We’re back with another half-yearly check-in on the experiences, people, and standout moments powering travel and hospitality. I’m pleased to say the bar has been raised significantly, with entrepreneurial energy driving innovation while family-owned properties and experiences continue making their strong case for travelers’ spending.

Of note, I’m tracking a movement toward more sensory experiences for travelers: think of getting off the regimented route of the safari truck to instead track a rhino on foot, or integrating local herbal remedies into spas in lieu of big-ticket lotions and potions owned by conglomerates. As we’re inundated with technology and AI slop, it turns out that analog feelings, experiences, and things that have stood the test of hundreds of years become all the more appealing.

Another trend to note: zigging when everyone else is zagging. As the usual suspects like the South of France and Amalfi Coast become log-jammed with tourists, what are the interesting new breakout places that still have cultural panache and compelling elements, minus the bottle service hordes? Think the likes of Portonovo, further afield in Portugal, Menorca (while this lasts), Norway, and visiting a grand hotel in the Alps during summertime.

Contrarian moves can be richly rewarding. See you in early 2026 for our next best-of.

Openings of Note: Hotel Wren, Patina, Auberge

Jessica Pell opened a jewelbox of a hotel in 29 Palms near Joshua Tree in California. The LA-based founder of Manola Studio transformed a run-down motor lodge into Hotel Wren, which opened in fall 2024. It’s a beautifully crafted boutique in a place without many non-Airbnb options, and Pell’s studio did an elegant job. It has a small footprint but feels native to the place in terms of vibe and color scheme, with the design serving as “both a love letter to the desert and a quiet expression of the studio’s values.”

Capella’s sister brand, Patina, had a standout opening in Osaka. Opening on May 1, 2025, Patina Osaka is the first urban hotel for the sub-brand, rising 20 stories with unobstructed views of Osaka Castle and featuring 221 rooms designed around the idea of kisetsukan (seasonal awareness). The brand has a strong cultural pulse, stemming from audiophile collaborations with OJAS through The Listening Room, as well as Japanese tastemaker Verdy, who serves as Creative Partner.

Auberge’s opening in Florence, Collegio alla Querce, has generated plenty of positive buzz. The brand transformed a Renaissance-era villa into an 83-room hotel. Auberge continues to execute with taste, nuance, and some of the sharpest design leadership in the business. It’s strong competition in a very popular market for U.S. travelers and beyond.

Audiophile Excellence: Il Sereno Lake Como’s Darsena Listening Suite

I’ve written about the missed opportunity for high-end audio in many hotels. I was happy to see Il Sereno hotel in Lake Como build a new suite for music lovers. The Darsena Listening Suite features a high-tech sound system comprising Klipsch La Scala II speakers, a McIntosh MC275 amplifier, McIntosh C22 pre-amplifier, Thorens 1601 turntable with Sumiko Amethyst cartridge, and a restored Revox deck that inspired the project.

Created by owner-audiophile Luis Contreras in collaboration with designer Patricia Urquiola, the suite draws inspiration from Tokyo’s jazz-kissa listening cafés. More hotels need to be doing things like this.

Startups to Watch: Staays and Boutique Homes

Staays is a highly curated booking engine that gives me some of the feeling I had when first perusing Tablet to find interesting, handpicked properties. It is still building, but both the art direction and the selection of properties are high taste.

Marc Blazer was a founding investor in Noma, and co-founded the travel company Prior. He’s now working on Boutique Homes, which is a very curated selection of design-centric homes and small hotels in interesting locations. As Airbnb feels much like a mass supermarket in many respects, consider this the Erewhon. I’m impressed with the execution so far.

Aviation White Space

I’ve long been a fan of JSX and their business model: flying in and out of private terminals. Aero is now also executing in this market, albeit focused more on leisure travel: think Van Nuys to Cabo, Salt Lake City, Napa, etc. They’ve also launched a transcontinental product between New York and Los Angeles. The brand operates in a sweet spot between commercial first class and full private jet travel, using converted Embraer ERJ135 aircraft reconfigured to accommodate just 16 guests in a spacious 1×1 layout. 

In the Middle East, Beond is flying jets with flat beds from Dubai’s Al Maktoum to the Maldives, with rumored route expansions in the pipeline. The airline operates Airbus A319s with 44 lie-flat seats and A321s with 68 lie-flat seats in a 2-2 configuration. Designed by Italian manufacturer Optimares, the seats share components with LaFerrari, the luxury sports car. Beond has bold ambitions to grow its fleet to 32 all-premium aircraft in the next five years, with plans to expand beyond the Maldives. Rumor has it some UAE backing is in the cards.

