There’s been a lot of great hotel and resort news recently, but also some insights into the latest cooling of the U.S. hospitality industry.
As all-inclusive resorts regain popularity, hotel giants are continuing expanding their all-inclusive offerings from the Caribbean to the Red Sea. One such opening is the Dreams Playa Esmeralda Resort & Spa, part of the Inclusive Collection.
Beyond global growth, new reports have found that U.S. hoteliers are more hesitant to invest and develop than last year, with 30 percent reporting declines in leisure stays, and a third of hoteliers scaling back or delaying big projects amid rising costs and uncertain demand.
Check out the most important hotel and resort news you should know down below, and click the links provided to read the stories in full.
New Hotel & Resort Openings and Renovations
Aerial rendering of the Dreams Playa Esmeralda Resort & Spa. (Photo Credit: Hyatt Hotels Corporation)
There has certainly been no lack of new development news, resort openings or renovations announced in September.
The Dreams Playa Esmeralda Resort & Spa made its debut in the Dominican Republic. It’s the 500-room family-friendly resort that shares amenities with the adults-only Secrets Playa Esmeralda Resort & Spa.
A new Hyatt resort is also coming to the Dominican Republic next year. The 406-room Secrets Macao Beach Punta Cana will be the next Inclusive Collection adults-only resort. It will, like the Secrets Playa Esmeralda, be located next to a family-friendly Dreams resort.
More new openings include three located on Shura Island in the Red Sea: SLS Red Sea, EDITION Red Sea and the InterContinental Red Sea Resort all opened in September, adding new luxury accommodation offerings to the island resort development, which will eventually feature 11 different resorts.
In renovation news, the W New York – Union Square has reopened following a $100 million renovation that transformed every part of the historic hotel, including the addition of a rooftop bar, a cafe and brasserie.
In development news, IHG is expecting to expand its presence in Mexico with the addition of six new voco hotels, all of which will be conversions in destinations including Cancun, San Luis Potosi and Nuevo Laredo.
Sports Illustrated Hotels also announced it would be expanding into Chicago, offering fans of the magazine and sports lovers a new accommodation option. It will debut in late 2026, and will be a conversion property, located in The Loop.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines is quickly becoming a desirable resort destination in the Caribbean, and its slate of future openings shows it: it will open four new hotels over the next 36 months, including a Marriott Autograph Collection hotel, the Beaches St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Palm Island Development and the Cumberland Bay Resort Development Project.
Lastly, Preferred Hotels & Resorts has launched its first-ever private jet journey for luxury travelers. The journey has a hefty price tag of over $133,000 per person, but includes a luxury private jet for 29 couples, stays at some of the best independent hotels in the world, and stops in seven destinations around the world, including Singapore, London and Rwanda.
Resorts Get New Names, Branding
Water Park in Sandos Caracol Eco Resort (Photo Credit: Sandos Caracol Eco Resort)
Two resorts have been renamed and rebranded this month.
The Sandos Caracol Eco Resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico is being renamed to Sandos Caracol Nature Resort & Water Park. The renaming follows a multi-phased, multimillion dollar renovation and upgrade of the property, including its rooms, public spaces and amenities.
The Sunseeker Resort on Florida’s Gulf Coast is also being renamed and rebranded, now called the Sunseeker Resort Florida Gulf Coast, Curio Collection by Hilton. The resort comes under Hilton’s leadership with new management by Blackstone Real Estate and Pyramid Global Hospitality. Hilton Honors members can now earn and redeem points by staying at the resort.
Inside the Hospitality Industry
(Photo Credit: Adobe Stock)
Two new reports published in September show the health of the hospitality industry in two decidedly different ways.
The first is J.D. Power’s 2025 North America Third-Party Hotel Management Guest Satisfaction Benchmark, which ranked the best third-party hotel management companies based on guest satisfaction. The best one? Atrium Hospitality.
Additionally, it also found that guests were less satisfied with hotel ambiance, food quality and cleanliness than they were last year, signaling some trouble areas for the continent’s third-party managed hotels.
The second big piece of news is a survey conducted by the American Hotel & Lodging Association, which found that “rising costs and uneven demand” are two major reasons why investment and operations are strained, with about a third of hoteliers surveyed reporting scaling back or delaying investment projects.
The survey also found that 30 percent of hotels are reporting declines in completed leisure stays and 26 reporting drops in future bookings compared with last year.
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