TOP NEWS

🏨 The Hotels Network hosted GROW in Barcelona for hoteliers from Southern Europe to discuss direct booking strategies over two days. Sessions included "Creative Resonance" by founder Juanjo Rodriguez, interactive panels, and a showcase of AI receptionist KITT. Networking and collaboration were key, with future events planned for Cancun and Stockholm. Attendees gained insights into leveraging technology and AI for their direct channels.

🏖 Under Canvas is set to open its 13th location, Under Canvas Columbia River Gorge, in Washington's White Salmon River Valley in May 2025. Sonesta International Hotels Corp. celebrates its 100th franchise with Sonesta Essential Beaumont in Texas. Marcus & Millichap sold an 11-hotel portfolio for $101 million across Illinois, Ohio, Alabama, Arkansas, Virginia, Kentucky, and Oklahoma. Canada's hotel occupancy fell to 74% with an Average Daily Rate (ADR) of CA$227.99 and Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) of CA$168.69 in September.

🏨 Kevin Osterhaus, President of Global Lifestyle Brands at Hilton, discusses his transition from Graduate Hotels to Hilton, the expansion of lifestyle hotels, and Hilton's plan to double its lifestyle portfolio within three years. He highlights the importance of scale, innovation, a founder mentality, and talent attraction in hospitality. Key strategies include leveraging global resources and integrating independent brands with Hilton's commercial strengths.

🏎 BWH Hotels Accelerate Conference, Charlotte Convention Center, North Carolina, 2024—over 3,000 members gathered. BWH Hotels, a member-owned network of more than 2,300 properties, distributed nearly $64 million in profits in 2023, increasing by $17 million from 2022. North American revenue hit $1.75 billion in 2023, marking a 6.2% increase and 43 consecutive months of growth. The “Life’s A Trip” campaign and Canary Technologies partnership for an AI-driven guest management system indicate innovation in guest experience and operations.

🏎 BWH Hotels' 2024 Annual Convention, themed “Accelerate,” started with a Welcome Reception at NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina. The event stresses teamwork and efficiency, illustrated by a pit crew video with a 1.8-second pit stop record. BWH Hotels North American properties achieved a 2.5% year-over-year increase in ADR and a $1 billion revenue milestone with a 6.2% growth, marking 43 months of consecutive growth. Worldwide sales hit $8.5 billion. BestREV 2.0 is aiding 1,350 North American hotels in setting rates. Guest experience is prioritized, as shown by a Medallia score of 82.3% across 2,000+ properties. The loyalty program will pay back $64 million to members this year, $17 million more than last year, and partnerships like Canary aim to enhance guest messaging and upselling. A new global marketing campaign, “Life's a Trip,” has been launched, including Olympic ads.

📈 Marriott International, Inc. announced Connect Responsibly with Marriott Bonvoy Events to enhance sustainability in meetings at Marriott Bonvoy hotels globally by end of October. Program provides Meeting Impact Reports for environmental assessment and carbon credit purchase options through South Pole collaboration. Reports, available in 11 languages, detail event carbon and water footprints. Marriott focuses on industry-informed sustainability, responding to customer demand for eco-conscious meeting solutions.

📅 IHG's Q3 2024 trading update showed global RevPAR up 1.5 percent, Americas up 1.7 percent, EMEAA up 4.9 percent, and Greater China down 10.3 percent. Year to date (YTD) global RevPAR rose 2.4 percent. A 5.9 percent YOY gross system size growth with 17,500 rooms opened in Q3, and net system size up 4.1 percent YOY. Global system reached 968,000 rooms across 6,505 hotels. Q3 saw 19,200 new rooms signed, a 14 percent YOY increase. IHG's share buyback program for 2024 reached $614 million of the $800 million target, reducing shares by 3.7 percent, and the company is on track to return over $1 billion to shareholders. The Venetian Resort Las Vegas will no longer be affiliated with IHG from January 1, 2025, impacting less than 0.1 percent of revenue.