Market Trends

🍴 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality since 1999, hosts the podcast "In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn". He wrote for The New York Sun from 2005-2008. Previously, Thorn spent five years in Thailand writing for Manager magazine and Asia Times. A graduate of Tufts University (1990) and Le Cordon Bleu Paris (1986), he won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award. Inducted into the Disciples d'Escoffier in 2014, Thorn lives in Brooklyn, NY. Contact him at [email protected] and follow on social media: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

👨 Dusit Hotels & Resorts and Generator & Freehand Hotels enter strategic partnership to expand globally. Dusit's network in Asia, the Middle East, and Generator's presence in the U.S. and Europe to be leveraged. Dusit International's Siradej Donavanik sees non-aligned prospects for Thai company's development. Dusit's brand lineup includes Dusit Thani, dusitD2, Dusit Princess, Dusit Suites, ASAI Hotels, Devarana, and Dusit Collection. Dusit has 57 operating hotels, with 60 more coming and 244 luxury villas under Elite Havens. Dusit's dusitD2 Feydhoo Maldives and renovated Dusit Thani Bangkok launching soon. Generator and Freehand's portfolio holds 21 properties, with an 18% EBITDA increase YOY, aiming for $95.8 million yearly EBITDA, up 22%.

🏨 Airbnb stock dropped 14% in one day, as the company forecasted slowing demand and reduced projected third-quarter earnings to $3.67-$3.73 billion, lower than the anticipated $3.8 billion. Some former avid users have shifted back to hotels, citing a preference for consistent standards. Airbnb hinted at increasing hotel room bookings through its platform, reflecting a strategic shift to compete with hotels. 📅 2024-08-13.

💸 Over 87% of GDS hotel reservations in 2024 are for business travel, surpassing 2019's peak. GDS connects over 600,000 travel agents to real-time hotel availability. Hotels with 40+ rooms located near business hubs, airports, or tourist spots are ideal for GDS listings. Evaluating factors like target demographic, location, demand, GDS fees, and technical capabilities is crucial in deciding if GDS is suitable for a property.

🍚 Soy Cowboy, a Pan-Asian restaurant, opened in Arlington, Texas inside the Loews Arlington hotel. Ben Berg of Berg Hospitality Group, a key figure in the Texas dining scene since 2015, established the restaurant with a unique concept focusing on shareable dishes. Soy Cowboy avoids the typical "hotel restaurant" feel by providing a separate entrance and aiming for a standalone fine dining experience. The team adapts service to accommodate convention crowds and Dallas Cowboys gameday visitors, striving for full fine dining service without sacrificing quality or speed. Despite operational challenges, it has received high service ratings on OpenTable.

🏖️ IHG Hotels & Resorts is expanding with a Six Senses resort in Telluride, Colo., slated to open in 2028, featuring 77 rooms, 24 residences, and amenities like ski concierge and a spa. Playa Hotels & Resorts will sell the Jewel Palm Beach in Punta Cana for $68 million, expecting the deal to close by Q3. IHG will also open Hotel Indigo Cabal Akhdar Resort & Spa in Oman on September 1 with 173 accommodations. Marriott's Moxy Hotels debuts in Mumbai's Andheri West with a 105-room hotel.

🏠 Choice Hotels International broke ground on three Everhome Suites in San Antonio, Texas; Bowling Green, Ky.; and Wichita, Kan., in partnership with Highside Companies, which has 25 Everhome Suites in its pipeline. The brand currently has four open, 65 planned, and over 20 under construction, aiming to open over 15 in the next 12 months. Everhome Suites Bowling Green, with 115 rooms, will open in November 2025. The equally sized San Antonio suite will also open in November 2025. Meanwhile, the 123-room Wichita suite is set for a fall 2025 opening.

🏨 In the August 26, 2024 episode of the Hospitality Daily Podcast, Staypineapple Hotels leaders Dina Belon (President), Mike Hirschler (Chief Growth Officer), and Casey Barks (Vice President of Marketing) discuss their career journeys. Belon highlights the role of her design background in leadership, the brand's "elegant whimsy" aesthetic, and her philosophy of kindness with efficiency. Hirschler reflects on his early passion for hospitality, career challenges during COVID, and the importance of cultural fit. Barks offers insights into the contrasts between city and resort hotels, PR during the pandemic, and Staypineapple's brand personality. The episode explores the PATH water bottle initiative and Belon's decision-making process.

🏡 Mirzoyan Studio renovated a two-bedroom Stalinka apartment in Kyiv, Ukraine, transforming it into a rental property with reflective surfaces and built-in oak furniture. The historical building's structural integrity influenced the careful planning and preservation of its character. The main living space now combines the living room and kitchen, separated by a wooden shelving unit, with stainless steel kitchen finishes. Mirrored closets and broken marble from a local supplier enhance the entryway and bathroom. Despite war-related construction delays and budget cuts, the project emphasized durable design and local materials.

🏠 YSG Studio renovated a seaside home in Byron Bay, Australia, with retro 1970s-inspired interiors. YSG director Yasmine Saleh Ghoniem designed period details like a sunken lounge, chrome additions, and a geometric patterned floor titled Checkmate. The kitchen was doubled in size, featuring a wooden screen and circular island. Vintage Italian dining chairs were reupholstered in chartreuse velvet, and terracotta pavers were laid in a grid pattern in living areas. Custom and vintage furniture pieces, including a Cassina Soriana chair, adorn the home.