Market Trends

🏡 Hyatt Hotels Corp. plans to open over 50 luxury and lifestyle hotels worldwide by 2026, with a strong focus on luxury travel that is projected to see a 52.8% increase in Europe's hotel stock by 2028. Approximately 70% of Hyatt's global rooms are in luxury and upper upscale categories, having doubled its luxury room count since 2017. The lifestyle sector is expanding, with Hyatt quintupling its lifestyle rooms since 2017 and adding 28 hotels in 2024. Notable future openings include Miraval, The Red Sea in late 2025, Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur, Park Hyatt Johannesburg, Andaz Miami Beach, and Andaz Gold Coast. Hyatt has acquired Standard International, which will enhance its Lifestyle portfolio with brands like Andaz and Thompson Hotels, and has a Luxury portfolio with brands such as Park Hyatt and Miraval.

🏖 Radisson Hotel Group introduced Radisson Collection brand in South Africa at the former Radisson Blu in Cape Town. The hotel, featuring 175 rooms and suites, was extensively renovated, boasting floor-to-ceiling windows, private balconies, a restaurant, bar, terrace, and a new café. A refurbishment of the restaurant is planned for July 2025. The property includes an infinity pool, fitness and wellness center, art gallery, and event rooms for up to 350 guests. Radisson Hotel Group has over 1,430 hotels worldwide.

🎉 Eric Jafari of AENDRE Group discusses the evolution of the hospitality industry in a podcast episode. Key takeaways include: the start of the lifestyle hotel movement in the 1980s, transformation of the Executive Hotel by Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager in New York, the shift from status to self-actualization in Gen Z and millennials, the rising importance of wellness, and the influence of social media on status and self-worth._presence of the hospitality industry.

🚿 Interior design's post-Covid emphasis on wellness prominently features in bathroom trends, as discussed in a panel at New York's BDNY trade fair, hosted by Dezeen and Graff. Speakers included interior designers Ahmad AbouZanat and Danu Kennedy, and Graff's Brian Gallop. The panel, moderated by Dezeen's Dan Howarth on 11 November, covered the intersection of wellness with technology, materials, and ambiance in bathroom design, proposing changes like advanced lighting and water features to create spa-like environments at home.

🏨 STAAH’s Weekly Hotel Industry Quiz aims to test and update hospitality professionals on industry trends. New questions are posted every week, covering diverse topics, and are available for anyone interested in improving their hotel industry knowledge. Missed quizzes can be accessed for later testing.

🏕 Marriott International, the world's largest hotel company, has announced deals with Postcard Cabins and Trailborn for an outdoor-centric accommodations collection set to launch next year. Postcard Cabins, known for its tiny cabins within two hours of major cities, has over 1,200 cabins across 29 U.S. properties. Trailborn offers bespoke hotels near outdoor destinations, with 559 rooms across five locations and more in development. Both brands will integrate into Marriott Bonvoy in 2025, expanding Marriott's portfolio following the outdoor travel trend heightened by the pandemic. Marriott's move follows Hilton's partnership with AutoCamp in February 2024 and Hyatt's collaboration with Under Canvas in July. Marriott's CFO, Leeny Oberg, emphasizes the company's commitment to nature-immersive travel.

🏕 The report analyzes travel tech funding, including companies founded over the past 30 years and tracks funding from the start of 2014 to 3Q24. In mid-2024, Phocuswright enhanced data collection, nearly doubling the company count from prior reports. The 2023 edition expanded the founding date range due to well-established companies raising significant funds. To maintain focus, firms with over $4 billion funding or only peripherally involved in travel, like Uber and Airbnb, were omitted, excluding $117.3 billion raised by 35 such entities. Publicly disclosed venture capital, private equity, crowdfunding, and debt were considered, while IPOs and post-IPO investments were not.

📱 In a survey of 2,000 UK consumers by Epsilon, 20% are inspired by travel agents and operators, equalling TripAdvisor's influence. Friends and family lead at 46%. Other sources include consumer magazines (17%), TV ads (14%), apps (12%), online forums (11%), and social influencers (11%). Last-minute bookings account for 24%, months in advance for 38%, with variability for 43%. Price is a key factor for 39% seeking deals. Only 7% book holidays in January, challenging beliefs about peak booking times.

🏨 A new survey indicates that 91% of hoteliers report increased costs post-Autumn Budget, with 60% seeing a rise over 20%. More than a third of BWH Hotels' members anticipate costs climbing by £100,000+, some fear £750,000 hikes. Cost drivers include employer's National Insurance and the National Living and Minimum Wage, leading 83% to cut staff hours, 77% to raise prices, and many to delay maintenance. The industry calls for VAT reduction and business reform, with 79% of hoteliers supporting a VAT cut in hospitality.

🍴 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor at Nation's Restaurant News since 1999 and Restaurant Hospitality since 2016, has a BA in history from Tufts University (1990). He wrote for The New York Sun (2005-2008), worked in Thailand (1992-1997), and covered Tiananmen Square protests for ABC News in 1989. Thorn won the Jesse H. Neal Award (2006), was president of IFEC (2005), inducted into Disciples d’Escoffier (2014), and authored entries in the Oxford Encyclopedia (2012) and Oxford Companion (2015). He resides in Brooklyn, N.Y.