Two major hotel groups are reporting surging numbers, further proof that the travel recovery is very real. Ongoing strength in leisure travel and an acceleration in the recovery of group demand pushed Marriott International’s second-quarter performance to or above 2019 levels. Hilton also is reporting much stronger numbers than expected. Excluding its hotels in the Greater China region, Marriott’s global June revenue per available room (RevPAR in hotel parlance) came in at 1% above 2019 levels, Marriott CEO Tony Capuano said during the company’s second-quarter earnings call, according to Hotel News Now. Worldwide occupancy reached 71%, only 5 percentage points Read more
Hilton
Another new, luxury hotel is coming to downtown Toronto. Easton’s Group of Hotels announced the “topping off” of its upcoming Canopy by Hilton Toronto Yorkville Hotel, marking the completion of its structural framework. To celebrate this milestone, the group held a ceremony at the construction site, 387 Bloor Street East, on Thursday, July 21. This was attended by members of Easton’s Group of Hotels, Gupta Group Developments, and SkyGrid Construction Inc. The 184-room hotel marks the Canadian debut of Canopy by Hilton, Hilton’s luxurious lifestyle hotel brand. This is slated to open in November 2022, “steps away from the heart Read more
Easton’s Group of Hotels, a renowned name in Canada’s hospitality industry with a comprehensive portfolio spanning premium, branded and upscale hotel properties across Canada, announces it will build Canada’s only Curio by Hilton, the first hotel within 1km of Toronto’s historic Distillery District. Located at 60 Mill St, the project will be perched at the entrance of the historic community and mark the last remaining heritage building to be re-purposed in the district. The Distillery District is one of the most striking areas of Toronto, filled with beautiful, brick heritage buildings, open spaces, works of art, and great food and Read more
I’m not going to call this the beginning of the road to recovery, because I learned in my years covering baseball that you never jinx things in the press box by saying things like, “Gee, this game is REALLY moving along nicely,” as that pretty much GUARANTEES a 15-inning nightmare. However, I will say it’s a joy to have good news to report on a couple of major fronts today in my regular Future of Travel blog, including news of June planning by both Air Canada Vacations and the Lufthansa Group of airlines. Lufthansa Group Boosting June Service Lufthansa Read more
This is one of a series of blog posts on the FUTURE OF TRAVEL in this wild time of COVID-19. Today I look at several aspects of the hotel industry. Virtually everyone in the travel business worth talking to has conceded that business as usual won’t work in this new age of the coronavirus. Cruise ships are stepping up their game, airlines are mandating masks on board for passengers, and hotels are making adjustments of their own. Last week, Marriott got things started by announcing a major cleanliness program that they hope will make would-be customers feel more confident in Read more
