Regulatory and Legal Affairs

🏛 U.S. Travel Association announced the 2026 ESTO Awards winners during the 42nd annual conference, held August 23-26, in Philadelphia. Awards honored innovative destination marketing with categories like the Digital Brilliance Award won by Visit Anaheim. Mark Ezell was named 2026 State Tourism Director of the Year. A panel of 72 marketing experts selected winners. The next ESTO conference will be in San Antonio, August 29 – September 1, 2027.

💰 PPHE Hotel Group's interim results for the first half of 2026 reveal a 4.7% revenue increase to £209.3 million, with a 3.9% RevPAR rise to £113.5 and a 6.3% EBITDA growth to £48.4 million. Strategic moves include acquiring Park Plaza London Waterloo for £147.9 million and refinancing a €27.6 million loan for art'otel Rome. An interim dividend of 17 pence per share was declared, and a New York site was sold for US$33.5 million.

📈 U.S. hotel performance in July 2026 revealed significant growth over the previous year, with occupancy at 69.7% (+2.3%), ADR at $171.74 (+5.7%), and RevPAR at $119.77 (+8.2%). Detroit led occupancy growth (+10.7% to 70.7%), while New York City, benefiting from the FIFA World Cup Final, saw ADR rise 24.0% to $351.18 and RevPAR increase 27.1% to $305.74. CoStar's data encompasses 95,000 properties, 12.2 million rooms globally.

🏨 Global Hotel Alliance (GHA), the largest alliance of independent hotel brands, is expanding with The Marmara Hotels from Turkey and PURO Hotels from Poland, adding 15 hotels to GHA DISCOVERY's loyalty program. Currently, The Marmara's six hotels are live, while PURO's nine hotels will join by Q3 2026. The Marmara Hotels are known for Turkish hospitality, and PURO Hotels offer design-led experiences in cities like Warsaw and Kraków, with expansions planned in Budapest (2026) and Prague (2027).

📍 Emmy Stoel was named Europe's best hotel general manager by EHMA in 2023, as the second Dutch national and woman to achieve this. She led InterContinental Athénée Palace Bucharest since September 2025 and previously managed Okura Amsterdam from January 1, 2013, and Sofitel Legend The Grand until 2024. The Amsterdam tourist tax increased from 7% to 12.5% in 2024, with VAT rising to 21% in 2026. City-center RevPAR is 13% below 2019 levels, with a further decline expected.

🛫 August 26, InterContinental extends its partnership with Timeshifter, offering guests at 242 hotels in nearly 70 countries free access to personalized jet lag plans. The Timeshifter app uses circadian science to customize strategies for overcoming jet lag. Every guest receives a complimentary plan, accessed via QR codes. InterContinental also offers nutritionally rich dishes to combat travel fatigue. Founded in 1946, InterContinental operates over 220 hotels worldwide with more than 73,350 rooms.

📅 On October 1, FHS Living in the UAE focuses on branded residences, covering various living asset classes. Driving factors include a desire for quality living and investment opportunities, especially in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, due to national development strategies and investor-friendly policies. Experts like Susanna Mander and Mohamad Haj Hassan highlight branded residences' appeal for blending lifestyle and investment benefits. Demand is rising in Dubai and Saudi gigaprojects, with brands like Melià and Wyndham offering global expertise.