The Upgrade: EMEA Hospitality News

Kerten’s Marloes Knippenberg on hotel branding, experiences

CoStar News Hotels — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 06:00:00 +0100

On this episode of The Upgrade, Marloes Knippenberg, CEO of Kerten Hospitality, said her and her company’s goal always has been to bring a fresh approach to the hotel and hospitality scene, starting a little more than a decade ago when owners began to want something different from a long list of brand standards. In the podcast with Terence Baker, news editor, EMEA, Knippenberg said that owner sea change more or less came in parallel to new demands of guests for more experiences.

Cervus’ Chris Mumford on labor, C-suite hires in the hotel industry

CoStar News Hotels — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 06:00:00 +0100

The world of work is changing, with younger generations likely to have several careers, not just one linear one, said Chris Mumford, managing director at Cervus Leadership Consulting.

Christie & Co.’s Carine Bonnejean on European hotel transaction volumes

CoStar News Hotels — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Christie & Co.’s Carine Bonnejean joins the podcast to discuss how Spain and Italy top the table of hotel investment appetite in Europe. Italian destinations beyond Milan, Rome and Venice are coming to the attention of hotel investors.

Global hotel market standouts from 2025 (with STR's Sarah Duignan)

CoStar News Hotels — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 06:00:00 +0000

STR’s Sarah Duignan joined The Upgrade podcast to discuss global hotel performance highlights from full-year 2025 data, including the huge impact of Formula 1 races in markets such as Abu Dhabi.

How the UK budget will affect hospitality with Bridget Baker

CoStar News Hotels — Mon, 22 Dec 2025 06:00:00 +0000

Veteran hotel and hospitality consultant Bridget Baker, owner of Bridget Baker Consulting, joins the show to talk about how the U.K. government's November budget has put more pressure on hotel operations across the country.

CEO Oliver Winter on a possible new brand for A&O

CoStar News Hotels — Thu, 20 Nov 2025 06:00:00 +0000

A&O Hotels & Hostels has expanded its name to include hotels and is pondering the establishment of a premium or luxury hostel brand, so said its CEO Oliver Winter, with its newly acquired hotel, the former DoubleTree by Hilton, Docklands Riverside, likely to be the test case.

The return of the Chinese traveler to Europe (with China Daily's Mingjie Wang)

CoStar News Hotels — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 06:00:00 +0100

China Daily's Mingjie Wang joins "The Upgrade" to discuss the full recovery of Chinese outbound travel demand and how hoteliers can get their market share.

Sustainability and hotel profitability, with HoCoSo's Katharine Le Quesne

CoStar News Hotels — Thu, 25 Sep 2025 06:00:00 +0100

Katharine Le Quesne, managing director at hospitality advisory HoCoSo, joins the podcast to discuss the state of the hotel industry's sustainability initiatives. Despite some pushback in certain parts of the world, sustainability remains a strategic focus of many hotel firms.

Oasis v Swift, and other trends across Europe (with William Anns)

CoStar News Hotels — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 06:00:00 +0100

STR's William Anns joins the podcast to talk about why Southern Europe continues to shine in terms of hotel performance and dives into how hotels have fared during the recent Oasis tour compared to Taylor Swift's Eras Tour.

How TUI continues to scale in-house brands TUI Blue and The Mora

CoStar News Hotels — Wed, 07 May 2025 21:20:54 +0100

Wesam Okasha, managing director of TUI Blue Hotels, joins The Upgrade: EMEA Hospitality News podcast to discuss how TUI has evolved from being solely a package and all-inclusive tourism firm to one with standalone, in-house hotel brands TUI Blue and The Mora.

How hotels could leverage AI, with Hospitality Technology Advisory’s Kevin Edwards

CoStar News Hotels — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 13:51:21 +0000

Kevin Edwards, CEO of Hospitality Technology Advisory, joined The Upgrade: EMEA Hospitality News to discuss the business case for more artificial intelligence in the hotel industry.

STR’s Alex Robinson on the hotel trends shaping 2025

CoStar News Hotels — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 02:00:00 +0000

In this episode of The Upgrade: EMEA Hospitality News, Hotel News Now talks with STR’s Alex Robinson about the continuing demand boost across the hotel industry in Europe, Middle East and Africa. However, the 2025 events calendar in Europe isn't quite as robust as 2024 with both the Olympics in Paris and the European Football Championships across in Germany.

Studio Moren’s Sharon Grob and David Harte talk design, segmentation, luxury and aesthetic

CoStar News Hotels — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:31:17 +0000

In this episode of The Upgrade: EMEA Hospitality News, Hotel News Now chats with Studio Moren's Sharon Grob and David Harte about how design makes hotels stand out for guests and add value to owners.

Dimitris Manikis talks Wyndham, value creation and mentorship

CoStar News Hotels — Mon, 25 Nov 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Dimitris Manikis, president, Europe, Middle East and Africa, said his firm Wyndham Hotels & Resorts is perfectly placed to take full benefit of the new surge in franchising seen across Europe.

Investors’, branded hotel firms’ appetite increases for serviced apartments

CoStar News Hotels — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 07:00:00 +0000

The success of serviced apartments as a lodging type and burgeoning asset class has grown in recent years. But Cheval Collection executive Daniel Johansson says the segment needs more and better product offerings.

How Oasis could rival Taylor Swift - at least for UK hotels with CoStar's Cristina Balekjiane

CoStar News Hotels — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 13:34:25 +0100

Cristina Balekjian, director of United Kingdom hospitality analytics at CoStar, joins The Upgrade to talk about how Oasis' first tour in 16 years could rival Taylor Swift's Eras Tour in terms of travel demand.

STR’s Tom Emanuel on Parisian Hotels During the 2024 Olympic Games

CoStar News Hotels — Thu, 22 Aug 2024 20:13:40 +0100

STR’s Tom Emanuel joins The Upgrade: The Hotel News Now Europe, Middle East and Africa podcast to discuss hotel performance in Paris during the recent 2024 Olympic Games and mentions a few of his favorite sporting moments from this and other Olympics.