Best Cohesive Guest Experience: Deer Valley and Raffles Singapore

As I wrote about in a longer column, the end-to-end experience of Deer Valley is one of the most cohesive and consistent in the world, across nearly every touchpoint. The resort justifies its $329 lift tickets by delivering a meticulously crafted luxury skiing experience, focusing on personalized service and minimal lift lines. The resort employs a unique capacity management strategy, limiting daily skiers to maintain uncrowded slopes, which costs potential revenue but preserves its premium brand. Deer Valley is also intentional about keeping humans in the loop, especially at key touchpoints where there can be outsized utility or emotional impact. I notice staff with longtime tenure, and smart use of retirees, many of them octogenarians, who bring warmth and expertise to the entire offering.

In terms of a more classic hospitality experience, I thought Raffles Singapore recently lived up to its billing: incredibly elegant doormen who remember every guest’s name, subtle but anticipatory butler service, and it was also nice to see top-tier familiar talent from other hotels who recently transferred to the property. The brand is not resting on its history or laurels and is worth the price of admission, without question.

Best African Opening: Few & Far Luvhondo

Sarah and Jacob Dusek’s post-Under Canvas venture launched in early 2025 in South Africa’s Soutpansberg Mountains. Six cliffside suites surrounded by ancient baobab trees within the UNESCO Vhembe Biosphere Reserve. But here’s what makes it special: it’s carbon negative, sequestering over 100,000 tons annually through active regeneration efforts. They’re not just preserving wilderness; they’re actively restoring it. It’s what safari should be in 2025.

Best Hospitality Innovations

Dishoom: The London-based Indian restaurant group launched overnight lodging above their Permit Room bar in Portobello. It’s not a hotel play per se; it’s a clever brand extension that lets guests live inside their theatrical universe. Smart.

VIPP: The Danish design company turned hospitality on its head with their “untraditional hotel concept.” Instead of many rooms in one location, they offer one room at different destinations. Their 55 m² steel Shelter is billed as a “battery-charging station for humans,” a livable design object dropped into nature and kitted out entirely with VIPP products. It’s hospitality as a product, not architecture. At €1,000 per night, it’s for people who want to test-drive living with serious design in places like Australia and Todos Santos.

The Malin: Finally, coworking spaces that understand the creative class deserve better than beanbags and kombucha with bad motivational posters. Their SoHo flagship and expanding network offer “beautiful spaces that enable your best work” through thoughtful design, not distraction. No application process, no performative community nonsense, just elevated environments where ambitious people can focus. It’s what coworking should have been from the start. I am bullish on this company.

Best Brand Revamp: Cathay Pacific

I’m happy to report that Cathay is back on the upswing. They have a few kinks to iron out, but as the new business class Aria Suite comes online, they’ve also set their attention to some of their lounge products, recently redoing their Bridge lounge at HKG. The Bridge now splits into distinct Asian and International wings — the Asian side features their iconic Noodle Bar plus The Nook, a custom dim sum cart serving regional Chinese small plates. It’s smart to lean into their cultural positioning rather than chase generic luxury.

I also liked their Mott 32 collaboration, a partnership with the world-renowned Chinese restaurant brand for seasonal tasting menus in The Pier, First Class lounge. It shows how airlines can elevate dining through strategic partnerships rather than trying to do everything in-house. It’s access to a worldview, not just doing everything internally. The taste levels the brand has historically highlighted are back on display.

Breakout Destination: Norway

The Nordics continue their hospitality ascendancy, and Norway is having a particular moment. In Svalbard, yes, Svalbard: Huset Restaurant ranks as one of Norway’s best, serving local ingredients from Arctic fishermen, trappers, and hunters with a wine cellar that rivals anything in Scandinavia (1,000+ titles, 6,000 bottles). The fact that world-class hospitality exists at the edge of civilization says everything about Norwegian standards.

Back in Oslo, there’s Hobo Hotel, which takes a nod from the Ace and also Hoshino’s OMO brand. It is 181 rooms designed as an urban hub where locals and visitors actually want to mix. On the luxury end, 62 Nord continues to set the standard for high-end expeditionary luxury in the country.

Welcome Trend: More Sensory-led Luxury in South America

Recently acquired by new ownership, Awasi’s collection of small luxury lodges offers private all-inclusive programs in South America’s most iconic destinations: taking a similar approach to an African safari, but with different, interesting landscapes.

Meanwhile, Andean Collection continues expanding throughout Peru. Both brands show how South America is finally getting the luxury hospitality infrastructure its landscapes deserve. Smart operators are recognizing that South America’s combination of dramatic geography and rising interest from both South American and global affluent travelers makes it a big opportunity.

