Categorizing…

This article was written by Phocuswright. Click here to read the original article

Today, IHG Hotels & Resorts (IHG) announced the official debut of Garner hotels, its 14 th brand in Greater China, further strengthening its portfolio in the region. Garner offers a highly adaptable, conversion-friendly model that enables owners to unlock value with efficient and practical solutions. While upholding the quality and consistency of an international brand, Garner encourages each hotel to express its own character — delivering stays that are relaxed, easy, and full of personality. As the midscale to upper-midscale segment continues to evolve and demand for upgrading existing hotels accelerates, Garner offers a compelling new option for owners, combining efficiency with flexibility. Daniel Aylmer, CEO, IHG Greater China, said: “Having maintained a long-standing presence in Greater China, we have observed the industry enter a more refined stage of development. The introduction of Garner hotels to the region demonstrates our deep commitment to this market and reflects how we are responding to the growing demand for conversions. Garner strengthens our portfolio in the conversion market, complementing our luxury and lifestyle brand, Vignette Collection, and our premium brand, voco, to offer a broader set of solutions across different markets and project types. Its high adaptability and flexible conversion model enable a strong balance between investment efficiency and guest experience. We look forward to supporting owners in building more resilient and sustainable investment models while contributing to the high-quality growth of the hospitality sector in Greater China.” Since its global launch in 2023, Garner has expanded rapidly, with more than 100 hotels now open worldwide, making it one of the fastest-growing brands in IHG. Its debut in Greater China marks the next phase of the brand’s global expansion. Built on Standards, Designed for Individuality As the midscale to upper-midscale segment evolves, a new generation of travelers is seeking more than consistency and quality. Increasingly, they value individuality, emotional connection, and experiences that feel both reliable and distinctive. Garner addresses this demand with its brand proposition: For all the journeys you're on, we make it possible. Guided by its global brand philosophy, Garner embraces adaptability in design, local expression, and guest touchpoints, enabling each property to reflect its own identity. Designed for Spirited, Flexible Travelers, the brand brings its ethos to life through three core experience pillars: Get Comfortable: From extended breakfast hours to 24-hour delivery services, Garner adapts to each guest’s lifestyle, allowing travel to unfold naturally without rigid schedules. Good Stuff to Keep You Going: From self-serve beverage stations to diverse breakfast experiences, spaces and services are designed to be used in multiple ways, giving guests the freedom to engage based on their preferences. Made with Character: Through interactive touches such as welcome treats, community voting, and creative elements like coffee cup doodling, Garner provides guests with opportunities to express their personality and leave their own mark on each stay. Efficient, Flexible, Rewarding Conversions As the conversion becomes a fast-growing area in hospitality, Garner is designed to address key owner needs, from investment efficiency to product adaptability and operational performance. Built

Two new sub-brands – Bahia Principe Explore and Bahia Principe Escape – will organize the hotel portfolio by guest experience. Bahia Principe modernizes its visual identity and launches the “Fully & Freely” positioning which invites everyone to enjoy their vacation their own way, while also connecting with the local culture of each destination. The rebranding follows Bahia Principe’s brand now being owned by the Piñero-Hyatt joint venture and comes alongside with the entry of more than 20 Bahia Principe resorts into the World of Hyatt loyalty program. Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts has refreshed its visual identity and brand architecture to strengthen its position as a leader in the all-inclusive vacation segment and enhance the booking experience. This new customer-centric structure simplifies the experience by organizing sub-brands into clearly defined adults-only and all-ages categories. The iconic Bahia Principe sun symbol has been thoughtfully modernized for digital and global environments while preserving its original spirit. This visual update supports the new “Fully & Freely” brand positioning, inviting guests to enjoy their vacation their way while connecting with each destination’s culture. New sub-brand architecture focused on the customer One of the most significant changes is the evolution of the sub-brand model, redesigned to simplify the booking experience and enhance the guest experience. Bahia Principe has replaced its previous categories (Grand, Luxury, Sunlight, and Fantasia) with two new sub-brands created with the consumer in mind and organized by audience type and experience. Bahia Principe Escape includes exclusive adults-only hotels focused on wellness, premium dining, and specialized entertainment, while Bahia Principe Explore encompasses properties designed for families and groups seeking shared experiences. This category includes themed hotels with their own distinctive visual identity (formerly Fantasia), characterized by creative and immersive spaces that enhance family leisure and spark the imagination of younger guests. Resort names will now incorporate their corresponding sub-brand, with former Fantasia properties rebranded as Bahia Principe Explore Legend (Punta Cana) and Bahia Principe Explore Fantasia (Tenerife). This renewed brand architecture marks an important step for Bahia Principe, whose resorts are operated and whose brand is owned by the Piñero-Hyatt joint venture. Alignment with Hyatt’s Inclusive portfolio has guided the rebranding, alongside preserving Bahia Principe’s DNA. The new Bahia Principe brand architecture reflects who we are —shaped over more than three decades— and is the result of listening to our guests and understanding how they want to vacation today. We have created new sub-brands that feel clearer, more approachable and more authentic. As part of Hyatt's Inclusive portfolio, we’re now able to bring that promise to new travelers around the world while strengthening our connection with those who already choose us year after year Julio Pérez, CEO of Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts This milestone strengthens the strategic joint venture between Hyatt and Piñero, making Bahia Principe the ninth brand in Hyatt’s Inclusive portfolio and the eleventh all-inclusive brand overall that Hyatt offers, further expanding vacation options for a highly loyal global community. This integration will also enhance the brand’s international visibility. Bahia

