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GEOFF BALLOTTI, PRESIDENT and CEO of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts will be recognized by UJA Federation of New York at its annual Hospitality Division event in June. The event is held in conjunction with the NYU Hospitality Investment Conference and will raise funds to support UJA-Federation's annual campaign, which supports a wide network of nonprofits. UJA Federation will hold the event on June 4, at 4:30 p.m. at the Marriott Marquis in New York City. The federation works with a network of hundreds of nonprofits in New York, Israel and 70 other countries to provide $180 million in grants affecting 4.5 million people annually. "For 15 years, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has supported UJA and the vital work it does caring for those in need while creating and fostering diverse communities where all are welcome," Ballotti said. "Together with my hospitality colleagues, we'll celebrate the extraordinary work of UJA and how it improves lives in communities across the globe."

STARWOOD CAPITAL GROUP, a US-based private equity firm, recently purchased10 Radisson Blu Edwardian properties in London, totaling 2,053 rooms, from Edwardian Hotels London, a U.K. hospitality group with Jasminder Singh as chairman. The financial details of the deal remain undisclosed, but a Bloomberg report estimated the transaction at around $1 billion (£800 million). Edwardian Group will continue to manage the portfolio during a transitional period, the company said in a statement. Edwardian Hotels London will retain operational control and continue managing The Londoner Leicester Square, launched in September 2021, along with its two Radisson Collection hotels-The May Fair in Mayfair and The Edwardian Manchester in Manchester. Jasminder Singh is chairman of Edwardian Group. "Following the successful launch of The Londoner and a period of strong trading across the portfolio, this sale represents an opportunity to refocus the group and position it for its next chapter," said Inderneel Singh, CEO of Edwardian Group and son of Jasminder Singh. "Our three landmark properties - The Londoner, The May Fair Hotel, and The Edwardian Manchester - are perfect showcases of our vision for the future, and we remain committed to investing in and delivering distinctive experiences for guests in high-end, purpose-built, city-centre hotels."

WYNDHAM HOTELS & RESORTS and lifestyle hospitality developer sbe launched a new soft brand during the American Lodging Investment Summit in Los Angeles last week. Temporarily dubbed "Project HQ Hotels & Residences," the new brand aims to attract younger travelers looking for an experience. Project HQ is meant to represent sbe's "smart lifestyle" hotel category that is designed to draw in Millennial and Gen Z guests by providing memorable experiences at more affordable rates, according to Wyndham. The name is based on the idea that Project HQ hotels, which will be affiliated with Wyndham's Registry Collection Hotels, will serve the guests' headquarters in the heart of cities where they are located. Project HQ hotels will include pre-approved FF&E packages, supply chain, technology integrations, OS&E packages and programming to monetize otherwise underutilized spaces of the property. Led by Sam Nazarian as chairperson, sbe provides F&B packages that include Casa Dani from Chef Dani García; MXO, a Mexican Steakhouse by Chef Wes Avila; and Katsuya by Chef Katsuya Uechi.

WITH DISNEYWORLD AND Universal Studios as a backdrop, the AAHOA Convention & Trade Show 2024 got under way in Orlando, Florida, Tuesday. The show had just begun but attendees were already feeling excited about the week. "I think that is great, the venue is great, and the turnout," said Raj Patel, CEO of Apsilon Hotels in Atlanta. "This is going to be an excellent show. Looking forward to it." More than 6,000 people registered to attend the trade show with more than 1,000 booths and 520 exhibitors. Keynote speakers included: Kevin O'Leary, businessman, SPAC investor, director of Stream Global Services, chairman of O'Shares ETF Investments and Beanstox. Rashmi Airan, professional speaker and coach, speaking at the HerOwnership Women Hoteliers Luncheon and Session. Rahul Kapoor, mindset coach, motivational speaker and author. "It's going to be a fantastic show. It's going to be some great conversations, good educational seminars too," said Raj Trivedi, former La Quinta Hotels head and now managing principal at TST Capital in Dallas. "Most importantly, it's a lot of fun. I think people are going to have a great time."

