Deanna Ting

Can Marriott hold onto hotel owners and SPG elites? That was the underlying question on many analysts' minds during Marriott's second quarter earnings call. After all, the bigger you are, the harder you have to fall, right? But the world's largest hotel company, not surprisingly, doesn't see things that way.

IHG CEO Keith Barr’s take on how we’ll be using technology now and in the future is both contrarian and perhaps more pragmatic than the views of some of his travel industry peers.

Hilton knows that while technology can be a great problem-solver, the company can't ever forget that it's rooted in the hospitality industry, where, oftentimes, service and true hospitality simply can't be automated.

A classic case of the innovator's dilemma.

Seems like both Hyatt and AccorHotels are struggling to find ways to make private accommodations work with their current business models. But we don't think they should give up hope just yet.

If independent hotel collections like Small Luxury Hotels of the World and its peers want to thrive, pursuing more loyalty tie-ins seems likely, but they have to be careful to stress the additional value they can bring for independent hotels. Otherwise, what's stopping independents from flocking to the hotel soft brands?

Having finally stepped out on its own, Wyndham Hotels is in pursuit of what every major hospitality company is today: more scale, improved guest experiences, and more bookings.

Again, we ask ourselves, what is out there that AccorHotels will not buy?

Would NH Hotel Group have been better off with Hyatt? Perhaps we’ll never know. But maybe there’s another company out there that isn’t afraid to get into a bidding war with Minor?

We're fairly certain Extended Stay America — just like nearly every other public hotel company in existence — will likely pursue a spin-off.