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Through numerous conversations with hotel tech executives, brand C-suites and owners over the course of 2024, when asked about what to prioritize on the technology front for 2025, the most common answer is simply, “Data.” While many may expect or hope for the response to dwell on something buzzier like generative AI, the truth is that poking under the hood of most hotels’ tech stacks reveals a tangled mess of siloed data storage and disparate one-way or two-way integrations. Getting all the data centralized into one warehouse or uniformly structured in a data lake using a middleware layer thus represents…

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information.Numerous American Express cards offer travel protections that can take the headache out of your vacations. However, the coverage you get (and the limits of said coverage) differ by card. Rather than trying to remember all of this on your own, we will guide you through the travel protections offered by American Express cards.This guide provides a comprehensive, detailed look at the variety of travel protections offered across the American Express card portfolio. Each section outlines a type of coverage and the cards offering this coverage. We also include…

British Travellers Eyeing Long-Haul Holiday Destinations in Summer 2025 – Image Credit Unsplash    Recent data from the travel search engine KAYAK shows that British travelers are showing an increased interest in long-haul holidays for the summer of 2025, particularly in Zimbabwe, South Africa, and India. This trend is based on analysis of flight searches on KAYAK’s website. Eight of the top ten trending travel destinations are located outside of Europe. Flight searches to Harare, Zimbabwe, have increased significantly by 93%. A KAYAK survey of British travelers found that 28% are interested in exploring destinations beyond Europe, and 9% admit…

You have just over a week left to decide what to do with your Delta SkyMiles rollover miles that are soon to disappear forever. Time is running out to make your decision whether to convert the Medalion Qualification Miles to Medallion Qualification Dollars, SkyMiles or a combination of the two.Delta Air Lines announced a slew of changes late last year … not only to the Delta SkyMiles Medallion loyalty program but also to its cobranded credit card portfolio. As part of the changes, Delta is making it much harder to get top-tier Delta Diamond status, and it’s moving to an…

voco Bali Seminyak hotel – Image Credit IHG Hotels & Resorts    Mayapada Hospitality Holding has opened the doors to the first Voco hotel in Indonesia, the Voco Bali Seminyak. IHG Hotels & Resorts manages the hotel. This is the ninth hotel in Indonesia developed and owned by Mayapada Hospitality Holding, with four other properties in Bali under IHG’s management. The group aims to significantly impact Bali’s hotel industry with the voco brand’s unique character and style, rooted in the Latin meaning of “to invite” and “call together”. Mauro Leone, Cluster General Manager of voco Bali Seminyak, expressed his team’s commitment…

Celebrating the Spirit of Hospitality: Holiday Greetings and New Year Wishes from HNR News    As the year draws to a close, we at HNR News want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to you—our readers, partners, and industry colleagues. This season is a time for reflection, celebration, and hope, and it gives us immense joy to celebrate the resilience and innovation of the hotel and travel industry alongside you. 2024 has been a year of transformation and growth. Together, we’ve witnessed extraordinary strides in hospitality, from groundbreaking sustainability initiatives to remarkable technological advancements that have reshaped how we travel and connect.…

Image Credit Hong Kong PolyU    K-pop, a global music phenomenon, is driving a vibrant music tourism industry in South Korea. Research by Dr. Seongseop (Sam) Kim and Dr. Antony King Fung Wong of Polytechnic University’s School of Hotel and Tourism Management examines how K-pop influences potential tourist attitudes and behaviors. An empirical study authored by Dr. Seongseop (Sam) Kim and Dr. Antony King Fung Wong of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University explores the impact of K-pop on global tourism trends. Music tourism, a fascinating blend of cultural exploration and fan pilgrimage,…

One valuable feature of the United MileagePlus program is the Excursionist Perk, which allows you to add a one-way flight to a round-trip award ticket without using extra miles. The rules for this perk are not well defined, but it is an extremely valuable tool for award travel.Understanding and using the Excursionist Perk may be challenging for beginners and even some advanced award travelers. It requires time and effort, but it may allow you to redeem United miles for fantastic award itineraries at a low cost — and see more of the world for fewer miles. Here’s everything you need…

Rendering of The Ritz-Carlton, Xiamen – Image Credit Marriott International    Marriott International, Inc. has signed an agreement with Xiamen Green Development Investment Group to launch The Ritz-Carlton in Xiamen Island, Fujian Province. This move is part of the company’s ongoing commitment to expand its brand presence across southern China. The new Ritz-Carlton will be located in the Siming District and is part of a larger mixed-use development project. This includes retail spaces, a 340-meter office tower set to be the tallest landmark in Xiamen, and Marriott Executive Apartments for extended-stay options. The hotel’s location offers sea views from many of…

The budget for acquisitions at Hyatt appears to have no limit.The Chicago-based hotel giant is in talks with Playa Hotels & Resorts for “potential strategic alternatives,” which could include an acquisition. Playa is a major operator of all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean and Mexico and has been subject to hotel industry chatter in recent years regarding its takeover potential as major brands like Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott and IHG Hotels & Resorts all move more into the all-inclusive resort sector.Hyatt already owns a nearly 10% stake in Playa and has properties within the Playa portfolio, such as the Hyatt Zilara Rose…