On 23 September 2026, IHG Hotels & Resorts signed a two-hotel agreement with King Park Hotel Sdn. Bhd, a subsidiary of investment group Hass Enterprise, in the Malaysian state of Sabah. The deal marks both the arrival of the Garner brand in Malaysia and the launch of IHG's franchise model in the country, a lever designed to unlock more conversion opportunities.

EVT Hotels & Resorts will bring LyLo, its affordable lifestyle brand, to Bangkok in 2028. The group has signed a management agreement for a 387-bed property in the Sukhumvit district. It marks LyLo's first move outside Australia and New Zealand, and the Australian group's third brand to enter South-East Asia as part of its asset-light growth strategy.

On the Riviera Maya, the North American operator takes over management of a 355-room resort set within a 138-hectare nature reserve. The opening takes Kimpton into the all-inclusive segment and marks Hotel Equities' own entry into this niche, as part of the development of its Caribbean & Latin America platform.

🔎 Trend of the day: the great rotation of hotel assets. Ruling families, private equity funds, indebted developers and billionaires weary of seasonality: owners everywhere are rebalancing their portfolios and crystallising value, while new buyers position themselves.

Elmira Amdiy, a former investment banker whose career took in Barclays Capital, Nomura and UBS, is the driving force behind London restaurant group Wild Group. She is now launching two projects on the French Riviera: a seven-bedroom private art villa at Hostellerie La Farandole, expected by the end of 2026, and Hôtel Les Chardons, a restored ensemble of historic buildings centred on wellness and longevity. Both projects take beyond London a portfolio valued at around €23 million (more than £20 million).

On 22 September 2026, Burkinabè Prime Minister Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo launched construction of a 300-room, ground-plus-five sports hotel at the Étalons Multi-Sport Training Centre (COMET) in Ouaga 2000. Entirely publicly funded, the approximately €38.4m (XOF 25.2 billion) complex will bring accommodation, training and sports medicine for the national teams together on a single site.

MGallery Collection, Accor's boutique hotel collection, is coming to New York with the signing of Ink 48. The 222-room lifestyle hotel in Hell's Kitchen, overlooking the Hudson River, is owned by Leyad and asset-managed by Capstone Equities. Following a renovation programme, it will become the brand's flagship hotel in the United States in 2028, one of its top five markets worldwide.

dnata Travel Group, the travel division of aviation services provider dnata, signed 12 partnership agreements at Arabian Travel Market 2026 in Dubai. The deals cover hotel distribution, cruise, luxury hospitality, destinations and travel technology. The group is also bringing together two of its UK brands and investing in its Dubai experiences offering, combining external partnerships with the strengthening of its own businesses.

Scenic Group has announced a long-term partnership with Indian operator Assam Bengal Navigation (ABN). The agreement opens the Brahmaputra to its ultra-luxury cruises. The group aims to have two river ships in service in India by 2029-30, following the launch of Scenic Aura on the Hooghly in October 2027.

IHG Hotels & Resorts has signed a franchise agreement with Al Ameed Coffee to open a Noted Collection hotel in Amman, built entirely around Jordanian coffee culture. The 50-room property will sit on one of the capital's main gateway corridors, linking the city centre to Queen Alia International Airport. Announced on 21 September 2026, the signing reflects the rapid rise of IHG's brand-new premium brand and deepens the group's footprint in the Kingdom.

Cameroonian group ALS Group, led by Rodolphe Simo Kam, laid the first stone of the Kempinski Shekinah Palace on 25 September 2026 in Bonanjo, Douala's business district. Valued at €335.4 million (XAF 220 billion), the mixed-use hotel and office complex is set to open in 2029 under the Kempinski Hotels brand. The project underlines the growing weight of Cameroon's economic capital as a regional hospitality hub, backed by a financing structure combining development banks and private investors.

Family-owned hotel group Terrou-Bi will shortly take over the running and management of the former Radisson Blu Diamniadio, now renamed Terrou-Bi Diamniadio. The move ends several months of closure at the property, following a labour dispute, and comes ahead of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games. It also marks a new stage of growth for the Senegalese hotel house, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.