News

The Viennese hotel market welcomes a new player with the opening of Premier Inn Wien City, the first establishment of the British chain in Austria. This project is part of Premier Inn’s expansion strategy, which already operates 60 hotels in Germany.

London, Istanbul and Dublin are the European cities forecast to see the highest number of new hotel rooms this year, according to figures from industry analyst CoStar. Across Europe, CoStar is forecasting that there will be just under 107,000 new rooms added during this year, including those properties that have already opened in early 2025.

While the argument over the new 'big brother' visitor registration scheme rumbles on, the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) has fined a hotel in Cantabria, 1,500 euros for requiring a photocopy of a guest’s ID card as a requirement to complete their reservation. The traveller, when refusing to provide said copy, saw how their reservation was cancelled.

British tourists dining out in Mallorca could now be asked to collect their food at the counter - as restaurants face a shortage of waiters who have been priced out by the island's soaring living costs.

In Sanya, Hainan Province, a female tourist has reported being possibly filmed by a drone while taking a shower in her hotel room. The local police confirmed on Saturday, 8th February, that they had received a report from the victim, Ms. Song, and are currently investigating the matter.

IHG Hotels & Resorts continues the international growth of its newest midscale conversion brand, Garner hotels, with the opening of its first three hotels in Japan.

A luxury Afghanistan hotel that saw several bloody attacks during the 20-year insurgency is now being managed by a German company a week after the Taliban government took control of it, the firm´s CEO told AFP.

Anantara Hotels & Resorts, the luxury brand Minor Hotels brand, has unveiled its first property in India, the Anantara Jewel Bagh Jaipur, described as a luxurious retreat of verdant grounds and palatial architecture.

In a move set to redefine Parisian luxury hospitality, Maybourne has announced the launch of The Maybourne Saint-Germain, its first property in Paris. Scheduled for a 2027 opening, the project is positioned within the historic Îlot Saint-Germain in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, one of Paris’ most iconic neighborhoods.

Ruby Hotels has unveiled plans to open its first hotel in Malta, located in the heart of Valletta’s historic old town. The project, developed in partnership with VBL Group, will open its doors in early 2026. 

The 13th edition of the Hotel & Hospitality Expo Saudi Arabia is set to return as a standalone event in 2025. It will serve as a pivotal platform for global industry leaders to capitalise on Saudi Arabia’s booming tourism sector while contributing to the Kingdom’s ambitious Vision 2030 objectives.

Major hotel franchises are vying to operate a new hotel to be launched as part of the Millennium Hilton Seoul redevelopment project, betting on the site’s lucrative potential.

Work is underway to convert Cairo's Tahrir complex, an iconic government building, into an ultra-luxurious international hotel, according to local reports, in a joint venture between UAE and US companies.

A guest at a seaside Dutch hotel got more than she bargained for when she opened her room to find a large grey seal kipping on the floor. Startled staff called an animal association in Vlissingen, southern Netherlands, which said it was an unusual call-out even though they often get bizarre requests.

Trivago, a renowned hotel search engine, has partnered with Travala, a platform accepting cryptocurrency. This collaboration will allow millions of Trivago users to find, compare, and book Travala's 2.2 million properties worldwide.

Accor announced the latest addition to its Grand Mercure Hotels & Resorts portfolio in Greater China, with Grand Mercure Shanghai Century Park. Set to open in March 2025 in Pudong district, the hotel offers 326 guestrooms, including 57 suites.

The reduction of working hours to 37.5 hours a week, whose draft bill was approved Tuesday by the Council of Ministers, could cause a 3% drop in turnover in the tourism and hospitality sector, equivalent to 5,099 million euros a year, according to the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation(Cehat) and the Spanish Hotel Industry.

A member of the Qatari royal family has been sentenced in a London court after spitting on a hotel employee at London’s exclusive 45 Park Lane Hotel, following a prompt to show his room key by a security guard.

SH Hotels & Resorts will rebrand as Starwood Hotels in February, marking the revival of the iconic Starwood name created by under Starwood Capital Group founder Barry Sternlicht some 30 years ago.

On 1 February 2025, the hotel was officially handed over to the Hotel State Owned Corporation (HSOC), a government-run entity overseen by the Taliban’s Finance Ministry that operates three other hotels in Afghanistan. The Serena confirmed the closure, stating that their contract had been terminated five years ahead of schedule. However, neither the company nor the Afghan authorities provided details on the terms of the transition.

Visito, a leading conversational AI platform for independent hotels, today announced the launch of Visito Voice, an AI-powered voice assistant designed to handle incoming guest phone calls with natural, real-time interactions.

Veidekke has signed a contract with H.I.G. Capital for the conversion of an office building into what will become Hotell Hinna with 181 rooms in Jåttåvågen in Stavanger. The commission is a design and build contract valued at just over NOK 125 million excluding VAT.

OYO, the hotel chain founded by Indian billionaire Ritesh Agarwai, has revealed plans to invest £50m in the UK over the next three years and support 1,000 jobs. The news comes after the group, which first entered the UK market in 2018, announced its ambition towards the end of 2024 to open 40 new hotels in the UK.

Accor has signed to take over management of an Istanbul landmark, the Grand Tarabya hotel. Following a substantial refurbishment, the property will relaunch under the group’s Fairmont banner.