News

Mandarin Oriental Qianmen, Beijing launched a wellness-focused collaboration this week with Tong Ren Tang, a traditional Chinese medicine brand with more than 300 years of history.

Peak Edge Hotel, the independently owned four-star rural retreat on the edge of the Peak District, has significantly expanded its helicopter landing capacity, increasing from a small number of landing spots to eight dedicated landing spaces on its private grounds.

Park Hotels & Resorts has updated its non-core disposition activity, which it said will included exiting another three properties that were on expiring ground leases, including the 266-room Embassy Suites Kansas City Plaza, the 850-room DoubleTree Hotel Seattle Airport, and the 245-room DoubleTree Hotel Sonoma Wine Country. Collectively, the hotels generated minimal EBITDA in 2025.

a&o Hostels, Europe’s largest and fastest growing hostel chain with 30,000 beds under management, has acquired Berlin based Schulz Hotels.

After serving as CEO of Highgate since September 2021, the company has named veteran luxury and lifestyle hotelier Arash Azarbarzin CEO of its Viceroy Hotels & Resorts brand.

Dubai is set to introduce a citywide one-time contactless hotel check-in system – a move positioned as a new global benchmark for speed, safety, and guest convenience across the hospitality sector. 

From boutique hotels to global chains, these terms have guided conversations, inspired new initiatives, and signaled a shift in what guests and the planet expect from hospitality.

With Burj Khalifa holding the status of the world’s tallest building since 2010, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates has come to be associated above all with its mega-tall skyscrapers.

Starwood Capital’s luxury lifestyle 1 Hotels brand has launched a unique loyalty program called Mission Membership, a purpose-driven concept designed to reward guests. The program focuses on personalization, environmental impact, and “deepening the guest experience in meaningful ways.”

Hotel101 Global Holdings Corp. topped off its 482-room Hotel101-Niseko project in Hirafu, Hokkaido, Japan on December 5, 2025, marking the structural completion of what will become the largest hotel in the area by room count.

Marriott International has entered the Democratic Republic of the Congo with the opening of Protea Hotel by Marriott Kinshasa and Four Points by Sheraton Kinshasa.

South Korea’s hotel industry is expanding sales of private brand (PB) bedding and household goods as they seek to capture consumers wanting to replicate luxury hotel stays at home.

Silversea Cruises has delayed the opening of its hotel on the southern tip of South America until October 2026.

Argentina has taken luxury travel to new heights – literally. The country recently unveiled a one-of-a-kind hotel inside two retired commercial aeroplanes in Oncativo, Cordoba. Named Air Damasco, the hotel combines modern amenities with a themed decor that promises a unique stay. 

Hospitality group IHG Hotels & Resorts has signed a deal to open InterContinental luxury brand hotel in Prague, marking the brand’s return to the Czech Republic. The 137-room luxury hotel is anticipated to open in the first half of 2029.

Croatian hoteliers recorded a strong 2025 season with high occupancy rates, but rising costs, especially for labour and food, outpaced revenue growth and are squeezing investment capacity and competitiveness, speakers said at the annual hoteliers' congress.

Viceroy Hotels, through a sales and marketing affiliation agreement, is expanding into Africa with three luxury safari lodges across Zambia and Botswana.

Marbella's ability to attract investment is endless. Its latest project for the development of a residential complex and a luxury hotel, however, has an interesting twist: it dates back 30 years, according to town planning councillor José Eduardo Díaz, who explained how they will revive it.

Wealth inequality activists caused a festive disturbance at an iconic London hotel by upending a bag of manure beneath the lobby’s Christmas tree.

Founded by hotelier André Seiler, whose family legacy includes two landmarks of Swiss hospitality, Mont Cervin Palace and Monte Rosa in Zermatt, and leading entrepreneur and architect Christian Constantin, the collection brings a fresh perspective to Swiss hospitality, with the ambition to create contemporary, understated hotels that offer space to think, breathe and reconnect with the landscapes that make Switzerland so exceptional.

Guests are challenged to visit the ‘Haymarket Hundred’ – a list of 100 curated neighbourhood discoveries – to receive rewards as part of the Supersolid campaign, LBB’s Lilya Murray writes.

Emirates Gold and Malaysia’s Public Gold have launched what they describe as the world’s first fintech-enabled gold ATM in the UAE. The machine was unveiled at the Dubai Precious Metals Conference 2025 at Atlantis, The Palm.

An engaged couple, set to be married in a month, was arrested at 1:30am in a hotel room in Kluang, Johor, by the Johor Islamic Religious Department (JAINJ).

Accor, a world leading hospitality group, has appointed Karelle Lamouche as CEO for Europe & North Africa for its Premium, Midscale & Economy brands. In her new role, Karelle will lead Accor’s business in the region, which includes more than 3,000 hotels across 40+ countries, representing approximately 40% of Accor’s entire global network.