Oyo Plans $300 Million U.S. Expansion and 12 Other Hospitality Trends This Week

Oyo Plans $300 Million U.S. Expansion With Focus on Major Cities: Sometimes it’s obvious when a company is growing too fast. This doesn’t appear to be one of those times. Oyo wants to be everywhere customers want to vacation.

Hong Kong-Based Langham Is on the Prowl for Acquisitions in Europe: Langham has expanded in North America, China, and Australia, but not in Europe, where its acquisition of The Langham, London, gave it the brand. A new wave of development earmarks Europe as a priority, and the company wants to enter the resort space as well. But before all that can happen, it needs to further raise brand awareness.

Skift Tech Forum: Shiji Helps Hotels Crack China Market With À La Carte Approach. Shiji is one of the world’s most fascinating hospitality tech companies. In this interview Kevin King, its chief operating officer, explains the company’s distinctive approach to the market.

Tech Expands Hotel Guest Engagement Beyond Loyalty Programs: New Skift Research. Let’s place loyalty programs into a larger realm of technology that can improve and increase guest engagement and personalization. All these tools working in parallel can help achieve a truly loyal guest.

Hyatt Plots Next Moves in Its Loyalty Chess Game: Hyatt has big plans for its World of Hyatt loyalty program, as illustrated by a recent presentation by CEO Mark Hoplamazian and yet another partnership in the works.

Lifestyle-Brand Veteran Dream Hotel Group to Expand Aggressively: It’s no secret that lifestyle brands cater to a particular type of traveler, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of money still to be made in the space. As lifestyle veterans, Dream Hotel Group could have a leg up over larger chains that have more capital to play with.

Hotels Are Reviving Nightclubs to Boost Visibility: The nightlife industry has long been riddled with fly-by-night club closures and seedy venues. Now a handful of powerful hoteliers are changing that by launching new nightlife concepts — and parlaying them into higher room rates. Who says disco is dead?

Choice Hotels Rebrand Campaign Aims to Win Back Business Travelers: Choice Hotels realized years ago that Comfort Inn’s look was outdated. The company has to hope that spending billions on renovations and new marketing materials will make the brand successful again.

Vietnam’s Homesharing Surge Creates Bargains for Travelers: The Vietnamese are known for their entrepreneurial spirit. A growth spurt in homesharing listings shows how eagerly they have sought a share of the tourism boom. But yields are falling even as the supply of homes and hotels are continuing to increase. Crunch time is near or perhaps even here.

Meeting Planners Make Slow Progress Toward Sustainability: Reducing food waste and environmental impacts are proving to be difficult for meeting planners. The sector’s antiquated way of doing business is holding up progress at a moment when widespread change is necessary.

Luxury Travelers Want to Spend on Self-Care: There’s now a wellness-themed trip out there for almost every traveler’s wants, whether that’s an ultra-exclusive self-care summit or an intense hiking tour in a remote locale. So it comes as no surprise that the already booming wellness industry is now benefiting from people hitting the road.

Understanding Hotel Giant IHG: IHG is such a sprawling company, it’s hard to get a handle on it. Here we break it down for you.

Meeting Planners Struggle to Create Sustainable Events: Millennials are starting to step into management positions at event companies, easing the way toward more sustainable events. But the industry still has a long way to go.