TOP NEWS

🏨 Marriott is expanding in Caribbean and Latin America, with Costa Rica hosting the most properties after Mexico. The Ritz-Carlton, Nekajui, in Papagayo, Costa Rica will open later this year. Marriott has nearly 500 properties across 25 brands in 37 countries in the region. Upcoming all-inclusive resorts include Almare in Isla Mujeres, and W Punta Cana scheduled for 2024. Marriott aims for growth in high-demand areas, with 600 rooms in Argentina, 1,600+ in Brazil, and 840+ in Colombia. Marriott Bonvoy partnered with Rappi, serving over 20 million users in Latin America.

🚗 EV Connect's 12-month benchmark study of 78 hotel properties showed an average EV charger utilization of 28%, with 73.1% of these hotels offering paid charging services. Monthly session growth rate averaged 3.3%, indicating increasing demand for EV chargers. Additionally, over half of the charging sessions came from new drivers. The top 10% of hotels on the network earned nearly $11,000 per year from charging, significantly contributing to higher revenue per available room rates (revPAR). With 10% of vehicles expected to be electric by 2030, EV charging is becoming essential for hotels to attract guests and increase retention.

🏨 Moxy Hotels from Marriott International celebrates 10 years since its launch in Milan, 2014. Aimed to reach 100 hotels in Europe by 2025, adding 17 new properties including entries into Spain, Turkey, and Luxembourg. Currently, Moxy has 89 hotels in 18 European destinations, 60% of its global estate. New hotels include Moxy Barcelona with 414 rooms, Moxy Istanbul Beyoğlu with 168 rooms, and Moxy Luxembourg Airport with 129 rooms. Also expanding in France, Italy, Portugal, Ireland, Belgium, Poland, Serbia, Germany, and Switzerland by 2025.

🏨 Summary: The article on Hotel OTA Agreement discusses how Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) charge hotels for their services, including commission rates and specific clauses within OTA agreements that can affect hotel revenue. Although no specific percentages or clauses are mentioned in the excerpt provided, the article seems to aim at educating hoteliers on the financial and contractual aspects of working with OTAs. The post was written by Suniti Bahl and was published on September 25, 2024.

💾 The Grand Royale Hotel's revenue manager Emily was overwhelmed with manual tasks, facing isolation, burnout, and declining performance. Meanwhile, Alex of The Elite Haven Hotel used automation tools to eliminate tedious tasks, spurring profits and earning bonuses. Emily, inspired by Alex, proposed automation to her GM, who initially rejected the idea. With support from colleagues and after a pilot's success, their hotel saw improved profits and employee morale, validating the shift to automation and strategic work over manual labor.

📢 STAAH, a New Zealand hospitality solutions provider, held ‘The Big Connect’ event in Mumbai, attended by over 400 experts. In partnership with Booking.com and WebBeds, the conference at Sahara Star Hotel focused on tech-driven solutions for hotels, aiming to increase online bookings, revenue, and streamline distribution. National Sales Head – India, Shoaib Ali, highlighted the event’s success and potential future expansion. The event concluded with entertainment including a live comedy act.

📅 International tourism nearly reached pre-pandemic levels with 96% recovery seven months through July 2024, driven by demand in Europe and reopened Asian-Pacific markets. About 790 million tourists traveled internationally by July 2024, an 11% increase from 2023 and a mere 4% shy of 2019's figures. Europe and the Americas saw 99% and 97% recovery, while the Middle East led with a 26% increase over 2019. The Asia-Pacific region rallied to 86% of its pre-pandemic levels. Out of 120 destinations, 67 matched their 2019 arrival numbers. Top performers included Qatar (+147% vs. 2019), Albania (+93%), Saudi Arabia (+73%). International tourism receipts saw Albania (+128%) and Serbia (+126%) more than double compared to 2019. Outbound travel expenditure surged in the U.S. (+32%), Germany (+38%), and the U.K. (+40%). Export revenues from tourism hit $1.8 trillion, equating 3% of global GDP, with direct tourism GDP at $3.4 trillion in 2023. The UN Tourism Confidence Index for September-December 2024 scored 120 points, slightly below the May-August 2024 score of 130.