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360°: global hospitality news round-up, 9 October 2026 | From Barcelona to Bangkok via Brazzaville and Rehoboth Beach
🔎 Trend of the day: AI, the new engine of hotel performance. From conversational distribution to real-time pricing, industry players are embedding artificial intelligence at the heart of their value chain, from booking through to profitability management.
Personnel Moves
Hong Kong, China | Conor Hadlington appointed General Manager of Conrad Hong Kong
Hilton has entrusted the general management of Conrad Hong Kong to Conor Hadlington, who took up the post on 28 September 2026. A veteran of Mandarin Oriental, InterContinental and Shangri-La, the British executive now oversees operations, commercial strategy and the delivery of brand standards at the 513-room hotel in Pacific Place, in the Admiralty district.
Explorer
Development
Burkina Faso | State breaks ground on a 300-room sports hotel in Ouagadougou for the Étalons
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.
Development
2028, United States | MGallery signs Ink 48, its future New York flagship
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.
Development
UAE | dnata Travel Group signs 12 partnerships at Arabian Travel Market, including Rotana and Kerzner International
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.
Development
2030 Cruise, India | Scenic Group partners with Assam Bengal Navigation and targets two ultra-luxury ships on India’s rivers
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.
Business
United States | Astound Ventures: Alex and Burt Cabañas launch a hotel fund focused on NUM
Father and son Burt and Alex Cabañas, who head Benchmark Resorts & Hotels and Pyramid Global Hospitality respectively, are launching Astound Ventures in the United States, a collaborative investment fund dedicated to hospitality. Based in The Woodlands, Texas, the vehicle aims to raise around €26 million from industry investors to finance solutions capable of improving hotels' net unit margin (NUM). The initiative reflects a clear ambition: to have hotel innovation funded by industry professionals themselves rather than by capital from outside the sector.
Development
Jordan | IHG and Al Ameed Coffee sign Noted Collection hotel in Amman
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.
Business
2027, Australia | IHG Hotels & Resorts Named Official Hotel Partner of the Rugby World Cup
IHG Hotels & Resorts has been named Official Hotel Partner of the 2027 Men's Rugby World Cup, which will bring together 24 teams in Australia from 1 October to 13 November 2027. The agreement, announced jointly with World Rugby, draws on a network of more than 160 million IHG One Rewards loyalty members. It extends more than two decades of the British group's involvement with international rugby.
Business
Australia | Mulpha takes a stake in the Novotel and ibis Sydney Darling Harbour
Mulpha Australia has completed the acquisition of a one-third stake in the Novotel Sydney Darling Harbour and the ibis Sydney Darling Harbour, alongside Sun Hung Kai & Co. Limited and Wentworth Capital. The deal, settled on 21 September 2026, covers two properties totalling 781 rooms, both of which remain under Accor's operational management. It forms part of a disciplined portfolio strategy the Australian group has been pursuing over recent months.
Headlines
Obituary | Alyette Debray-Mauduy, Le Figaro’s Art de Vivre journalist and hospitality and gastronomy specialist, dies
Deputy editor-in-chief of Le Figaro's Art de Vivre desk, Alyette Debray-Mauduy died accidentally in Paris on 21 September, aged 57. For several years she had covered hospitality and gastronomy news for the newspaper.
Personnel Moves
Peru, Lima | Vicente Flores Appointed Managing Director Luxury & Lifestyle at INTURSA
INTURSA, the hotel arm of Peruvian group Breca, has entrusted Vicente Flores Razuri with leadership of its Luxury & Lifestyle portfolio, comprising five properties under the Aloft, AC Hotels and The Luxury Collection brands in Lima, Paracas and the Sacred Valley. The appointment, effective since September 2026, caps a career of over twenty years built entirely within the group and its partner brands in Peru.
Personnel Moves
Bali, Indonesia | Maurizio Moncalvo Appointed General Manager of ARYADUTA Bali
ARYADUTA Hotel Group has announced the appointment of Maurizio Moncalvo as General Manager of ARYADUTA Bali, in Kuta. The Italian executive took up the role in September 2026, following a career of more than two decades spanning Europe, the Middle East and Asia, including three years leading operations at The Ritz-Carlton, Jakarta.
Development
Douala, Cameroon | ALS Group Breaks Ground on Kempinski Shekinah Palace, Targeting 2029 Opening
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.
Derniers articles
Business
360°: global hospitality news round-up, 9 October 2026 | From Barcelona to Bangkok via Brazzaville and Rehoboth Beach
🔎 Trend of the day: AI, the new engine of hotel performance. From conversational distribution to real-time pricing, industry players are embedding artificial intelligence at the heart of their value chain, from booking through to profitability management.
Personnel Moves
Hong Kong, China | Conor Hadlington appointed General Manager of Conrad Hong Kong
Hilton has entrusted the general management of Conrad Hong Kong to Conor Hadlington, who took up the post on 28 September 2026. A veteran of Mandarin Oriental, InterContinental and Shangri-La, the British executive now oversees operations, commercial strategy and the delivery of brand standards at the 513-room hotel in Pacific Place, in the Admiralty district.
Business
US | Braemar Hotels & Resorts sells Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale for €318m and completes its exit from Ashford
Braemar Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: BHR) has signed a definitive agreement to sell the Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale, in Arizona, for $372 million (around €318m). Closing is expected on 22 October 2026. The Dallas-based listed REIT is using the proceeds to fund its separation from Ashford Inc. and will become a self-managed REIT focused on seven luxury hotels in the United States and the Caribbean.
Personnel Moves
Governance, Singapore | Chin Fen Eu to step down as CEO of Frasers Hospitality as the group reorganises its governance
Frasers Property Limited has announced the departure of Chin Fen Eu, CEO of Frasers Hospitality, effective 1 January 2027. The Singapore-based group is using the transition to split the governance of its hospitality arm between operations, entrusted to Chew Hang Song, and investment, placed under the responsibility of Eric Gan.