San Diego and Istanbul, March 31, 2026 — Cloudbeds , the intelligent unified platform powering hotel growth, today announced a strategic reseller partnership with Protel Bilgisayar A.Ş , the leading provider of hospitality technology solutions in Türkiye. The partnership marks a significant milestone in Cloudbeds’ expansion across Europe and the Middle East, reinforcing the company’s commitment to empowering hotels in one of the world’s most vibrant and fast-evolving travel markets. By joining forces with Protel, Cloudbeds will bring its award-winning, unified platform to a broader audience of hotel operators, offering an integrated approach to operations management, revenue optimization, and guest engagement. With over three decades of experience, Protel has built an unrivaled reputation for reliability and deep market knowledge, earning the trust of the mid- and upper-market segments across the region. Through this new collaboration, Protel is expanding its reach to provide tailored, cloud-native solutions to all accommodation types, including boutique hotels, hostels, and vacation rentals. “Partnering with Protel allows us to combine their decades of proven local expertise with Cloudbeds’ innovative technology to better serve hoteliers across Türkiye and Northern Cyprus,” said Linda Vallner, Vice President of EMEA at Cloudbeds . “Together, we are bringing the future of hotel technology to a market that deeply values quality, service, and long-standing professional relationships”. Metin Arghan, Founder and Chairman of Protel , and a highly respected figure in the Turkish technology sector, commented: “Cloudbeds represents the next generation of hospitality technology. Its powerful, unified platform is a perfect fit for the diverse needs of independent hotels and hostels in our market. We are proud to add such a forward-thinking platform to our portfolio as we continue to lead the digital transformation of the Turkish hospitality industry”. As the tourism sector in Türkiye continues its rapid digital evolution, the Cloudbeds-Protel partnership ensures that local hoteliers have access to the modern tools and regional expertise they need to succeed in a competitive global landscape.

