Top Hotel & Resort News From April

Some of the biggest headlines from April include new hotels and resorts opening across the globe, and hotel brand expansions into exciting new destinations. Additionally, new reports identify the year's challenges for the hospitality industry, and predict record-breaking wages for those who work within the industry and record-breaking tax revenue in the U.S. Curious to read the month's biggest headlines? Click through this slideshow to get the bite-sized information, and click the links provided to read the full-length stories.

The Hyatt Vivid brand officially celebrated its launch with the opening of the Hyatt Vivid Grand Island in Cancun, Mexico in early April. The all-suite resort is also adults-only, and features over ten dining options, daily programming like mezcal tastings and yoga, the largest rooftop pool in Cancun and the Ennea Beach Club, exclusive to guests of the resort and the adjacent Dreams Grand Island Resort, opening later this year.

In early April, Marriott Hotels celebrated its debut into peninsular Malaysia with the opening of The Perhentian Marriott Resort & Spa. Access to the resort is provided by ferry, and the resort property offers a lush, tropical escape with a beach. It features 200 rooms and 17 villas, a yoga deck, three outdoor pools, a spa and wellness center, kids club, dive center and more.

The American Hotel & Lodging Association and the Hotel Association of Canada are now jointly operating the Green Key Global program, which offers a third-party sustainability certification program for hotels, resorts and other lodgings across the globe. Green Key Global was created by HAC in 1994, and the new agreement will encourage more U.S.-based hotels to go through the program to be certified.

Marriott Cancun, An All-Inclusive Resort officially celebrated its opening in early April as Marriott's first all-inclusive under its Marriott Hotels brand. Formerly the Marriott Cancun Resort, the reimagined property offers 450 rooms, a beach spot along the famed Cancun Hotel Zone, a lazy river and water park, several dining areas and The Greatroom, an indoor-outdoor social space with fun experiences for every age.

Hyatt's Inclusive Collection continued its expansion in Mexico with the opening of the Dreams Estrella del Mar Mazatlán Golf & Spa Resort in early April. The resort offers 358 suites, four restaurants, five bars and the only convention center in the city. Guests can also upgrade their resort experience with the Preferred Club, which offers a different suite category and several other amenities.

According to an April American Hotel & Lodging Association report, hotels in the U.S. are predicted to generate a record $83.4 billion in tax revenue to federal, state and local governments. The states with the highest projections are California, New York and Nevada. Additionally, the report also predicted that hotels would pay a record-high level in wages this year. The number is expected to grow from last year's $118 billion to over $123 billion. The industry is still facing a workforce shortage of 225,000 workers.

Just a short walk away from Colorado's State Capitol in Denver is the nation's first carbon-positive hotel, Populus. It'll open later this year, but began taking reservations in mid-April. The hotel offers 265 guest rooms, two restaurants, event spaces, a rooftop bar, coffee bar and more, all with a unique approach: to sequester more carbon than it produces during its lifetime. The methods it uses are plentiful, from carbon offsetting projects to sustainable construction methods and more.

Universal Orlando Resort's new Universal Epic Universe theme park expansion will also come with two new park-adjacent hotels: the Universal Stella Nova Resort and the Universal Terra Luna Resort, both opening early next year. The two resorts, which are both designed with the cosmos in mind, will offer a combined 1,500 rooms, quick service cafes, pools, bars and grills and other fun areas for both adults and children to enjoy.

Marriott International announced it would be growing its portfolio in Europe with nearly 100 conversions and adaptive reuse projects by the end of 2026, which represent over 40 percent of its entire European development pipeline. Countries seeing the most development include Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain and Türkiye.

What does the hospitality industry have to do with the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act? More than you'd think. The American Hotel & Lodging Association called on hospitality companies to write letters to the Senate to pass the act, which would extend tax relief for hotels, which would also encourage employment in the industry. According to AHLA data, hotels across the nation are still facing a post-pandemic workforce shortage of 225,000 workers, despite historically high wages and expanded employee benefits.

In mid-April, Hilton announced it would be expanding into five new destinations this year. Bermuda, with the opening of the Bermudiana Beach Resort, Tapestry Collection by Hilton; Paraguay, with the opening of the Hilton Garden Inn Asunción Aviadores del Chaco; Nepal, with the opening of the Hilton Kathmandu; Laos, with the opening of the Hilton Vientiane; and Timor-Leste, with the opening of the Hilton Dili Palm Springs.

The world's largest independent hotel collection, Preferred Hotels & Resorts, welcomed fifteen new member properties in April, including a wildlife sanctuary in Nepal, a seaside boutique hotel in Croatia and a wilderness lodge in Costa Rica.

Tripadvisor published this year's list of the World's Best Hotels at the end of April. The best of the best? According to reviewers, it's the Hotel Colline de France, located in Gramado, Brazil. The best hotel in the U.S. is the Shore Hotel, located in Santa Monica, California.

World of Hyatt loyalty reward program members can now earn and redeem points for booking over 700 boutique and luxury hotels and villas across the globe, as the Mr & Mrs Smith portfolio is integrated into the loyalty reward booking platform.