ADR is projected to rise by 0.1 percentage points in 2024, with occupancy and RevPAR remaining unchanged from the previous forecast, according to STR and Tourism Economics' initial U.S. hotel forecast for 2024 at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit. Yet, 2025 projections for key performance metrics were revised downward due to stabilized long-term average trends: occupancy down 0.1 percentage points, ADR down 0.3 points and RevPAR down 0.5 ppts. "U.S. ADR and RevPAR reached record highs in 2023 with solid travel fundamentals and a big year for group business underpinning performance," said Amanda Hite, STR president. "We expect to see continued growth as fundamentals remain more favorable for the travel economy. The indicator that is especially important is the low unemployment rate among college-educated individuals, those most likely to travel for business and leisure." The STR and Tourism Economics forecast a rise in GOPPAR growth due to increased TRevPAR levels and stable labor costs. Among chain scales, luxury and upper upscale hotels are expected to see substantial cost increases, driven by growing group demand.

THE AHLA FOUNDATION recently held its 6th Annual Night of a Thousand Stars awards gala, recognizing leaders in the hotel industry and presenting Mark Hoplamazian, Hyatt Hotels Corp. president and CEO with the third annual Arne Sorenson Social Impact Leadership Award. The event also raised close to $1 million to support AHLA Foundation initiatives. Lina Patel, director of strategic franchise initiatives at Red Roof, also was recognized at the event held during the 2024 America's Lodging Investment Summit at the J.W. Marriott in Los Angeles. Shatterproof, a national nonprofit that promotes addiction treatment, also recognized Hoplamazian during ALIS. "The Night of a Thousand Stars Gala brings our entire industry together to celebrate the work and dedication of the unsung heroes of hospitality-the individuals at the heart of our industry," said Anna Blue, AHLA Foundation president.

WYNDHAM HOTELS & RESORTS recently named Amit Sripathi as chief development officer, taking over from Chip Ohlsson, who exits the company in June. Sripathi, who previously was Wyndham's senior vice president of strategic and corporate development, will head the company's North American franchise sales team. Before his tenure at Wyndham, he served as vice president of finance and capital markets at RLJ Lodging Trust, and as vice president of global investment banking at Deutsche Bank, Wyndham said in a statement. "Amit's deep experience in mergers and acquisitions and capital markets focused on the real estate and hospitality sectors at Deutsche Bank and RLJ Lodging are instrumental as we increase our focus on growing our midscale-and-above portfolio while reinforcing our leading position in the resilient select-service segments," said Geoff Ballotti, Wyndham's president and CEO. "Since joining Wyndham, Amit has demonstrated a strategic approach to growth. He's helped divest our owned and managed segments leading to a pure-play U.S. franchise business and worked with our sales teams across the country and around the world deploying over $250 million in development support for our owners. He hits the ground running, knowing what our franchise sales teams need to continue outperforming expectations."

As we stand on the brink of a new era, the world of finance is undergoing a seismic shift. Fintech, the fusion of finance and technology, continues to revolutionize the way we manage, invest, and interact with money. With each passing year, innovations in fintech reshape industries, challenge traditional banking models, and democratize access to financial services. The fintech industry has been a hotbed of innovation and growth, reshaping how financial services are delivered and consumed. As we look ahead to the next decade, several key trends and predictions are set to define the future landscape of fintech. Looking ahead, the next decade promises to be even more transformative. Here, we delve into some top predictions that will shape the future of fintech.

Red Roof Inn Charlotte-Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Red Roof Inn Doswell-Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia, are now open. Shree Shradhaa Saburi LLC, led by Kiran Patel, owns the 108-room Charlotte property. SJ Hotel LLC, led by Nilang Maniarah, owns the 108-room Doswell hotel. Shree Shradhaa invested $700,000 in renovating the Charlotte hotel, while SJ Hotel spent $1.2 million in renovations of the Doswell property, Red Roof said in a statement. Both hotels are pet friendly. The Charlotte hotel is near the U.S. National Whitewater Center, Charlotte Convention Center, NASCAR Hall of Fame, Billy Graham Library, Harvey B. Gantt Center, Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center, Carolina Raptor Center, Charlotte Douglas International Airport and Gastonia Municipal Airport, the statement said.

