🔎 Trend of the day: upscaling under strain. From Paris to the Exumas, high-end projects are running up against their stakeholders – staff on one side, neighbours and environmental campaigners on the other. Meanwhile, the major brands press on with their push into emerging destinations, from the Vietnamese coast to the vineyards of Kakheti.

The subject since June of a preliminary investigation by France's National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF) into suspected organised corruption, Malakoff Humanis is seeing pressure mount on its chief executive, Thomas Saunier. According to Mediapart, Jean-Pierre Thomas's consultancy firm allegedly received more than €22 million in commissions from asset managers selected by the group. The case directly concerns the hotel and restaurant sector, as Malakoff Humanis, together with Klesia, provides health and welfare cover for the HCR branch and funds its HCR Bien-Être social support scheme.

Choice Hotels International announced on 30 September 2026 that it had signed an agreement to acquire 100% of Harvest Hosts, a US membership network for RV travellers. The deal carries an enterprise value of around €114 million (approximately $130 million). The franchisor is thereby extending its "value-minded" customer base into outdoor travel, through an asset-light model consistent with its long-term strategy.

Joelle Edwards-Tonks takes up her role as CEO of Sunlife Mauritius on 1 October 2026, succeeding François Eynaud, who led the group for seven years. She also becomes the first woman to head a hotel group in Mauritius, in an internal succession that hands the top job to an executive with a background in sales and revenue management.

On 30 September 2026, Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced a series of openings and projects for the brands in its Essentials Portfolio across the United States, from Hyatt Place to Unscripted by Hyatt. From historic East Coast towns to the communities of western Oahu, the group is targeting regional, coastal and business markets beyond the major metropolitan areas – a strategy underpinned by a network of more than 700 hotels and the 69 million members of the World of Hyatt programme.

On 30 September 2026, Hyatt Hotels Corporation appointed Amar Lalvani to the newly created role of Chief Creative Officer, effective immediately. The President and Creative Director of the Lifestyle Group sees his remit extended across the group's entire global portfolio, as Hyatt sets out its ambition to make each of its brands more distinctive for guests and owners alike.

Radisson Hotel Group has announced the launch of four Radisson Blu Verified Net Zero hotels in Sweden and Denmark: three in Stockholm and one in Copenhagen. This brings the group's total number of Verified Net Zero hotels in the Nordics and the UK to nine. All four properties host major events and large congresses. The programme is moving beyond its pilot phase, on the way to its target of 100 hotels by 2030.

Ewan Taylor took over as General Manager of Wildhive Eshott Hall in September 2026, a Northumberland country house whose original building dates back to 1680. After nearly two decades in Asia, including two years at the helm of Oriental Residence Bangkok, he returns to the UK to lead the property's reopening following an extensive refurbishment.

Oaks Hotels, Resorts & Suites, a Minor Hotels brand, has opened its first two properties in Japan: Oaks Vacation Club Kyoto Gojo and Oaks Vacation Club Kyoto Shijo, with a combined 47 rooms in central Kyoto. The openings take the brand into a second Asian country and strengthen Minor Hotels' presence in one of the region's most sought-after destinations.

L'Andana, the resort at Castiglione della Pescaia in Tuscany, has changed hands. According to Thrends' The Bulletin, the De Santis family, owners of Grand Hotel Tremezzo and Passalacqua on Lake Como, has taken over the property from wine group Terra Moretti. The deal follows several loss-making years, and the resort is expected to close for renovation.

The 456-room Delta Hotels by Marriott Montréal on avenue du Président-Kennedy closed its doors at the end of September 2026. The building will be entirely demolished and replaced by two towers: a 293-room hotel and a 487-unit residential tower overlooking rue Sherbrooke Ouest. It is the largest renewal project in Montréal's hotel stock this autumn.

Marriott International has announced the opening of Anook Signature Seoul Guro, Series by Marriott, a 104-room hotel that brings its collection brand to South Korea for the first time. Following India in 2025 and Japan in April 2026, the group is pressing ahead with the Asian roll-out of Series by Marriott, with three further openings planned in the country by the end of the year.