The Upgrade: EMEA Hospitality News

Middle East conflict leads to 93% uptick in UAE guests in Ras Al Khaimah (with Marjan's Alison Grinnell)

Alison Grinnell, Marjan's group chief operating officer and CEO of Marjan Hospitality, joins the Upgrade to discuss plans for tourism growth in Ras Al Khaimah and Marjan

David Damiba, Kasada Capital Management, on African hotels' leap in sophistication

Kasada Capital Management’s managing director and co-CEO David Damiba joined "The Upgrade" podcast to talk about sophisticated debt, operations, alignment and timelines i

Sirius Hotel Group emerges from Resident Hotels to help portfolio expansion

Matt Lederer, director of acquisitions at The Sirius Hotel Group, joins the podcast this month to discuss his company's partnership, and his history with, Marriott Intern

Manesh Balani, Orsini SPI, on procurement, logistics and maintaining calm out of Dubai

Manesh Balani, managing director of Dubai-based procurement firm Orsini SPI, joined “The Upgrade: EMEA Hospitality News” podcast to discuss how the U.S.-Iran war forced h

Kerten’s Marloes Knippenberg on hotel branding, experiences

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

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

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 Leadershi

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

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

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

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 ma

How the UK budget will affect hospitality with Bridget Baker

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

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

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 i

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

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

Katharine Le Quesne, managing director at hospitality advisory HoCoSo, joins the podcast to discuss the state of the hotel industry's sustainability initiatives. Despite

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

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 re

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

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-in

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

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

STR’s Alex Robinson on the hotel trends shaping 2025

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

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

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 gu

Dimitris Manikis talks Wyndham, value creation and mentorship

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 franchisi

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

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 segme

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

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