SAUDI ARABIA—St. Regis Hotels & Resorts announced the opening of The St. Regis Red Sea Resort in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The captivating new address is the first private island to open in The Red Sea, one of the Kingdom’s luxury regenerative tourism destinations on the west coast of the country. Situated on the pristine Ummahat Island in the Al Wajh Lagoon, the resort is a destination-defining oasis with its avant-garde architecture, sustainable design details and bespoke service. “One of the world’s unexplored treasures, The Red Sea in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is set to become a coveted leisure destination,” said...

BANGKOK—Six Senses, part of the IHG Hotels & Resorts luxury and lifestyle portfolio, has signed a hotel management agreement with Activos Turisticos de Mexico (ACTUR) for the development of Six Senses Xala, which is scheduled to open in 2026. Flanked by five miles of curving white-sand beach, the 3,000-acre terrain, located in the Costalegre or “Cheerful Coast” region of Jalisco, will offer both a sanctuary and a vibrant community among fragrant mango fields, coconut palms, pristine ocean, and the serene estuary waters of the Xola-Paramán. Secluded within this verdant landscape, yet just 10 minutes from the new Chalacatepec International Airport, Six...

MIAMI—After four years of research and development, SOFi Products is excited to reveal its new 100 percent plastic-free, biodegradable cup for hot beverages that doesn’t require a separate lid. The SOFi Hot Cup features three flaps that fold together to form a spill-proof spout. This design eliminates the need for a separate plastic lid, saving businesses money, storage space and freight costs. The company’s breakthrough patent-pending locking mechanism also ensures unmatched spill protection, while its proprietary water-based coating eliminates soggy sips. “There are no cups currently on the market that are 100 percent biodegradable and eliminate the need for a lid,”...

SANTA CRUZ, CALIF.—Steeped Coffee, a Certified B Corporation, and a pioneer in the single serve compostable coffee industry, has teamed up with ADDICTIVE Coffee Roasters to serve the hospitality industry. With a process brewed like tea, Steeped is helping to make quality coffee from hundreds of top brands accessible and sustainable. Steeped Packs contain craft-roasted, freshly ground pre-portioned coffee that is triple nitro-sealed to guarantee each perfect, “Barista-Approved” cup. The company’s Guilt-Free Packing is commercially compostable, from the outer packaging to the inner Steeped Brew Bags. No pods or plugs required. “At Steeped, we are changing the way people view single-serve coffee, delivering all...

SAN FRANCISCO—Steeped Coffee, a Certified B Corp, is celebrating National Gourmet Coffee Day this January 18 with a non-traditional ask for gourmet coffee lovers—reduce your coffee waste. Steeped is leading a movement to reduce the world’s dependence on non-recyclable, single-serve coffee pods, and has pioneered a revolutionary single-serve brewing method that preserves the full flavor of gourmet coffee while being fully compostable and requiring no brewing machinery. More than 10 billion single-serve coffee pods end up in landfills each year. The number of pods consumed since 2009 could wrap around the planet more than 500 times. With a process brewed...

CHIANG RAI, THAILAND—The community-focused Visama Mae Chan luxury tented camp in the hill country of Chiang Rai, northern Thailand, opened December 1. The new project, with 10 luxuriously appointed tents, aims to deliver a holistic and immersive holiday experience combining cultural and nature activities, high end northern Thai culinary fare, much of it organic and sourced on an adjacent farm, and fully appointed luxury tents in four categories. Each accommodation category has a hill tribe name such as “Akha”, “Yao”, “Lahu”, and “Lisu”. The sumptuous tents, on raised platforms in a peaceful hill country setting, range in size from 48 to...

PALMA DE MALLORCA, SPAIN—Iberostar Group, a leader in responsible tourism, unveiled its new roadmap showcasing its commitment to circular economy principles at the 28th edition of the United Nations Conference (COP28) in Dubai, at the UNWTO event: Tourism United for Climate Action—Delivering on the Commitments of the Glasgow Declaration. Its latest report serves as a bold statement of intent, signaling a commitment to drive value and continuous improvement at its destinations. It also outlines Iberostar’s progress on decarbonization, waste management, and reduction of single-use plastics, including learnings from its first approaches. Innovation and collaboration stand as paramount pillars in shaping the value chain, with the report emphasizing their pivotal roles. The collaborative...

KANAI, MEXICO—The premiere of The Riviera Maya EDITION at Kanai introduces a completely new concept of laidback luxury to the Caribbean coastline, combining unparalleled dining and entertainment, services and amenities with the unique traditions and tastes of the famed locale. Created by Ian Schrager because of a partnership between Ian Schrager and Marriott International, the EDITION brand has become synonymous with individualized, customized, and one-of-a-kind hospitality experiences, and The Riviera Maya EDITION at Kanai is yet another example of Schrager’s visionary magic. Situated within a 620-acre nature reserve with two miles of pristine white-sand beachfront, the property rises from a...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—A new report highlights the urgent need for reusable beverage packaging as a solution to the global plastic crisis. The report, produced by ocean advocacy group Oceana, shows that just a 10-percentage point increase in reusable beverage packaging by 2030 could eliminate over 1 trillion single-use plastic bottles and cups and prevent up to 153 billion of these containers from entering our world’s oceans and waterways. Stacked on top of each other, the avoided 1 trillion bottles and cups could reach to the moon and back over 300 times. Global beverage leaders, including The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo, have enormous existing reusable...

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN—Scandic has reached a sustainability milestone by recertifying all of its previously ecolabeled hotels according to the Nordic Swan Ecolabel’s new, tougher environmental requirements. More than 88 percent of Scandic’s hotels are ecolabeled and the company is continuing its efforts to ensure that all hotels are certified by the Nordic Swan Ecolabel. The Nordic Swan Ecolabel is the official environmental certification in the Nordic countries. It updates its requirements approximately every four years, and the most recent update in 2023 included higher environmental goals. To continue to be certified, Scandic’s ecolabeled hotels have now undergone a rigorous recertification process...