2020 Forecast for the Hotel Sector and 7 Other Top Hospitality Stories This Week

What’s in Store for the Hotel Sector in 2020: New Skift Research: Hotel performance in 2020 could diverge from region to region as local uncertainty makes itself felt across markets from Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, the United States, and more. Our overall outlook is for slower but still positive growth.

What’s Ahead for the Next Gen of U.S. Hotel Franchisees? Big hotel chains like Marriott, Hilton, and others are moving increasingly to an asset-light strategy, signing on more franchisees. Many are still owned by individuals and families: How diverse and adaptable will the next generation of hotel owners be?

How Thomas Cook’s European Businesses Are Now Divvied Up Among Rivals: Thomas Cook collected its fair share of brands over the years. Now rivals are picking over what remains of the group.

TUI Looks Set for a Challenging 2020 Even Without Competitor Thomas Cook: TUI continues to have ambitious plans, and its quest to move away from the traditional tour operating market seems sensible given the problems endured by one of its biggest competitors. But good intentions often get derailed by outside circumstances. Can it stay the course in 2020?

5 Key Lessons From the World’s Largest Green Events Venue: The Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta is currently the biggest event space to be environmentally certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. The center has spent the past 10 years investing heavily in sustainability — and now acts as a blueprint for other convention centers.

How Atlanta’s Massive Conference Center Became So Environmentally Friendly: Even the biggest venues can be gentle on the climate. The Georgia World Conference Center went through a redesign about 10 years ago, and now is one of the most sustainable large venues in the world.

Puerto Rico Aims to Boost Biz Travel With High-Tech Entertainment District: El Distrito is an ambitious plan, and the island is throwing an extraordinary amount of effort toward making it a success. This is something that matters to business leaders. Hopefully, visitors will have the same enthusiasm.

Zeus Raises $55 Million for Extended-Stay Rentals: Travel Startup Funding This Week: This week, travel startups announced more than $139 million in funding for concepts including extended-stay corporate housing, short-term rental-style pop-up hotels, co-living spaces, and landing ports for flying taxis.