Everyone who has stayed at a hotel since Covid-19 knows that something is off. You're not losing your mind. Room rates have gone way up. Business is way up, yet housekeeping services have been scaled back—sometimes you won't receive much hospitality at all. Amenities are being cut. Guests aren't getting fresh towels, trash isn't being emptied,…
Many hotel chains are racing to replace the plastic room key with digital options, including Apple Wallet and Google Wallet apps. Plastic hotel key cards have had a rough few years. During the pandemic, touch was taboo, so touchless trends accelerated. And cybersecurity concerns have mounted around hotel key technology. Earlier this year, researchers found a vulnerability in…
It's the end of an era. The Mirage is closing its doors after 35 years to make way for Hard Rock's new Guitar hotel. The latest turnover in Las Vegas marks a new chapter for the destination city, where sports and entertainment are a bigger draw than the gambling for tourists. Hard Rock International Chairman…
The iconic Raffles hotel brand announced the opening of Raffles Jaipur on July 8 — the second to open in the Indian subcontinent. The first, Raffles Udaipur, opened in 2021. Both hotels are in Rajasthan, a northwestern Indian state known for its stunning forts and historical palaces, like the Hawa Mahal. Jaipur, the capital city…
Cruise operators have been enjoying strong demand since climbing out of the Covid pandemic, which may have some investors wondering if the good times will last. UBS believes they will. For one, the gap between cruise prices and land-based hotel prices is still "meaningfully wider" than it was in 2019, UBS analyst Robin Farley wrote…
Waco, Texas, takes another step toward becoming Chip-and-Joanna-Gainesville this fall. The married stars of the home-renovation series Fixer Upper have developed and designed their own hotel in the central Texas city (located almost exactly midway between Dallas to the north and Austin to the south) from which they launched their Magnolia lifestyle empire based on modern…
The Tempo by Hilton New York Times Square's birth might have been complicated and steeped in drama, but the resulting hotel is remarkably simple in its intentions and design. It's not loaded down with pretension, velvet-rope restaurants, spas, or even significant lounge areas. Essentially, the common areas amount to a modest 11th-floor lobby situated…
Hotel room rates in many major cities around the world are expected to continue their skyward climb in 2024—rising by double-digit percentages in many places, according to the Hotel Monitor 2024, a forecast from American Express Global Business Travel (aka Amex GBT). In considering hotel prices in more than 80 cities, analysts relied on figures…
A perfect storm has hit the hotel market in New York City, driving prices to historic highs. The ascent began, partially, in spring of 2022, when Governor Greg Abbott of Texas started busing migrants to New York. So far, Texas has sent 15,800 people, according to the Associated Press. The number could be closer to…
Each August, the Scottish city of Edinburgh hosts five—count 'em, five—major arts and culture festivals dedicated to the performing arts, the visual arts, books, and military bands. By far the largest event is Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which launched in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival (itself still going strong), with the offshoot…