Waterborn Innovation: Navier N30

Four Seasons launched an electric boat on Lake Austin, the Navier N30. The company says the vessels are environmentally friendly with zero emissions and no seasickness. The approach, where the vessel lifts out of the water at a certain speed, preserves the serenity and beauty of the lake while making passengers more comfortable. It is a smart move by Four Seasons, applying serious innovation to the water experience rather than just slapping “sustainable” labels on traditional boats.

Most Inspirational Urban Innovation: New Bahru

I recently toured Lo and Behold Group’s transformation of former Nan Chiau High School into New Bahru and think it represents Singapore’s most ambitious creative clustering project. Set across 20,000 square meters in River Valley, it houses over 40 local businesses from cafés and restaurants to retail and wellness. I’ve written about the rise of more creativity in Singapore, and this is an incredibly vivid example of it happening. Watch for more out of Lo and Behold.

Best Team: Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal

I came in expecting a scenic property that has a history. I was blown away by the nuance, anticipation, and pride of a team that has been working at this property for years. The end-to-end experience, from arrival to morning coffee, to the housekeeping and spa, was in the top 1 percent of execution. Remarkably good.

Standout Hotelier: Jeff Klein

Jeff Klein has impeccable taste, as seen in his Sunset Tower property. But I’ve noticed he’s managed to scale the San Vicente Bungalows Members Club quite nicely, first with Santa Monica, and now with New York in the former Jane Hotel. The design is spot-on, and it has a magnetic cultural appeal. Membership clubs are getting saturated (and service is often lacking), but I’m betting that Klein has the secret sauce to make these experiences have more staying power and cache.

Best New NYC Hotels

Fouquet’s New York: I loved my stay at the Tribeca outpost of Barrière’s Fouquet’s. Though the room decor is a bit Ladurée pastel for my taste, the service and vibe were impeccable, down to the ambient music at 5 a.m., while I was partaking in a perfectly stocked coffee bar. The Barrière Group’s first US outpost brings that unmistakable French touch, complete with the famous red awnings and elegant service standards delivered by palace trained French staff. 

The Fifth Avenue Hotel: NoMad is quickly becoming a must-stay neighborhood, and the newest entry occupies a restored 1909 building with 180 rooms and serious design credentials. They managed to do some great world-building without it feeling contrived, and I found the room to be thoughtful and generous, and staff to be polished. I will return.

The Surrey: After a comprehensive renovation, this Upper East Side institution reopened with 190 rooms and a refreshed vision under the leadership of one of my favorite GMs, Pradeep Raman. The property strikes the right balance between residential elegance and hotel sophistication, making it feel like a New York insider secret uptown. 

Best City Hotel: Casa Polanco

Mexico City’s Casa Polanco ticks many boxes for me. It’s in a wonderful location, it’s family-run, and it espouses the idea of irrational generosity that you don’t find at larger, corporate-run properties. There’s an elegant library/bar room where everything on the bar cart is yours for the taking. The property has wonderful design touches, notably the Bang & Olufsen sound in the common spaces and, indulgently, in the rooms. I really enjoyed the staff, the privacy, and the entire experience.

Best New Hospitality Voice: Nadine at The Stanza

Nadine Choe founded The Stanza in July 2023 after nearly a decade in real estate private equity and development, including work on Cain International’s One Beverly Hills project. Her excellent Substack newsletter discusses hospitality and fashion from an investor’s perspective. “I realized there’s a gap in the market for content that talks about lifestyle brands from an institutional perspective,” Choe says. Finally, someone writing about hospitality who actually understands deal structures, capital flows, and what makes projects work financially. Her breakdown of members’ club economics alone is worth the subscription.

Most Anticipated Reopening: Park Hyatt Tokyo

I have many memories tied to my 40+ stays at this property. Design studio Jouin Manku is handling the refresh, promising to honor John Morford’s original vision while making it relevant for another 30 years. I’m eager to see how this emerges into the world. A scan of the designs tells me they are preserving a lot of what initially made this property great.

Best First Class Innovation: Etihad A321LR

Etihad is the first airline to offer fully enclosed first class suites on a single-aisle aircraft. Their new Airbus A321LR features two private first class suites with sliding doors and flat beds, a luxury typically reserved for much larger widebody aircraft. The aircraft represents the first of 30 A321LR planes scheduled to join Etihad’s fleet, each designed to deliver what the airline calls “widebody luxury on a single-aisle aircraft.” It’s a smart strategic play: offering premium connectivity to thinner markets that don’t have demand for widebody service, while maintaining the elevated experience Etihad is known for. The brand is reclaiming their previous reputation.

