Market Trends

📈 2023 GuestRevu GREAT Awards celebrated top hotels based on guest reviews from Google, TripAdvisor, and Booking.com. Marius Botes of Thaba Eco Hotel and Eugenia Danilikhina of Hotel Indigo St. Petersburg emphasized authentic experiences and data-driven personalization. John Rogers of LUX South Ari Atoll highlighted staff empowerment and communication. Hotels focus on removing friction, offering unique local experiences, and leveraging feedback for continuous improvement. Entries for the 2026 GREAT Awards close on June 30, 2026.

📅 July is ahead of last year on the books, but the true finish depends on if it fills as well. A snapshot isn't the final number; remaining pickup pace matters. A room type selling out early can cap overall performance. Evaluate three aspects: remaining pickup vs. last year, treat the landing as a range, and check room type capacity. Demand Calendar reconciles data to show real outcomes, factoring in capacity constraints.

📺 Following a trend called "set-jetting," TV shows and movies increasingly influence travel choices. The Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui, featured in "The White Lotus" Season 3, saw a surge in guests eager to experience the real-life location. In Belfast, hotels like The Merchant Hotel boosted tourism through "Game of Thrones" themed experiences. The Park Hyatt Tokyo maintains appeal due to its prominent role in "Lost in Translation," proving cinematic associations can enhance hotel identity.

💰 Founded in 1942 in Galicia, Martínez Otero is a family-owned company offering turnkey solutions worldwide, with 70% revenue from projects in Europe, the Middle East, the U.K., the U.S., the Caribbean, and Africa. With five facilities in Spain, the Caribbean, and Africa, it employs over 500 directly and 400 indirectly. The company promotes sustainability, having offset 560 tonnes of CO₂ in 2024 through restoration projects in Galicia, planting 9,300 trees over 86,500 m².

📈 Florence, Italy saw 75 experts gather at the Radisson Hotel Group Knowledge Exchange: Healthcare Planning, Design and Strategy Summit. The event emphasized the shift in healthcare meeting planning from event execution to strategic design, underscoring methodologies, intelligent orchestration, and measurable outcomes. The report highlights the role of planners as strategic decision architects and the growing professionalization of meeting planning. Despite AI's prominence, the summit stressed that systematic design, not just technology, is essential for effective healthcare meetings.

📈 UK private sector activity contracted again in June, as per S&P Global's UK composite output index. From May's 49.7, it dipped to 49.4, marking a consecutive monthly decline. The services sector dropped to 48.7 points, the lowest in 41 months. Manufacturing stayed positive but decreased to 53.1 from 53.9.

📈 U.S. hotel performance in May 2026 showed positive year-over-year growth. Occupancy reached 65.7%, a 0.6% increase. The average daily rate (ADR) rose 3.4% to $168.51, while revenue per available room (RevPAR) increased 4.0% to $110.76. Philadelphia led with a 4.3% occupancy rise to 74.4%. Las Vegas saw the largest ADR gain of 13.5%, reaching $238.40, and a RevPAR increase of 17.9% to $188.69. CoStar's data covers 94,000 properties and 12 million rooms worldwide.

🌍 Agoda reported nearly a 50% increase in international accommodation searches for Vietnam in 2025, driven by policy reforms and infrastructure investments. Vietnam extended its visa waiver and improved air access, with over a dozen new routes launched. South Korean searches rose by 28%, while the Philippines saw a 129% increase. European interest surged, with France and Germany increasing by 217% and 120% respectively. Popular destinations include Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, and Phu Quoc, with significant growth in search volume.