's role at Pitlochry Festival Theatre. McKays aims to meet demand for upscale lodging, appealing to longer-stay guests.

🏨 Accor will bring Mövenpick to the UK by 2027, converting the Old Thorns Estate in Hampshire into a 194-room Mövenpick Hampshire – Old Thorns. The renovation includes guestrooms, wellness and leisure facilities, and dining concepts. The estate features a championship golf course, 2,500 sqm of conference facilities, four restaurants, and a ballroom for over 500 guests. Located an hour from London, the project expands Accor's presence in the UK and Ireland, aligning with its growth strategy.

🏨 Berlin, Germany, December 11, 2025 – Le Clay, opening in Lavaux, Switzerland, summer 2026, partners with Shiji for a fully integrated digital experience. The 35-hectare estate includes 105 rooms, 2 restaurants, and wellness facilities. Shiji’s ecosystem offers seamless operations with Daylight PMS, Infrasys POS, and more. Le Clay is the first of four hotels by Seiler Constantin, aiming for an experiential luxury approach with European-based support and cloud architecture. Reservations open late spring 2026.

📍 The Zetter is expanding with a 68-room hotel in Bloomsbury, London, opening March 2026. Situated in six interconnecting Georgian townhouses near Russell Square, designed by James Thurstan Waterworth, the hotel will offer amenities like The Parlour, The Orangery, and a gym with outdoor yoga space. The Zetter Bloomsbury is the brand's third London location, alongside its Marylebone and Clerkenwell sites.

🏨 Aleph Hospitality and Hilton, in partnership with AREA Investment and Real Estate, will open an 84-key Tapestry Collection by Hilton hotel in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, by 2027. This will be the first of its kind in Dammam and Aleph’s third Tapestry under management. Hilton has over 100 hotels operating or planned in Saudi Arabia. The project, featuring design direction from Sonia Ashoor, aims to enhance Dammam’s upscale hospitality landscape.

📈 Aimbridge Hospitality EMEA outperformed market benchmarks in 2025 with a gross operating profit index of 101.8 from January to September, surpassing competitors in England and Wales. The payroll cost per occupied room index reached 126.5 in Q3. Aimbridge added 10 properties, including Hyatt Place and Hyatt House Leeds, and Radisson Red London Twickenham. New sales strategies and data-driven investments boosted performance. President David Anderson emphasizes continued support and adaptability.