Top Hotel & Resort News From 2023

The editors of Forbes Travel Guide predict that 2024 will be a year filled with “meaningful travel.” Of course, the meaning of meaningful is entirely in the eye of the frequent flier. FTG’s list of 24 top destinations for 2024 covers it all, whether you enjoy sports, art, food or history. From Portugal to Peru, these places promise to make a lasting impression.

Marriott and Hilton joined all the major hotel groups this week in providing updates on their hotel development pipelines as they gathered at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) in Los Angeles.

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Marriott International, Inc. saw a record year of global signings in 2023, with 52 percent more rooms signed from 2022 and a net room growth of 4.7 percent, signaling the pandemic’s trend of slow development is at its end. 

In 2023, Hilton opened 132 hotels with around 24,000 rooms between October and December 2023, the largest number of new rooms opened during any quarter in the hotel giant’s history, and it expects to continue that positive growth into 2024. 

Hilton said on Monday it had launched a program to match aspiring hotel owners with capital.

Hotel brand marketers continued last year to buy commercials on old-fashioned broadcast TV — especially for live sports events, award snows, and TV news — despite more attention shifting to streaming platforms.

In partnership with Paramount, Karisma Hotels & Resorts has announced a host of new openings and renovations at the award-winning Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.

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Large hotel chains are always adding to their portfolios, but for those prefer an independent property (or one that’s part of a small regional group) there are plenty of charming inns and lodges opening this year. From Aspen to Athens, here are 15 new boutique hotels with distinctive character and a genuine interest in sustainability.

To say the Luc Alphand slope in Chantemerle ends abruptly is an understatement. The piste, graded as a black run, is more like a sheer-drop slide at a giant’s play park, coming to a dramatic halt on the pavement in the middle of town. As I sit in the breakfast room of the Grand Hôtel with a ringside view of skiers barrelling their way down the mountain, wondering whether I’ll be brave enough to join the Luc at some point, I’m all too aware that this dilemma may soon be a thing of the past. Warming temperatures and a lack of snow in the valley mean that the slope, like many around the Alps, needs a lot of artificial snow, using up precious resources. 

Change is in the air at Finnair. The Helsinki-based flag carrier has confirmed that Turkka Kuusisto will be the airline’s new chief executive. The appointment follows the resignation of incumbent Topi Manner in August last year.