The convergence of AI advancement and wellness positioning reflects industry prioritization: technology must serve human experience rather than replace it. Asia Pacific tourism forecasts 761.2 million arrivals by 2028 though geopolitical risks could limit recovery to 88% of pre-pandemic levels, and a viewpoint questions how operators ensure AI investments are fully understood and adopted by teams. EHL HumanX Summit Explores Technology-Humanity Integration EHL's HumanX Summit 2026 in Lausanne will bring together 600 participants to debate balancing technology with humanity in hospitality leadership strategy, featuring industry leaders discussing how innovation can enhance rather than diminish human connection in guest experiences. The summit addresses fundamental tension between operational efficiency and experiential authenticity. Hotels deploying AI and automation achieved cost reductions and faster service delivery, yet risk commoditizing hospitality into transactional encounters lacking memorable human moments. The leadership challenge requires determining which touchpoints benefit from technology acceleration versus where human judgment and empathy create irreplaceable value. Properties automating everything from check-in to concierge services discovered guests still seek staff interaction for complex requests, local recommendations, and situations requiring emotional intelligence. The HumanX framework positions technology as enabler amplifying human capabilities rather than substitute, requiring leaders to design systems where AI handles repetitive tasks while freeing staff for relationship-building activities technology cannot replicate. Read the interview → Viewpoint: AI Literacy Gap Prevents F&B Teams From Realizing Technology Value Despite increased AI tool access for demand forecasting, inventory, labor scheduling, and cost control, actual F&B usage remains limited and inconsistent. Many operators buy technology but struggle turning it into real improvements, with the implementation gap primarily driven by human capability limitations rather than system deficiencies. The literacy barrier manifests across awareness, understanding, skills, and attitudes needed to use AI effectively. Senior leadership may promote digital transformation while operational teams lack exposure, training, or confidence, resulting in underused systems and resistance to change that erodes ROI. Restaurant managers equipped with sophisticated forecasting algorithms continue relying on historical intuition because they don't understand model outputs or trust predictions contradicting experience. Kitchen staff ignore inventory optimization recommendations when AI suggests ingredient substitutions they perceive as quality compromises. The capability gap means expensive technology sits idle or circumvented, with teams reverting to manual processes they comprehend rather than automated workflows requiring new mental models. Join the discussion → Marriott Adds Lefay Wellness Resorts as First Wellness-Exclusive Brand Marriott International signed milestone deal adding Lefay's five existing and pipeline luxury wellness resorts to its portfolio, marking the company's first wellness-exclusive brand and signaling strategic positioning in the luxury wellness segment. The acquisition reflects wellness transition from amenity to core positioning strategy. Traditional luxury hotels offered spa services as ancillary revenue centers supporting primary room business, treating wellness as add-on feature rather than fundamental value proposition. Lefay properties built entire guest experience around wellness programming, from architecture designed for natural light and air quality to cuisine centered on nutritional medicine and activity schedules integrating movement, mindfulness, and recovery. Marriott's entry through acquisition rather than organic brand development indicates recognition that authentic

HumanX Summit 2026 , hosted by EHL and powered by the EHL Innovation Hub , is a two-day gathering in Lausanne on 19–20 May 2026 built around one clear provocation: Leading with Humanity . In this partner interview, Simone Puorto speaks with Nicola Kirsch , social entrepreneur and Entrepreneur in Residence at EHL, about why HumanX Summit 2026 is designed as a multi-stakeholder platform that brings academia, industry, innovators, and increasingly governments into the same room. Kirsch explains what HumanX stands for: “human experience, business excellence, and experimentation,” and why the “X” is intentionally open, an invitation to co-create rather than passively attend. Expect a mix of keynotes, workshops, open innovation challenges, and curated networking, with an opening keynote from futurist Jason Silva designed to set the tone for possibility and practical debate. Leading with Humanity, and making it a strategy If you walked the halls of the World Economic Forum lately, you probably felt it: everything is AI, everything is technology. Nicola Kirsch did too, and she was not impressed. Innovation, she says, has started to sound like a single-note song. “Everything AI, everything technology… this is very disappointing,” she told Hospitality Net, because the real point of innovation is “to improve our human experience.” That is the tension HumanX Summit 2026 is designed to hold. Hosted by EHL and powered by the EHL Innovation Hub, HumanX Summit 2026 takes place in Lausanne on 19–20 May 2026 and is designed to challenge existing paradigms. It is an industry gathering, but it is not meant to feel like yet another industry gathering. Kirsch describes the summit as a deliberate collision of perspectives: “EHL is such an amazing platform, where we can bring together different stakeholders,” from students and academia to industry innovators and, increasingly, governments. “It’s truly that multidimensional lens that we wanna bring together,” she explains, to consider not just the future of hospitality, but of broader service industries as well. What “HumanX” actually means The name HumanX carries layered meanings, but it is not vague. Kirsch anchors it in three ideas: human experience, business excellence, and experimentation. Human experience speaks to hospitality’s core purpose. Business excellence reflects EHL’s role and legacy in shaping service leadership. Experimentation is the operating mindset: if we want to be future-oriented, we have to test, learn, and evolve rather than rely on fixed playbooks. And then there is the “X.” It is the wildcard by design. “X can be exponential, it can be the intersection of, it can be the diversity of things… the crossroad,” Kirsch says. In other words, the summit is not pretending to predict the future. It is creating a space where futures can be explored, challenged, and co-designed. That openness is also practical. HumanX is meant to evolve: “Each year is gonna have a different theme according to what’s needed in the world.” The X gives the summit permission to change without abandoning its identity. It is a platform, not a one-off event, and the name is designed to