TOP NEWS

🏨 Emotional luxury reshapes hospitality by valuing small gestures, culture, and community over amenities and perfection. At The Connaught and Mandarin Oriental, attentive details left lasting impressions on Jesús Terrés. Travelers seek calm and perspective in an accelerated world. Terrés emphasizes emotional connections and guest autonomy, highlighting the coexistence of imperfection with classic luxury. Future hospitality demands honesty in sustainability and purpose-driven experiences, focusing on creating environments for natural emotion rather than prescriptive experiences.

💸 President Trump and Prime Minister Modi announced a U.S.-India trade agreement in Atlanta, GA, reducing tariffs and enhancing economic ties. AAHOA, representing over 20,000 hotel owners who own 60% of U.S. hotels, commends the deal for boosting global commerce. The U.S. and India generate nearly $30 trillion in economic output. AAHOA member hotels contribute 1.7% to the U.S. GDP, support 4.2 million jobs, and employees earn $51.3 billion annually.

🏨 In 2025, U.S. hotel investments surged 17.5% to $24 billion, with New York leading at $3.7 billion. Debt costs fell by 300 basis points since September 2024. In 2026, storytelling can counter a 40-60% web traffic drop due to AI, with 65% of users preferring AI personalization by late 2025. From April 20-22, 2026, Future Hospitality Summit Saudi Arabia will be at Mandarin Oriental, Riyadh, featuring over 1,100 leaders.

📰 Amadeus forecasts travel trends for 2026, emphasizing AI-mediated discovery, attribute-level choices, and configurable stays. Many hotels lag with generic room types and non-machine-readable content. The focus should be on structured, trusted data over brand strength. By 2026, success will hinge on data organization rather than brand noise. Embrace AI-first strategies to stay relevant in the evolving travel landscape. #TravelTrends #AIinTravel

🏨 Who? Hotels and their guests. When? Ongoing. Where? Applicable to all hotels, especially boutique ones. What? Emphasizing guest relationships over transactions. How? By fostering return intent through genuine connection and trust. Key facts: A single guest shouldn’t just experience satisfaction but develop a bond leading to return visits. Numbers: 40 keys, £200 ADR, 65% occupancy, 2-night stays yield 4,745 stays/year. Enhancing return intent, even slightly, significantly impacts lifetime value and room economics.

💼 PMS transitions in hotels are challenging due to poor change management, not software issues. Ryan King, SVP Americas at Shiji, emphasizes that clarity and communication can ease transitions, not speed. A hotel group successfully implemented PMS across 74 hotels in a year by focusing on leadership alignment and preparation. Effective transitions require defining the purpose, assigning decision ownership, standardizing early, and clear communication to minimize guest impact and staff resistance.

📈 Dallas, Texas—In 2026, 95% of investors plan to maintain or increase their commercial real estate investments, with 55% boosting capital allocations, up from 48% in 2025. Key markets include Dallas, Atlanta, and San Francisco, with new entries like Charlotte and Nashville. Multifamily remains top property choice at 74% interest. Value-add and core-plus strategies are favored by two-thirds of investors. Over 70% will maintain current debt-to-equity ratios, despite interest rate uncertainties.

🏨 Auberge de Cassagne & Spa partnered with D-EDGE’s Premium Website, SEO, and SEA services to boost its online presence. The solutions include a high-end, customized website reflecting the hotel's five-star Provençal elegance, continuous SEO optimization with monthly articles, and targeted SEA campaigns to attract premium guests. This approach simplifies digital management for the hotel’s small team, ensuring consistent performance and reduced operational workload.

💻 McKinsey reports the hospitality industry's shift towards agentic AI by 2026, emphasizing organizational and operational change over tool utility. In 6-12 months, AI will separate industry leaders from laggards by enhancing productivity instead of reducing labor. Frontline roles remain vital while middle management changes rapidly. AI governance becomes crucial in boardrooms. Hotels must own the AI concierge layer to avoid platform dominance. Pertlink Limited, established in 2000, aids hospitality in navigating tech advancements from Hong Kong.