Fancy sleeping higher than ever before in France? It is now possible at 2,620 metres, beneath the Pic du Midi. Meanwhile, from the Pays de la Loire to East Africa, the hotel industry continues to invest, pass the baton and reinvent itself.
Daily hospitality news, 7 October 2026: openings, construction projects, management contracts and regulatory debates – here is what mattered in the sector today.
🇫🇷 France
🏔️ Opening | L’Hôtellerie des Laquets reopened on 25 September beneath the Pic du Midi: at 2,620 m, it becomes France’s highest hotel, ahead of the Refuge de Solaise (2,551 m). Closed since 1996, the 1930s building has been restored at a cost of €12.7m and has 16 rooms, with rates from €599 for two on a half-board basis. #PicDuMidi #Pyrenees #Opening
🌊 Construction | After ten years of studies and legal challenges, the family-owned Raulic group, owner of the Thermes Marins de Saint-Malo, is starting construction of its second thalassotherapy centre on the former Les Nielles campsite, facing the sea. The hotel and wellness complex, estimated at €80m, is due for completion in June 2029. #SaintMalo #Thalasso #Brittany
🏨 Project | Forstyle hotels collections, the hotel division of Rennes-based group For-BZH, has filed a planning application for an 85-room four-star hotel on the Saint-Nazaire seafront. The property would include a restaurant, a spa and an indoor swimming pool. #SaintNazaire #LoireAtlantique #FourStar
🤝 Succession | On Belle-Île, La Désirade (Bangor) and the Clos Fleuri (Le Palais) are under new management: Pauline and Charlotte Rebour are taking over from their parents, Pierre and Bénédicte, who became hoteliers in 2005. A successful family handover, with the founders remaining behind the scenes. #BelleIle #IndependentHotels #Succession
📉 Results | Les Hôtels de Paris reported half-year revenue of €19.3m to the end of June 2026 (-12%), weighed down by disposals, and a net loss that widened to €8.24m under the burden of debt. On a like-for-like basis, RevPAR rose by 5%. Emmanuel Sauvage, who joined in September, is leading the repositioning: the Villa Luxembourg becomes Rorie, the 1K becomes Héron and the Murano Marrakech becomes Azeli. #LesHotelsDeParis #Results #Repositioning
💼 Launch | After 17 years developing and selling hotels, Paul-Edouard le Bret has co-founded, with Gilbert Peyre, Welfare Asset Management (WAM), a hotel investment advisory and asset management firm. Its ambition: to support investors, family offices and funds from investment thesis through to asset management. #AssetManagement #HotelInvestment #Entrepreneurship
✨ Appointment | Belén Llamas took over as Chief Executive of Aéroports de Lyon (Saint-Exupéry and Bron) on 1 October, following senior roles at London Gatwick, in Chile and in Cambodia. She succeeds Cédric Fechter, who remains Chairman of the Executive Board and becomes Deputy Director France at Vinci Airports. #Lyon #VinciAirports #Appointment
🍽️ Regulation, meal vouchers | The National Assembly’s Social Affairs Committee is today, 7 October, examining the bill tabled by Christophe Naegelen (Liot) to make permanent the extended use of the titre-restaurant meal voucher, whose temporary exemption expires at the end of 2026. A higher spending cap for restaurateurs and hotel-restaurateurs, as well as the regulation of issuers’ fees, are at the heart of the debate, ahead of a debate in the chamber on 12 October. #MealVouchers #Restaurants #Regulation
🌍 International
💶 Taxation | Barcelona is considering a further increase in its tourist taxes, now subject to public consultation: a rise in the tax on hotel overnight stays and in the current cap of €12 per room per night, and an increase from €11 to €30 per cruise passenger on short stopovers by 2030. This context is pushing operators towards Begur, Banyoles and Girona. #Barcelona #Spain #Overtourism
🏙️ Management | Aimbridge Hospitality is taking over management of the Westin Cincinnati (456 keys), owned by Portman, and will operate the future Cincinnati Downtown Marriott, under construction at the heart of the $828m Convention District project. A renovation of the Westin will begin next year. #Aimbridge #Cincinnati #USA
🌴 Management | PM Hotel Group is taking over management of the Hyatt House Naples/5th Avenue in Florida: 183 rooms and suites, a private marina and around 290 sq m of meeting space. The group confirms Florida as a priority growth market. #PMHotelGroup #Florida #Hyatt
👑 Affiliation | Hemingways Nairobi has joined The Leading Hotels of the World, becoming the network’s first and only member in Kenya. LHW thus strengthens its presence in East Africa, within a portfolio of more than 450 independent luxury hotels. #LHW #Nairobi #Kenya
✨ Appointment | Marasa Africa Uganda has appointed Michael Rourke as Director of Tourism. With more than 30 years of hospitality experience, including two decades in Uganda, he has run hotels and remote lodges in Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique and South Africa. #Uganda #Africa #Appointment
⚠️ Labour relations | At the Fairmont in Vancouver, the 445 housekeeping and food and beverage employees, represented by Unifor Local 114, are voting on 6 and 7 October on a strike mandate. Wages, benefits, leave and compensation for banqueting staff are at the heart of the dispute. #Fairmont #Vancouver #Canada
🤝 Acquisition | Sodexo is acquiring Olive, a British workplace catering specialist founded in 2004 in Warwickshire, with around 1,000 employees and 150 clients under contract. The deal strengthens the workplace offering of Sodexo UK & Ireland. #Sodexo #UnitedKingdom #Acquisition
🍷 Restaurants, Spain | Marcos Granda, holder of six Michelin stars across five restaurants, will open “Paula de Marcos” on Málaga’s Muelle Uno in February 2027. A multi-purpose concept inspired by hotel lobby life, it marks the resumption of his expansion after a four-year pause. #Malaga #Gastronomy #Spain
⭐ Gastronomy, Dubai | The Michelin Guide unveiled its fifth Dubai selection at Atlantis The Royal: Orfali Bros earns two stars, while Birch and Kigo receive their first. FZN by Björn Frantzén and Trèsind Studio retain their three stars and Stay by Yannick Alléno its two, for a total of 20 starred restaurants. #Dubai #MichelinGuide #Gastronomy
✈️ Aviation, UK | British Airways is to fully refurbish its twelve Airbus A380s as part of a multi-billion-pound investment, with more than 100 business-class seats on the upper deck. The stated goal: to turn the world’s largest airliner into a “luxury hotel in the sky”. #BritishAirways #A380 #BusinessTravel
