Future of lodging tips

IHG provided a strategy update to investors Tuesday, with executives forecasting rising growth for its loyalty program and its hotel development pipeline.

Wyndham is the world’s largest hotel franchisor, and we found a handful of noteworthy details in its annual 10-K filing.

Hyatt postponed an investor conference call scheduled for Thursday. But investors shrugged off the delay and focused on preliminary financial results.

Ever since Wyndham said ‘No’ to Choice Hotels’ offer last year to buy it, executives have been sandbagged by work related to preventing the hostile merger.

The Super Bowl helped MGM Resorts post three of the top five days in revenue it has ever recorded at hotels on the Las Vegas Strip, executives said Tuesday.

Marriott reported financial results on Tuesday that underscored how the hotel giant has continued to benefit from resilient travel demand despite economic uncertainty in many regions.

Soho House, owner of a network of members’ clubs, revealed Friday that its board had formed a committee to “evaluate certain strategic transactions, some of which may result in the Company becoming a private company.”

Hotel operator Selina has faced ongoing financial difficulties, and the latest one emerged this week when a landlord repossessed the brand’s only hotel in London.

Hilton revealed Wednesday that it had signed an exclusive licensing deal with Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH), a group of 560 boutique hotels unaffiliated with the major hotel groups.

Hilton executives said Wednesday that acquisitions are possible – a shift from the past 16 years when it has focused on creating new brands rather than buying up existing ones.

Hilton said Tuesday it is jumping into the new era by pledging to enable guests to make requests by text at all of its 7,000-plus hotels by the end of 2024. Guests will be able to send messages via the Hilton Honors app, by smartphone via SMS, WhatsApp, and other platforms before and during their stays.

Travel and Leisure Co. said Tuesday it had agreed to buy Accor Vacation Club, the timeshare business of Accor, for $48.4 million.

Loews Corp., the parent of the Loews Hotels chain, detailed on Monday the extent of its financial commitment to expanding in two key states — Texas and Florida — where it’s building four hotels.

Travelers staying in Las Vegas for the Super Bowl can expect to pay the highest hotel room rates in the football championship’s history, according to a forecast released Monday from CoStar’s STR.

Nigeria’s Transcorp Hotels, one of Africa’s biggest hotel players, has posted full-year 2023 results: Profit was up 133% year-over-year, and revenue gained 35.8%.

Karim Alibhai knows better than most how to make luxury hotels profitable. He’s the founder and top boss of Gencom, which has owned, part-owned, or developed 8 Ritz-Carltons and 150 hotels under other brands over three decades.

Jolyon Bulley became IHG’s CEO of the Americas in July 2023. He has big shoes to fill — his predecessor, Elie Maalouf, ascended to group CEO.

Expedia CEO Peter Kern pled his case to hotel owners Monday: Take seriously the billion-dollar issue of wholesale rates being misused online.

Global hotel dealmaking will speed up in 2024 thanks to a more positive financing environment, exceeding 2023’s unusually low level by 15% to 25%.

Marriott CEO and president Anthony Capuano faces a pivotal point in the growth trajectory at the world’s largest hotel group.

Sam Nazarian’s SBE is returning to the hotel business: It said Monday it was planning to offer new “smart lifestyle” hotels as part of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’s Registry Collection, a soft brand.