News

 A bizarre twist has emerged in a high-profile theft case involving luxury watches allegedly worth €600,000. Less than 24 hours after an American tourist was robbed at a five-star hotel in Milan, the stolen items were mysteriously returned—along with a handwritten note from the thief claiming the watches were fakes.

The Cloud One, the European lifestyle brand launched by Motel One Group, has launched its first hotel project that includes branded residences.

Hospitality group Accor has signed Pakistan’s first Pullman-branded hotel, in partnership with full-service hotel management company Valor Hospitality Partners and real estate developer Al Feroz Group.

Okura Nikko Hotel Management Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Hotel Okura Co., Ltd., is pleased to announce that Hidechika Takasaka has been appointed President and Representative Director.

Parent company of Iconic Luxury Hotels has partnered with Davidson Kempner to launch a takeover bid for the Dublin-based owner-operator.

Goldman Sachs has sold three seaside resorts it bought in northern Greece in 2022 at a low price, barely breaking even on the roughly €100 million it had invested in the project, according to the Wall Street Journal on Sunday which cited people familiar with the matter.

More than 20,000 individuals from third countries are expected to be employed in Bulgaria’s tourism sector during the peak summer season, Veselin Danev, President of the Bulgarian Hotel Association and manager of the hotels of Libena Resorts - Melia Hotels International’s main partner in Bulgaria, said in an interview with the Bulgarian News Agency.

OYO has launched India's first Japanese-themed hotel under its premium brand, SUNDAY. The new property is located in Gurugram and is the largest SUNDAY Hotel in India with 217 rooms.

The Ritz-Carlton beat 181 other luxury brands to win advertising's top prize by doing something hotel marketers rarely attempt: ditching brief poolside glamour shots for a quirky four-minute movie.

Western-Sydney based pub group, Sonnel Hospitality, has announced that a Paid Parental Leave policy has been added to its benefits offering. The company is offering eligible employees 14 weeks of paid parental leave for both primary and secondary carers, along with company-paid superannuation during the leave period. 

Pakistan has completed the baseline valuation of the Roosevelt Hotel in New York and is preparing to move forward with a transaction structure this month to privatize the state-owned property, the head of the Privatization Commission told Arab News this week.

Travelodge, the UK’s first budget hotel brand which operates over 610 hotels, has acquired a 155-year long leasehold interest in 6 Broad Street Place & 15-17 Eldon Street from the City of London Corporation. The property is being acquired within the Travelodge OpCo Group.

Delhi’s decision to drop police from the licensing requirement may have been prompted by staff shortages, but for the hotel industry, long weighed down by high entry barriers, it’s a much-needed step toward easier business.

While the hotel world waits for news about Hyatt Hotels Corp. selling off the real estate on its recently completed acquisition of Playa Hotels & Resorts, it has signed a letter of intent with the developers of a casino project near New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on the far west side to soft brand the hotel component with Destination by Hyatt.

Slättö broadens its footprint in Denmark by acquiring a vacant and outdated office building on Halmtorvet square in central Copenhagen, to be transformed into a tech-enabled lifestyle hotel under a long-term lease with operator Bob W.

Nearly three months after acquiring hotel benchmarking platform HotStats, the board of directors of hospitality revenue-management software company Duetto has appointed Alex Zoghlin the company’s new CEO.

Hyatt has reportedly laid off hundreds of remaining U.S. phone customer service agents. Last week it appears that roughly 300 U.S. agents were terminated, and there’s a report that there seem to be just 35 left. The hotel chain is also said to have dismissed 18 managers and the bulk of the U.S. chat team, leaving about 36 U.S. chat agents left.

Two years after opening, Acro sells its stake in THE GEORGE hotel in Tel Aviv’s Alpha Tower to Electra Group for NIS 113M. The deal is expected to generate a pre-tax profit of about NIS 25M.

The debt-saddled 13 Hotel in Seac Pai Van, Coloane, has finally been sold after various failed attempts to offload it in the wake of its owner’s bankruptcy in 2023. According multiple media reports, details regarding the buyer and the selling price have not been revealed, as the deal – carried out by the real estate firm, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) – involved the signing of a non-disclosure agreement.

This year's South East Asia Hotel Investors' Summit (SEAHIS) opened at the Dust Thani Bangkok today, 23rd June. Organised by industry association Hoftel, this year's event brought together key players in the regional hospitality sector who came to hear insights from more than 110 speakers in attendance.

British Airways crew were mistakenly booked into a sex dungeon — and got no sleep owing to moans and groans from a 24-hour orgy. Staff who tried to kip in bondage-themed beds were unable to work the next day.

The iconic Central Telegraph Building in the heart of Tbilisi has completed its transformation into a five-star hotel. Hotel Telegraph will officially welcome its first guests on June 20, offering a blend of historical charm, refined design, and modern hospitality standards.

Accor has hired nearly 100 refugees and migrants from 18 different cultural backgrounds across 17 of its operated hotels and Qantas lounges, through a partnership with Community Corporate.

U.S. hotel chains Hilton and Marriott have announced African expansion drives to tap into the continent's rapid tourism growth.