Hotel Earnings: What We Learned This Week – in 2 Minutes

Barbara Muckermann becomes CEO of Kempinski Hotels, poised to steer the luxury brand’s expansion with 34 new properties, enhancing its historic legacy in the global hospitality industry.

Kempinski Hotels said Tuesday it had appointed Barbara Muckermann as its new CEO. Muckermann becomes the first woman to lead Europe’s oldest luxury hotel group.

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Good morning from Skift. It’s Tuesday, May 21. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Marriott and Hilton appear to be neck-and-neck in the race to expand their footprints and loyalty programs. But if you look at the more important metric of fees earned for services they provided hotel owners, you’ll see Marriott far ahead.

It’s the end of an era for a famed Las Vegas hotel.  The Mirage Hotel & Casino will officially close its doors on July 17. The 65-acre property will then undergo an extensive construction and re-open in 2027 as the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Guitar Hotel Las Vegas.  The Mirage’s transition to become the Hard Rock will visibly change the Las Vegas skyline, as a new 700-foot guitar will be built on the property, in a similar style as the Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood, FL. «While we pause for the incredible transformation of this iconic property, I'd like to thank all team members at The Mirage for their incredible commitment and helping us provide memorable experiences for our guests,» The Mirage’s President Joe Lupo said in a press release on Wednesday. For travelers looking to stay at the Mirage one last time before it closes, rates vary from $399 to $99 throughout the final months.

It had been a while since I’d had a vacation vacation—the type where hours blend into nothing and your only responsibilities are to claim a lounge chair, choose a book, and try to remember where you left your sunglasses. A few days at the legendary Rockhouse in Negril, Jamaica, delivered just that and then some: think jerk chicken sandwiches off the grill, party vibes that start way before sundown, and an endless soundtrack of reggae and dancehall. Of course, I also needed to curate a packing list fit for the setting, one that included a swimsuit for making the most of my villa's private ladder into the Caribbean sea, reading material guaranteed to immerse me in Jamaican culture and history, and a versatile tote bag that would look just as appropriate on the way to the spa as it would during a clifftop dinner come nighttime. Below, a few of my favorite items from the trip.

“Savannah is a pretty place to be in pain,” I decided—although my judgment on everything was colored by that last part. While visiting Georgia from London earlier this spring on my way to a media summit in Charleston, I spent my days in Savannah aboard riverboats, in caught-in-time parlors, and walking through leafy city squares. I saw the famous oak trees and how they glow with Spanish moss and light. The movement of the moss in the breeze is slow, melodic, and lulling like wind chimes—but not enough to distract from the burning sensation driving through my spine and shoulders. The pain never really goes away; in my life, every beautiful landscape seems colored by my body’s desire to return home and lie down.

More travelers than ever will be heading to Paris this summer as the 2024 Olympics unfold. These new hotels across France are worth taking a diversion for.

If you’re planning to attend the Paris Olympics and see a bit of Europe this summer, you have a variety of plush new hotels from which to choose (though they’re likely to fill up quickly). Whether you’re going to the Games or simply going on vacation, you’ll find fresh boutique properties in Paris and many more that are an easy flight away, be it to the French Riviera, Rome, or fittingly, an island in Greece, the birthplace of the ancient games.

Art in hotels, both to admire and to purchase, has become a strong focus in recent years. The Fife Arms in the Scottish Highlands has an impressive art collection including a giant Louise Bourgeois spider in the courtyard, 45 Park Lane in London has regularly changing exhibitions and art tours, Claridges has its own gallery with regularly changing shows, while La Residencia in Mallorca, Spain has 33 original pieces on display by Joan Miró. The luxurious Hotel Savoy, in Florence, is another hotel that takes art seriously by creating suites for artists to stay in and through hosting regular exhibitions in its public spaces.

Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) announced the signing of a fourth hotel in Varanasi, a 101-key Ginger hotel. It currently has two Taj Hotels and a SeleQtions hotel (as part of the Tree of Life conversion) in Varanasi, a city with deep cultural and religious significance.