WYNDHAM HOTELS & RESORTS recently launched Wyndham Connect, a new guest engagement platform by Canary Technologies, in North America. The platform, first announced at the company's 2023 global conference, is available at no additional cost to owners, with nearly 2,000 North American hotels already using it, Wyndham said in a statement. "We always put our franchisees first, and investing in innovative technology like AI sets them apart from the competition," said Scott Strickland, Wyndham's chief commercial officer. "With access to powerful solutions like Wyndham Connect, our franchisees can manage their businesses more efficiently and curate guest experiences to help make stays more meaningful than ever. The result? Happier guests, higher chances for repeat business and money in franchisees' pockets."

COSTAR GROUP, A real estate marketplace and analytics provider, granted STR's hotel data subscribers access to its full product suite, enabling users to leverage multisegmented market analytics and forecasts. The services include a tenant database of 7.8 million spaces, an inventory of 6.7 million properties, a pipeline tracking 79,000 projects and a transactions database with 4.2 million sales comparables, CoStar said in a statement. "Today, CoStar becomes the product for tens of thousands of hotel users worldwide," said Andy Florance, CoStar Group's founder and CEO. "With access to the full product offering, hotel owners, operators and brand representatives will gain comprehensive insights across all commercial asset categories, enabling them to refine their sales strategy and identify new investment opportunities." STR's latest benchmarking solution debuted within the CoStar product in May 2023, the statement added. This comprehensive, multilingual tool offers enriched STAR Reports, detailed property and portfolio insights, and advanced visualizations to streamline revenue and performance management, operations, sales, marketing, and finance.

Red Roof Inn Stroudsburg in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, is now open. The owner, 100 Park Ave LLC, led by Urvish Shah, recently invested $500,000 in renovations for the 58-room property situated near the Pocono Mountains. The pet-friendly hotel is in Stroudsburg's entertainment district, close to Shawnee Mountain Ski Area, Camelback Ski Resort, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Lafayette College, Pocono International Raceway and Jack Frost Ski Resort. Lehigh Valley International Airport is nearby. Two other Red Roof properties recently opened: Red Roof Inn Charlotte-Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, owned by Shree Shradhaa Saburi LLC, led by Kiran Patel, and Red Roof Inn Doswell-Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia, owned by SJ Hotel LLC, led by Nilang Maniarah.

DUETTO, A REVENUE management software provider, recently introduced BlockBuster, a revenue optimization solution, and rebranded its acquired space optimization tool, MiceRate, as OpenSpace, integrating new functions. BlockBuster coordinates revenue, sales and catering teams to optimize business quotes, while OpenSpace automates revenue management for rooms, event spaces, and ancillary services, Duetto said in a statement. "The addition of OpenSpace, combined with our investment in group management, positions us as a one-stop-shop for hoteliers looking to maximize revenue across their entire property," said David Woolenberg, Duetto's CEO. "Now, our customers can leverage Duetto to optimize pricing, manage inventory, and streamline bookings for individual guests, groups, and function spaces - all in a single, unified solution. These enhancements will streamline the group booking process, improve internal communication, and ensure a more seamless experience for both hoteliers and their customers."

ONLY ONE IN five hotel professionals believe the current tech stack is sufficient for achieving efficiencies, cost savings and adequate guest care, according to a recent survey by the Hospitality Women's Innovation Council. Approximately 91 percent of survey respondents indicated that better collaboration among technology companies on integrations is needed, while 86 percent felt improved integration processes would encourage greater investment in technology. HWIC, a group of hotel brand executives, managers, and innovators, conducted the survey between May 25 and June 15, HWIC said in a statement. More than 300 owners, managers, and technologists participated in the survey. The study was supported by Visual Matrix, a PMS software developer in Richardson, Texas. "Industry professionals have confirmed that more than any other factor, collaboration is the key to driving better business results for hoteliers-collaboration among technology providers and between the providers and the hoteliers they serve," said Georgine Muntz, HWIC co-chair and CEO of Visual Matrix. "When we created the council close to a year ago, we began with the assumption that women leaders in hospitality can help improve the ways industry professionals collaborate for common ends and encourage better standardized integrations. Now that assumption has been fully validated. We look forward to sharing the council's recommendations on better integration, collaboration and advancing innovation, in the weeks ahead."