New Ground Product: Emirates First Check-In

Emirates launched a private and dedicated first class check-in facility at Dubai Airport, creating a completely separate arrival and departure experience for their highest-spending premium customers. It’s a far departure from their old First Check-in, and makes the elevated product stand out even more. Expect this high-end competition to continue among some of the world’s best airlines.

Hope you found these to be inspiring. See you in 2026 with more of my observations.

Accor may be in the midst of a strategic shakeup, again: The latest sign is that it is considering an IPO in the U.S. for its joint venture Ennismore, which is currently looking at bankers, Skift has learned from a source familiar with the plans.

The review comes after Skift reported last month that LVMH secured an option to acquire full ownership of Accor’s Orient Express brand by 2027 as part of a partnership announced last year.

An Ennismore IPO, if it materializes, will take time. After that comes the harder question: What exactly is the rest of Accor worth? And what should its new strategy be?

An Accor spokesperson said, “We do not comment on market rumors.” Ennismore declined to comment.

Ennismore’s Growth Engine

Ennismore — a set of lifestyle hospitality brands — has been a growth engine for Accor since the companies formed a joint venture in 2021. As part of that deal, Accor bought two-thirds while Ennismore founder Sharan Pasricha kept a third.

In 2022, Accor sold a 10.8% stake in Ennismore to a Qatari consortium for €200 million (around $233 million), valuing the business at around €2 billion.

Accor doesn’t break out financials for Ennismore. But in the first half of this year, Accor’s lifestyle RevPAR

Aptech, a leading provider of hospitality-specific accounting and finance software, is pleased to announce the appointment of Paul St. John as Vice President of Sales. In this role, St. John will lead Aptech’s strategic sales strategy, expand market presence, and accelerate growth. 

With over 25 years of experience in sales and a proven track record of driving results, St. John brings a wealth of industry knowledge and strategic insight to Aptech. 

“We are thrilled to welcome Paul to the Aptech and the Jonas Hospitality leadership teams,” said Jim Rowe, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Jonas Hospitality. “His deep expertise and strategic approach to sales will be instrumental as we continue to scale the business and deliver exceptional value to customers.” 

In his new role, St. John will focus on strengthening customer relationships, optimizing sales processes, and identifying new opportunities to better serve within the industry. With a strong background in navigating strategic accounts in the hospitality sector, he brings a fresh perspective and a results-driven mindset to the team. St. John’s collaborative approach and strategic thinking will be instrumental in driving growth and enhancing the overall customer experience.  

“I’m excited to join Aptech at such a pivotal time in its growth journey,” said St. John. “I look forward to working with the talented team at Aptech and Jonas Hospitality, as well as Aptech’s invaluable customer base, to build on the company’s strong foundation and drive the next phase of success.” 

“Paul’s appointment marks an exciting chapter for Aptech,” said Jill Wilder, President of Aptech. “His leadership and customer-centric mindset align perfectly with our mission to empower hospitality professionals through innovative financial solutions. We’re confident Paul will play a key role in driving strategic growth and deepening our industry impact.” 

About Aptech 

From its entrepreneurial beginnings, Aptech has been a pioneer of hospitality software technology, delivering innovative solutions for over 50 years with a vision of connecting people with the relevant data needed to solve significant problems in the hospitality and service industries. 

Aptech’s integrated suite of solutions includes PVNG, PVNG Fixed Asset Management, Execuvue, and TVNG, which comprise an integrated technology ecosystem designed to help hoteliers at both the corporate and property levels understand their financial and operational data and provide actionable insights. These solutions focus on scalable accounting, business intelligence, financial planning and management, and are used by more than 3,500 hotel properties across North America. 

Aptech is a proud member of the Jonas Hospitality family of brands. 

Learn more at https://www.aptech-inc.com/.   

About Jonas Hospitality 

Jonas Hospitality is a family of hospitality brands unifying the guest journey through innovative technology.   

Serving over 60,000 hotels globally, our industry-leading providers utilize cutting-edge technology solutions to meet the critical business needs of our customers. Our growing portfolio of brands includes Aptech, Ariane, b4checkin, Bookassist, Jonas Chorum, Jonas Unify, Leonardo, SpaSoft, Springer-Miller Systems, &Vizergy. These brands are industry leaders in their respective areas, solving a wide range of hotelier’s operational, accounting, marketing, and distribution needs.   

Each brand within Jonas Hospitality has a dedicated team working on, and supporting their solutions. These brands are brought together via Jonas Unify which allows us to bridge the gap between best-of-breed and all-in-one solutions while building high-quality, high-performing features faster.   

Learn about our brands and solutions at www.jonashospitality.com.