Regulatory and Legal Affairs

🛫 In 2025, Booking Holdings generated $26.9 billion, and, together with Expedia, they control 60% of the global online travel market. Hotel commission fees increased from 10% to 15-30%. Spain seeks a $530 million fine for anti-competitive practices, and a pan-European class action in 2025 involves 10,000 hotels against Booking.com. Despite these issues, innovation lags behind, with the industry maintaining outdated systems while startups like Navia offer simpler booking solutions.

📈 Business rates experts at Colliers report a surge in appeals against the 2023 Rating List, calling the system “not fit for purpose”. From January 1 to March 31, 2026, England saw 129,810 new checks registered, nearly five times the usual number. Government (VO) statistics highlight the system's inability to cope with this volume, indicating significant dissatisfaction among businesses with the current assessment process.

🏨 UK unemployment reached 5% from January to March, while youth unemployment hit 14.7%, the highest since 2014, according to the ONS. Hospitality payrolls dropped by 100,000 in April. UKHospitality blames job cuts on increased business costs, including a £5bn burden from recent budgets, national minimum wage hikes, and higher business rates. Kate Nicholls of UKHospitality urges government to reduce VAT and business rates to counteract job losses and support economic growth.

🏨 New York City hotel labor deal sets a new benchmark: housekeeper pay will exceed $100K annually by 2034, with hourly wages reaching $61. This impacts 24,000 workers, reflecting a significant pay increase. Meanwhile, Ras Al Khaimah plans to double hotel rooms by 2030. Peregrine Hospitality focuses on operational excellence, managing 64 hotels valued at $2.5 billion. Challenges in unionized environments persist as costs and competition in hospitality rise. Plusgrade and Bilt are notable podcast sponsors.

🚀 The Department of the Air Force has partnered with Centinel Public Partnerships LLC and IHG Hotels & Resorts for a 50-year project to manage on-base lodging across U.S. Air Force installations, starting fall 2027. Centinel oversees ownership and development, while IHG manages hotel operations, beginning with 23 U.S. installations. Since 2009, they’ve collaborated on the Army Lodging program, overseeing over 70 hotels and 12,000 rooms across 40 installations.

📈 Frédéric Carré, Director of European Operations, leads The Ascott Limited's CSR strategy across 30 countries. By 2030, Ascott aims to meet the CapitaLand and Ascott Sustainability Masterplan's targets. In Europe, their portfolio is GSTC Standards certified, aligning with the EU Green Deal and UN Goals. Local regulations, like France's Tertiary Decree, are tailored into this framework. Their approach integrates building, operation, and team efforts for sustainable management.

📈 The UK hospitality sector saw mixed results in Q1 2026. Regional hotels outperformed London, driven by event demand, with Glasgow and Cardiff's RevPAR up 14% and 10%. London faced over-supply, with RevPAR down 2.5% and occupancy flat at 66.7%. National GOP margins dropped from 23.4% to 22.3%, while London's fell from 26.3% to 24.2%. Wage and rates hikes could lead to 2,076 closures, including 574 hotels. PPHE's revenue rose 8% to £83.8m, securing a £136m loan.

🌎 On 27 September 2026, the EU's Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive (EU) 2024/825 will take effect, transforming sustainability claims across Europe. Claims must be clear, evidence-based, and verifiable. The report by the European Travel Commission, GDS-Movement, and NECSTouR emphasizes accountability and offers practical guidance. This shift encourages destinations to enhance trust and resilience by aligning marketing, operations, and data, and addresses risks like greenwashing. Investing in evidence improves credibility and competitive advantage.