The Langham, Gold Coast strengthens its leadership team with the appointment of Josquin Crepelliere as Hotel Manager. Bilingual in French and English, and trained at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Morbihan, in Vannes, this executive, with fifteen years of experience in luxury and lifestyle hospitality, joins the property after leading Crystalbrook Collection in Newcastle.

Hilton opens the NHAAN Resort & Spa Hoi An, marking the arrival of Tapestry Collection by Hilton in Vietnam. The 174-room resort, designed by Vietnamese architect Vo Trong Nghia on the banks of the Co Co River, introduces the Group's lifestyle brand to Hoi An, a UNESCO World Heritage town.

Meridia announces the acquisition of a recently delivered flex living asset in Carabanchel, Madrid, from the joint venture formed by Bain Capital, Momentum REIM and Episode. Opened in April 2025, the 977-unit fully furnished property remains managed by Episode, a leading Spanish operator in this fast-growing neo-hospitality segment.

Arsenale Group, owner of the Orient Express hotels in Italy, announces the successful placement of a €300 million senior secured bond, intended to fund its 2026-2030 strategic plan. The transaction, listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange, complements new equity contributed by shareholders and will notably enable the buyback of preference shares issued in 2022 to Oaktree Capital Management.

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.