US hotel performance remained strong through the first half of September, with RevPAR rising by just over 10% year over year. HVS expects a healthy fall season, supported by corporate travel and meetings through Thanksgiving, while December demand is also expected to remain steady. Youth and collegiate sports have helped drive summer hotel demand, while domestic leisure travel has offset weaker international arrivals. Hotel transactions are also picking up, with almost 1,000 properties sold in the first half of 2026. Read more

Forman Capital has provided a $12.5 million loan to support pre-development work for a 64-key Oyom-branded condominium hotel at the Kaiya Club Resort in Inlet Beach, Florida. The project will sit on a 1.8-acre site and become the resort's first major hospitality asset. The wellness-focused hotel will complement the resort's existing villas, townhomes, condominiums, beach club, spa, and other amenities. Romair Group is developing the wider community, with construction timing for the hotel yet to be announced. Read more

Japanese hotel operator Onko Chishin is building destination hotels around the culture, food, architecture, and natural assets of regional Japan. The company develops properties that are designed specifically for their locations rather than using a standard hotel model. It also shares marketing, management, and other functions across properties to help smaller hotels remain viable. With inbound tourism growing, Onko Chishin sees rising demand for immersive stays outside Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. The company currently gets about 20% to 30% of its guests from overseas and expects that share to grow over time. Read more.

Taiwan's Food and Drug Administration has fined six five-star hotels a combined NT$466,000 after inspections found food safety and hygiene violations. The inspections covered 48 five-star and international tourist hotels and examined food storage, labeling, hygiene practices, staff qualifications, and training. Violations included expired food, inadequate food safety staffing, and failures related to Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point training. Evergreen Plaza Hotel in Tainan received the largest fine at NT$220,000. The FDA said international and five-star hotels must have at least one restaurant operating under HACCP principles. Read more.

Hotels may have moved past the question of whether to use AI, but many are still struggling to make the technology part of everyday operations. A new HiJiffy white paper argues that unclear ownership, limited training, and unchanged work processes are holding back AI programs. Its four-stage adoption model moves from "Imposed" to "Tolerated," "Adopted," and "Owned," where employees actively identify new uses for AI. HiJiffy's analysis found that about 20% of the client situations it reviewed had reached the highest stage. The focus is shifting from buying AI tools to getting hotel teams to use them effectively. Read more

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