NEW YORK LEADS the top 50 U.S. markets in hotel construction with 47 projects and 7,655 rooms currently underway, according to Lodging Econometrics. The city has a total of 78 projects and 13,549 rooms in its hotel construction pipeline, the 10th largest in the U.S. Projects set to start in the next 12 months include eight projects with 1,079 rooms, while early planning includes 23 projects with 4,815 rooms, according to LE's Q1 2024 Market Trend Report for New York, released before the NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference. Within the New York market, the three submarkets with the largest hotel construction pipelines are the New York City area (including Brooklyn East, the Bronx, and Staten Island) with 25 projects and 2,096 rooms, the report said. Similarly, the Midtown South area features 11 projects and 2,535 rooms, while the Midtown West/Times Square area has 10 projects and 4,131 rooms. Combined, these submarkets account for 59 percent of the projects and 65 percent of the rooms in the market's total construction pipeline.

AAHOA RECENTLY CHOSE Bookit N Go, a travel tech startup, as its strategic booking partner. The company, led by Aman Mohindra as CEO, will use its advanced online travel platform to drive bookings for AAHOA member hotels, offering the lowest flat commissions, AAHOA and Bookit N Go said in a joint statement. "We look forward to collaborating with Bookit N Go as a strategic booking partner," said Miraj Patel, AAHOA's chairman. "This partnership represents a paradigm shift in how hotel bookings are handled with a focus on putting money back in the pockets of AAHOA Members. This partnership provides a booking engine partner invested in our members' success as we continue to focus on how we can help AAHOA Members save on their bottom lines." The partnership shows Bookit N Go's focus on improving the travel and hospitality sectors, the statement added. By providing AAHOA member hotels with a strategic booking solution, the company aims to drive value and growth for all stakeholders.

HOSPITALITY SOFTWARE PROVIDER Canary Technologies recently closed a $50 million Series C funding round to research AI guest technology in the hospitality sector, bringing its total fundraising to nearly $100 million. The company's software includes mobile check-in and checkout, tablet registration, upsells, guest messaging, Canary AI and digital tipping. The recent investment round was led by global software investor Insight Partners, who also led the company's Series B, with participation from existing investors F-Prime Capital, Thayer Ventures, Y-Combinator and Commerce Ventures, Canary said in a statement. California-based Canary is led by CEO Harman Singh Narula and President SJ Sawhney. "AI is transforming the way we live, work and travel," said Narula. "Canary is at the forefront of delivering enterprise-grade hospitality AI solutions that empower hoteliers to streamline operations, boost efficiency and elevate the guest experience, This funding milestone is a reflection of the team's hard work and the immense impact that Canary is making for hoteliers, including many of the world's largest enterprise hotel brands. We continue to see significant demand in the market for our products and are excited to extend our partnership with existing investors."

PEACHTREE GROUP RECENTLY received I-956F approval from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency overseeing the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, for developing a Home2 Suites by Hilton in Boone, North Carolina. USCIS adjudicated the I-956F petition for the hotel development in five months, Peachtree said in a statement. "It is a testament to the due diligence of the Peachtree team that it was able to get the project approved so quickly, especially when the published processing time is over 15 months," said Adam Greene, Peachtree's executive vice president of EB-5. The company, led by Greg Friedman as CEO and managing principal, Jatin Desai as managing principal and Mitul Patel as principal, originated $21.7 million in fixed-rate construction financing over a five-year term for Narsi Properties to develop the 105-room Home2 Suites near downtown Boone, Peachtree said. Narsi Properties is led by Deven, Neel and Rupal Patel as principals.

KNOWLAND RECENTLY LAUNCHED Knowland Select, a tool designed for hotels with limited meeting space. Knowland Select subscribers will receive a curated list of target accounts for upcoming need periods directly to the seller's inbox. The general market release of the product is scheduled for later this summer, Knowland said in a statement. "Knowland Select empowers limited service hotels, hardest hit by the recent travel slowdown, with automated prospecting," said Jeff Bzdawka, Knowland's CEO. "It streamlines prospecting for the segment's diverse hotel teams by directly delivering qualified accounts and contacts to the seller's inbox, boosting productivity and group business growth. Importantly, Knowland Select expands our suite of platform offerings to provide valuable sales intelligence solutions for all hotel sizes and chain scales in a portfolio. And with its accessible price point, it lowers the barrier to entry for automated prospecting at scale and helps hotels unlock a clear return on investment."