This week’s Five-Star Weekly Briefing highlights current trends, investments, and developments in the hotel sector.

This week’s hospitality landscape highlights continued brand expansion, active investment and a growing focus on experience-led and data-driven operations. Major developments include Hotel Heron joining Curio Collection by Hilton, Radisson Individuals entering Melbourne with Canterbury International Hotel, and the relaunch of Emirates Wolgan Valley as a Ritz-Carlton Lodge. Investment momentum remains strong, with Gaw Capital advancing a boutique hotel project in Queenstown and ongoing acquisition activity in key Australian leisure and urban markets.

From a market perspective, lifestyle brands such as Caption by Hyatt are gaining traction by blending local culture, flexible design and technology-enabled stays, while Marriott’s recognition as one of Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies reinforces the importance of people, culture and long-term brand trust. Leadership movements across Asia-Pacific reflect ongoing competition for talent, and tech discussions continue to centre on AI and data unification as the next phase of smarter growth—shifting hotels from reactive decision-making to predictive, guest-centric strategies.