Raini Hamdi, Skift
Boutique American and European hotel brands aim to expand in Asia, but will soon realize it’s more difficult than they imagined, and it’s only going to get harder. Here’s why, and how they can make a go of it.
6 days ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
Tablet Hotels found itself a world-class strategic buyer to propel its growth. Tablet as part of Michelin will face huge marketing hurdles, and the challenge of trying to reshape Michelin's legacy guide offerings.
7 days ago
Patrick Whyte, Skift
The hospitality industry shouldn't forget its humanity, while continuing to innovate - just in a sensible and appropriate way. Strong message.
2 months ago
Deanna Ting, Skift
There's been a sea change in terms of how new boutique hotel brands are named: Instead of recycling other brand names (ahem, Clarion Pointe) and looking to active adjectives (hello, Avid and Tru), we've now entered the era of brands on a first-name basis.
2 months ago
Kristy Westgard, Bloomberg
The transformation of older landmark buildings into hotels continues. In this case, the property is set to cater to business travelers visiting an up-and-coming center of tech, art, and culture.
3 months ago
David Hellier and Nikki Ekstein, Bloomberg
Mr & Mrs Smith has flown under the radar for a number of years but now wants to use crowdfunding to raise money for expansion. It might not seem like a huge amount of cash for such an established company but if successful should help it grow in markets like the U.S.
3 months ago
Alex Schechter, Bloomberg
Anyone else have trouble telling the difference between midsize American cities? Seattle, Portland, Austin, Minneapolis, whatever, let's go to Carbondale then, until its distillery inn makes it the next Aspen, then we'll push the same design elements onto some other town.
6 months ago
Patrick Clark, Bloomberg
It's particularly bittersweet that the hotel largely responsible for bringing boutique lodging into the mainstream no longer bears the "W" brand. Its fate also serves as a cautionary tale for hoteliers on maintaining relevancy in hospitality: Just because you were cool before doesn't mean you always will be.
7 months ago
Deanna Ting, Skift
The battle for online travel dominance began long ago, but now it's really getting serious. Count this as Airbnb's official opening shot toward Booking and Expedia.
9 months ago
Deanna Ting, Skift
The beauty of Ennismore's flagship brand, The Hoxton hotels, is how it distills what the original boutique hotel pioneers did, but makes it relevant to today's audiences on a more equitable, democratic scale. CEO Sharan Pasricha's approach to hospitality — an outsider's perspective, if you will — is equally refreshing.
9 months ago
Deanna Ting, Skift
Oh, how times have changed. Instead of feeling threatened by Airbnb, some hotels are being wooed by the company. Online travel agencies, on the other hand, are about to get a taste of what it feels like to be disrupted by the likes of Airbnb.
10 months ago
Colin Nagy, Skift
To avoid the sugar high and then the inevitable crash when launching a new property, brands need to adopt a mindset of reciprocity and be a participant, and not a drain on the artistic ecosystem of a city.
10 months ago