ATLANTA—The Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) is highly alarmed and deeply impacted by a disturbing surge of deadly violence targeting hotel owners. In just 72 hours last week, three hoteliers were killed—two in Charlotte, N.C., and one in Pittsburgh. Anilkumar Patel and Pankaj Patel were fatally shot on Thursday in Charlotte, with a suspect now charged and in custody, while Rakesh Ehagaban was shot and killed Friday in Pittsburgh in an incident in which a police officer also was shot along with the suspect. The deaths follow the murder of a hotel manager last month in Dallas. That slaying came on...

INTERNATIONAL REPORT—A recent survey by MMGY Travel Intelligence reveals that Generation Z is at the forefront of a significant surge in European travel, showing a strong intent to spend more on international trips and take more holidays than any other age group in the next year. Despite economic pressures and global uncertainties, Europeans remain committed to leisure travel, with Gen Z setting the pace in terms of both expenditure and the number of trips planned. The study also highlights the growing influence of artificial intelligence in travel planning, a heightened demand for sustainable and authentic experiences, and the impact...

LAGUNA BEACH, CALIF.—Soul Community Planet (SCP), the Holistic Hospitality company founded on the values of wellness, kindness, and sustainability, announced the evolution of its brand into three distinct expressions: SCP WildFree, SCP Hotels, and By SCP. Together, these unique brand expressions offer mindful travelers new opportunities to experience SCP’s Holistic Hospitality. “Since we launched Soul Community Planet seven years ago, we’ve had the privilege of welcoming and learning from a global community of mindful travelers,” said Ken Cruse, SCP Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “We all increasingly aspire to travel in ways that lift our spirits, strengthen the communities we visit,...

BETHESDA, MD.—Marriott Bonvoy has announced the launch of Marriott Bonvoy Outdoors, a digital platform designed to facilitate planning for outdoor travel. The platform allows users to search for, and book accommodations and activities based on their preferred outdoor activities. It features over 450 hotels, 50,000 homes and villas, as well as curated tours and activities, offering options for skiing, hiking, biking, scuba diving, and more. In conjunction with the platform, Marriott Bonvoy has introduced the Outdoor Collection by Marriott Bonvoy, a new brand offering accommodations with an outdoor focus. This collection includes properties such as cabins near national parks and boutique hotels...

LONDON—The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), in partnership with Omran, unveiled its Environmental & Social Research (ESR) 2025, showing that while the sector has surpassed its pre-pandemic economic peak, its carbon footprint remains below 2019 levels, and its positive social impact continues to grow. According to the global tourism body, Travel & Tourism’s global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2024 have fallen by 9.3 percent since 2019, when Travel & Tourism was at its peak, and now accounts for a 7.3 percent share of total global GHG emissions, down from an 8.3 percent share in in 2019. While the sector’s environmental...

NATIONAL REPORT—Given the immense climatic challenges we currently face and the growing consumer demand for more sustainable products and services, businesses in every sector are starting to take their environmental impact seriously. In hospitality, the situation is no different. Energy consumption in the industry is high, with cooling, lighting, heating, and ventilation responsible for up to 60 percent of a hotel’s CO2 emissions. Energy-intensive extras such as heated swimming pools, excessive water and plastic use, and food waste also contribute to the industry’s environmental impacts. Given these unavoidable energy requirements and resource needs, hotels must be smart about increasing energy efficiency and reducing their...

BETHESDA, MD.—Marriott International, Inc. announced the launch of Connect Responsibly with Marriott Bonvoy Events (Connect Responsibly), a program designed to help meeting planners embed sustainability into their events at participating hotels in the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio. Connect Responsibly plans to offer meetings and events customers access to detailed Meeting Impact Reports to measure the environmental impact of their events and select options to purchase carbon credits. The program is anticipated to go live at managed and franchised properties from participating brands globally by the end of October. “There is nothing like connecting in person, and doing so responsibly makes it that much...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—AHLA Foundation announced their third annual No Room for Trafficking Summit will take place July 30, 2024, the same day as the United Nation’s World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. At last year’s No Room for Trafficking (NRFT) Summit, the inaugural grantees of the NRFT Survivor Fund were announced, including: Safe House Project, Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking (BEST), Restore NYC, Inc., University of Maryland Support, Advocacy, Freedom, and Empowerment (SAFE) Center for Human Trafficking Survivors. AHLA Foundation also shared quantitative and qualitative data demonstrating the impact the four Survivor Grantees have made to-date with the $500,000 disseminated across their respective organizations: Collectively, the...

SAN ANTONIO—The JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa is filled with hidden gems including the elevated artwork that fills this luxurious resort. Hallways and common spaces feature unique, sophisticated work by locally, nationally, and internationally acclaimed artists, giving guests the opportunity to roam the resort to tour and discover the magnificent art pieces curated for guests to enjoy as a new indoor activity. The “Art Walk” takes resort guests throughout the upper and lower-level lobbies where they can view and read about 13 different pieces of art on a self-guided tour. Guides can be picked up at the...

NATIONAL REPORT—In late February, the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) and Procure Impact, a first-of-its-kind B2B marketplace for products that support overlooked communities, announced the launch of the Dignity of Work Pledge, an initiative to create 100,000 hours of paid employment for overlooked populations. At the time of the announcement, eight hotel companies had signed the Pledge. According to Jen Collins, President of Procure Impact, three companies have since signed on, five have verbally committed, and Procure Impact is in conversation with 15 more. There are now more than 150,000 hotel rooms represented. Hotel companies that purchase from companies in...