IHG Hotels & Resorts announces the signing of voco Muar, a 107-room property developed in partnership with KCC Holdings Group, marking the first internationally branded hotel in the Johor riverside town. The signing confirms IHG's strategy of expanding into Malaysia's high-potential secondary and tertiary markets.

Booking Holdings is consolidating the B2B operations of its three main brands into a single entity, Booking Partner Services, led by Agoda's CEO. A break with the Group's tradition of brand independence, aimed at better competing with Expedia's B2B offering.

First Hospitality announces it has taken over management of five new lifestyle properties in Sedona, Santa Barbara, Green Bay, Elkhart and St. Louis, marking the Group's entry into five new US markets under the Marriott and Hilton brands. The additions strengthen the lifestyle and full-service portfolio of the Chicago-based hotel management company.

The Geneva Tourism & Convention Foundation publishes its new responsible tourism strategy for the 2026-2030 period, structured around three impact levers and 29 concrete measures. The document, which follows on from the 2021-2025 sustainability strategy, comes as the destination recorded nearly 3.9 million hotel overnights in 2025, a sector accounting for 2.1% of cantonal GDP and more than 15,000 full-time equivalent jobs.

Kerzner International announces the appointment of Martin Cody as Cluster General Manager for its two Rwandan properties, One&Only Gorilla's Nest and One&Only Nyungwe House. With more than twenty years at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, spanning the Maldives, Serengeti, Shanghai and Johannesburg, he takes the helm of two of Rwanda's flagship nature-tourism addresses.

Heineken N.V.'s General Meeting of Shareholders has approved the appointment of Rafael Oliveira to the Dutch brewing group's Executive Board. He will take the chair as Chief Executive Officer for a four-year term, effective 1 October 2026, succeeding Dolf van den Brink, and becomes the first Group leader recruited from outside its ranks.

🔎 Today's trend: between cyber-espionage targeting hotel Wi-Fi networks, renewed investor appetite for India and Central Asia, and consolidation in the French hotel-coliving market, today's news illustrates the growing globalisation of both commercial and security challenges facing the sector.

Crystal announces the effectiveness of the contract for the construction of its third next-generation ship at the Italian shipyard Fincantieri, with delivery scheduled for May 2034. This third vessel joins the fleet under construction alongside Crystal Grace, due in 2028, and its sister ship, expected in May 2031.

Radisson Hotel Group announces the signing of the Radisson Hotel Ongole, which will become the city's first internationally branded hotel. The signing forms part of the Group's strategy to strengthen its presence in India's tier-2 and tier-3 cities, where improving infrastructure and economic momentum are creating new opportunities for organised hospitality.

Radisson Hotel Group announces the opening of the Radisson Blu Hotel, Sinaia Cota 1400, the first internationally branded five-star hotel at this altitude in Romania. Housed in a historic building dating back to 1939, right at the foot of the cable car linking Cota 1400 to Cota 2000, the 68-room property combines contemporary alpine hospitality with an upscale wellness offering in the heart of the Bucegi Mountains.

Best Western France announces the opening of the Best Western Le Clos de l'Aube Rouge, in Castelnau-le-Lez, in the Hérault department. Set in a former wine warehouse facing the garrigue and the banks of the Lez, the property combines accommodation, dining featuring local produce, seminar spaces and leisure facilities, midway between Montpellier's historic centre, the Pic Saint-Loup vineyards and the Mediterranean coast.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide appoints Vladimir "Vlad" Anokhin as Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer. Reporting to CEO Matt Avril and joining the Executive Leadership Team, he will lead the Group's transformation initiatives, data analytics and product development.