Skift Travel News Blog

Sonesta International Hotel Corporation announced the debut of two soft brands within its expanding portfolio, Classico, A Sonesta Collection, and MOD, A Sonesta Collection. These two new brands offer independent hotel owners the opportunity to affiliate with Sonesta’s network while retaining their iconic hotel names, identities, designs, and established styles.

Marketed by Sonesta’s Luxury and Lifestyle Lodging Development Team, each Classico property will have a distinct identity and offer signature local cuisine, traditional high-touch service, and refined interiors.

The first Sonesta Classico brand property is the 40-room Z Ocean Hotel in Miami, Florida’s South Beach neighborhood, which opened on May 1, 2023. Each MOD, positioned within Sonesta’s upscale portfolio, will feature eclectic interior designs and amenities, such as curated food and beverage options. The first MOD property will launch as Hotel 11 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. 

Hilton Worldwide said on Wednesday it was expanding its partnership with connected fitness-equipment maker Peloton to add its bikes to hotels in three new overseas markets: Germany, Britain, and “participating properties” in Canada.

Hilton had already added at least one Peloton bike to each of its 5,400 U.S.-based hotels by last December.

Hilton sees partnerships with non-travel brands as a key path to staying relevant. Connected fitness was a trend that surged during the pandemic.

“It’s a great example of what we call a ‘strategic mash-up’ that transcends individual brand standards,” Schuyler told Skift last month. “It matters at a Hampton, and it matters at a Waldorf. It’s delivering on the service expectations of new age travelers.”

Wellness is an increasing area of focus for hotel companies, as Varsha Arora, senior research analyst at Skift Research, explained in a presentation last week at Skift’s Future of Lodging 2023 event in London. Here’s a chart from her presentation that’s relevant:

As of today, Hilton’s loyalty program members who are first-time Peloton users residing in Canada, Germany, or the U.K. can also receive a three-month free trial of the Peloton App until July 4, as well as “preferred pricing” on some Peloton products.

For centuries, Japan has offered ryokans, which are minimalist guest houses typically located near onsen, or natural hot springs used for bathing. Hyatt Hotels said Wednesday that it planned to launch a new brand, Atona, that will distill the elements of traditional ryokans while adding some modern comforts.

Hyatt has entered a fifty-fifty joint venture with Kiraku, a company that works to apply capital to help preserve the best of Japan’s cultural and natural assets.

Other companies have recently attempted to modernize and brand the ryokan concept, including Nobu’s hospitality division and Adrian Zecha, founder of Aman Resorts, whose brand is called Azumi.

Independently managed properties are expected to open in 2025. Kenya Hara will be the creative director of the new brand.

“We hope these ryokans will provide guests, both local and from abroad, a special place to experience the still unseen wonders of Japan, while also positively impacting local economies,” said Kou Sundberg, founder and CEO of Kiraku. For more on Sundberg, listen to this recent podcast.

Accor said on Wednesday that it was speeding up the development of all-inclusive hotels with the launch of its “all-inclusive collection.” Accor entered the all-inclusive segment in 2016 by cutting a deal with Fettah Tamince, founder of Rixos Hotels. Since then, Accor has tripled the size of Rixos, if you count opening in the pipeline. The brand is most prominent in Turkey, the Middle East, and Central Asia with 24 hotels and more than 10,000 rooms. The company aims to have 100 Rixos properties within five years.

Accor will enhance Rixos by adding restaurant, bar, beach club and nightlife concepts inspired and led by Carte Blanched, Ennismore’s F&B Concept Lab, part of an Accor joint venture with Sharan Pasricha.

For context, see Skift’s story: Accor’s All-Inclusive Resort Growth Plan Strengthens Company Grip on Luxury