The Top Hotel & Resort News From March

March can tend to feel like one of the longest months of the year, and with a long month comes plenty of news. From new hotel openings and brand expansions like Hilton's first Curio Collection property in the Galapagos to a new report that found the domestic hotel industry continuing its slow but steady recovery from the pandemic and a collection of hotel and resort corporations pledging support for Ukraine and its refugees, the information found in the next slides are the biggest hotel and resort news from this March 2022. Read on for what you should know about the latest hotel and resort news.

Marriott International celebrated a stunning milestone early this March: it opened its 8,000th property in its global portfolio. The lucky hotel? Bethesda, Maryland's Marriott Bethesda Downtown, a 12-story hotel featuring a modern design and the city's first high-rise rooftop bar. It's located near to where the new Marriott International headquarters will be located.

The Four Seasons Hotel Minneapolis is now open for reservations ahead of its summer opening date, offering a modern and comfortable accommodation for both business and leisure travelers to the city.

A new report found that American travelers' preferences have changed since the pandemic, with amenities like bathtubs and on-site spas, as well as ski resorts, ranking more popular than prior to the pandemic, while things like free Wi-Fi and business facilities dropped significantly.

Hilton opened the Hilton Garden Inn Cancun Airport in the beginning of March. The hotel offers an ideal location for travelers catching early morning flights, with 186 pet-friendly rooms, four suites, a terrace, fitness center and business facilities.

Santa Cruz Island's Royal Palm Galapagos Hotel will soon be renamed the Royal Palm Galapagos, Curio Collection by Hilton some time in July, making it the first Curio Collection property in the Galapagos.

The UNESCO Sustainable Travel Pledge added some new signatories this month, including Melia Hotels International, Universal Hotels and Accor Hotel's Mantra brands, bringing the total of properties who adhere to the pledge to over 6,000.

On March 1, the Margaritaville St. Somewhere, Punta Coco, Holbox Island opened. With the advantages of the warm Mexican Caribbean waters and a boutique-resort format, the 39-suite resort offers a more intimate resort to enjoy.

Preferred Hotels & Resorts has expanded its partnership with The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts, adding The Leela Palace Jaipur and The Leela Bhartiya City Bengaluru into its portfolio in 2021, with plans for more partnerships to come.

Accor's expansion into China has reached over 520 properties currently in operation, and the hotel corporation plans on continuing its growth into 2022, with 350 properties currently in development.

The Excellence Collection has chosen to update its Caribbean resorts over the next year and a half, with an initial $50 million price tag for resorts such as Excellence Oyster Bay in Jamaica.

Saudi Arabia will be getting its first Playa Hotels & Resorts property and all-inclusive concept in the near future. While we don't have any more details, including a future name for the resort, we do know that this will be the first Playa Hotels & Resorts property outside of the Americas.

Virgin Hotels' latest property in Edinburgh is expected to open this summer, in June. Located in the India Buildings, the hotel will offer 222 rooms and plenty of dining and drinking spaces for guests and locals of Edinburgh's Old Town.

Atlantis Paradise Island is continuing its renovations to the Royal Towers after it was postponed during the pandemic. Some of its other areas have been renovated already, like its Coral Towers and the Cove.

Banyan Tree has launched its first wellness resort under a new brand, Banyan Tree Veya, with the opening of the Banyan Tree Veya Phuket in Thailand on March 18. The luxury resort offers a wealth of wellness and wellbeing activities under its eight pillars of wellbeing.

As part of its 40th anniversary, Sandals Resorts announced its '40 for 40 Initiative,' which will work to promote and aid forty local humanitarian and conservation initiatives across the Caribbean where the resorts are located. From food security to supporting local artisans, the initiative will also provide ways in which guests can help out.

A new report by STR found that February continued the domestic hotel industry's slow recovery, even beating out pre-pandemic levels in some cases, with the average daily rate for a hotel room ranking higher than it was in February of 2019.

Members of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, including Marriott and IHG Hotels & Resorts, announced they were pledging funds, hotel points and room nights to help Ukrainian refugees in a variety of ways, with hotels in neighboring countries opening their doors to temporarily house refugees displaced by the war.

LXR Hotels & Resorts will debut its first property in Abu Dhabi in 2023. Called Al Nawras Island, LXR Hotels & Resorts, the resort will be located on its own private island with eighty villas, a Royal Villa and its very own golf course.

The Live Aqua Urban Resort San Miguel de Allende in Mexico is now a part of Virtuoso's portfolio of over 2,200 suppliers across the globe, which will help market the resort to more guests through travel advisors.

IHG Hotels & Resorts' Chief Development Officer for the Americas, Joel Eisemann, announced his retirement this month. Senior Vice President of Development, Julienne Smith, will be accepting his position in June.