Hospitality & Leisure

Bangkok – October 16, 2026 -- World Gym Corporation (TWSE: 2762), Taiwan's largest fitness operator, has signed a lease for a second Bangkok club of more than 3,000 square meters at S-OASIS, a commercial and office development by SET-listed Singha Estate. The deal is the first phase of a plan to open 30 fitness centers in Thailand within five years.

S-OASIS club is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2027

The club will serve office workers, corporate tenants and residents of the surrounding urban community. World Gym said the lease reflects its strategy of partnering with established property developers to secure sites in major commercial and mixed-use projects.

John Caraccio, President of World Gym Corporation, called Thailand a "beachhead for growth across Southeast Asia." He said the company is working with major real estate groups, including Singha Estate, to speed up its rollout.

Green Island – October 15, 2026 -- Princess Hotels & Resorts Jamaica collected 11 industry awards across its two Hanover properties during World Travel Week Jamaica 2026, spanning luxury, weddings, meetings and culinary categories.

Eight World Travel Awards go to both resorts across Caribbean and Jamaica categories

The 33rd Annual World Travel Awards Caribbean & The Americas Gala Ceremony delivered eight of the 11 honors. Princess Grand Jamaica won Caribbean's Leading Resort 2026, Caribbean's Leading Conference Hotel 2026 and Jamaica's Leading Resort 2026.

Princess Senses The Mangrove took the remaining five: Caribbean's Leading Adult-Only All-Inclusive Resort, Caribbean's Leading Water Villa Resort, Caribbean's Leading Wedding Resort, Jamaica's Leading Wedding Resort and Jamaica's Leading Hotel Suite, the last for its Presidential Suite.

New York – October 15, 2026 -- Travelers will let AI monitor hotel rates (63%) and translate in real time (56%), but only 44% want it planning itineraries and 41% want it personalizing their room, according to a Mews survey of 3,250 travelers.

The dividing line is whether a task is a chore or a choice. Price alerts and translation require accuracy and speed rather than personal knowledge of the guest. Itineraries and room setup are personal, and 57% of respondents would rather stay in control of their trip than hand decisions to an AI acting on their behalf.

Guests accept AI on shared data but resist inferred data

Travelers are more comfortable with AI using information they knowingly gave a hotel: 61% accept stated preferences and 56% accept past stay history. Acceptance falls for data collected about them, to 43% for online behavior and 34% for external and social data.

Edmonton – October 15, 2026 -- Flair Vacations LP, the new vacation package unit of Canadian carrier Flair Airlines, has signed a distribution agreement with IBS Software to source hotel rooms across the Caribbean and Mexico through the iStay Gateway platform, ahead of a package launch for the Canadian winter season in November 2026.

Flair Vacations connects to hotel inventory through a single iStay Gateway integration

The deal gives Flair Vacations one technical connection to a distribution network that already serves established airline vacation brands. That removes the need to build and maintain individual supply integrations. iStay Gateway handles rate and availability distribution, booking and content delivery, leaving the Flair Vacations team to focus on packaging, pricing and selling.

Pendleton, Oregon – October 15, 2026 -- Wildhorse Resort & Casino will raise its annual live concert count by more than 410%, from roughly 3.5 to 18 or more, after selecting Seattle Entertainment Group (SEG) to lead entertainment strategy and talent buying for its expansion, which is scheduled to open in spring 2027.

SEG is a 100% Native-owned entertainment, production and talent-buying company. It will also handle operational planning for the new event center. Wildhorse is owned and operated by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR).

Concert capacity rises 325% to more than 1,700 guests

The new venue lifts capacity from about 400 to more than 1,700 guests. The expansion represents more than $100 million in investment and includes a 40,000-square-foot event center. The center adds 13 rentable breakout meeting rooms, a 110% increase, plus additional VIP spaces.

Queens – October 15, 2026 -- Metropolitan Park, the $8.1 billion sports and entertainment district led by Hard Rock International and Steve Cohen, has committed $10 million to the new Jackson Heights community center of the Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens, seeding a $33.8 million public-private funding package.

Developers count the $10 million toward a $1 billion community benefits package

The investment is part of Metropolitan Park's more than $1 billion in community benefits. It served as the seed funding for the facility's total capital stack, which combines private and public money from state, city and federal sources.

Los Angeles – October 15, 2026 -- Chubby Group has closed a $50 million Series A led by Prysm Capital at a $500 million valuation and signed a letter of intent to acquire 47 U.S. GEN Korean BBQ restaurants and four development sites from GEN Restaurant Group (Nasdaq: GENK) in a transaction valued at up to $100 million.

The round is Chubby's first institutional funding. The restaurant operator behind Chubby Cattle, Wagyu House, The X Pot, NIKU X, Chubby Skewers and Chubby Bowls says the deal would make it one of the largest Asian dining groups in the U.S.

GEN deal includes $1.5 billion convertible note and perpetual brand license

GEN will hold a note convertible into Chubby Group equity at a $1.5 billion valuation as part of the consideration. Chubby will receive a perpetual license to the GEN brand. Closing remains subject to definitive agreements, license and lease transfers, and regulatory approvals.

Medellín – October 15, 2026 -- Medellín welcomed 1.2 million foreign tourists in 2025, and the tourism sector generated an economic impact of five trillion pesos ($1.552 billion), according to the city's Department of Tourism and Entertainment.

The department says international arrivals to Colombia's second-largest tourism hub, behind only Bogotá, are growing at nearly 10% annually.

U.S. travelers make up 33% of foreign visitors to Medellín

Mexico, Ecuador, Spain, Peru and Panama follow the United States among the main source countries. Foreign tourists stay four to six nights and spend an average of about 210,000 pesos (around $66) per night, mainly on gastronomy, culture, shopping and wellness.

The true visitor count is believed to be higher than arrivals at José María Córdova International Airport. Many tourists enter Colombia through Bogotá or Cartagena de Indias and then travel inland to Medellín.

New York – October 15, 2026 -- Oracle Red Bull Racing and ecommerce company Rokt have retained five of six drivers for the second season of their all-female Rokt Red Bull Racing Esports team, with half of the 2026 roster drawn from the Rokt the Rig talent program.

Rokt the Rig attracted more than 7,000 entries at launch. Three of the six drivers are now graduates: Annemarie DePasquale (US), Rebecca Morrell (UK) and new signing Cythia Lok (Hong Kong). Two graduates raced in the team's inaugural 2025 season.

Team keeps five returning drivers and adds one newcomer from Hong Kong

The 2026 line-up is Paige Daughenbaugh (US), DePasquale, Bel Wells (US), Lok, Mia Rose (Australia) and Morrell. Lok is the only new driver. The five returnees start the season with a full year of competition behind them.

Charlotte -- Chartwells Higher Education will mobilize more than 320 campuses on October 21, 2026, with a collective goal of donating 50,000 meals nationwide through its United Through Food initiative.

Dining teams, students and campus partners will run awareness events and giveback activations on the same day. The initiative is a yearlong platform built around three campaign moments, aimed at food security, food waste reduction and simple ways for students to get involved.

Survey data shows 56% of students struggle to access food

Chartwells cites the 2026 Campus Dining Index, which found that 56% of students experience challenges accessing food. CEO Eva Wojtalewski said the program makes it easy for students, dining teams and campus partners to act together.