Nobu Hospitality will enter Puerto Rico for the first time with a 50-room luxury hotel and restaurant in San Juan slated to open in 2028, the company announced.

The property, Nobu Hotel and Restaurant San Juan, will carry a signature Nobu restaurant and bar at street level plus a rooftop lounge and bar. The company positioned the opening around demand for culturally immersive travel. CEO Trevor Horwell said the project brings Nobu's "distinctive approach to hospitality" to a market "celebrated for its rich history, vibrant culture, and exceptional hospitality."

The F&B-led format matters commercially: at Nobu, the restaurant anchors the hotel brand, meaning the San Juan project pairs a new market entry with a proven revenue-driving dining component rather than rooms alone.

Accor standardizes F&B technology on Mews

Accor has selected hospitality software platform Mews to standardize and modernize food and beverage technology across the French company's Premium, Midscale and Economy portfolio.

The system consolidates functions that properties previously handled in separate systems. With Mews' POS, teams run ordering, menu management, inventory and real-time reporting from a single platform, with an average support response time of under one hour. The deployment is already live: the POS operates across 850 Accor properties in more than 20 countries.

Jean Noel Lau Keng Lun, chief distribution officer at Accor, framed the deal in revenue terms. "For our hotels, F&B is a fantastic revenue driver and a powerful engine to drive guest loyalty," he said. The technology helps properties "maximize total revenue and integrate dining experiences deeper into our Loyalty ecosystem."

Aimbridge picks up 10-hotel management contract

Third-party operator Aimbridge Hospitality has added 10 hotels to its management portfolio under a joint venture between Prospect Ridge and Fulcrum Hospitality.

The properties sit in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Texas and West Virginia, extending Aimbridge's reach in what it calls core operating markets. All are select-service hotels flying Marriott International, Hilton and Hyatt brands. Several operate in or near university markets, and some have already undergone renovations or are scheduled to within the next few years — a capex variable Aimbridge will manage on behalf of the institutional owners.

"Being selected to manage this portfolio on behalf of these highly respected institutional partners speaks to the strength of our platform and the results our team delivers every day," said Eric Jacobs, chief global growth officer at Aimbridge.

Choice opens free loyalty points sharing

Choice Hotels International launched a points-sharing feature within its Choice Privileges loyalty program on Oct. 1, letting members transfer points to friends and family "seamlessly and for free."

The mechanic targets redemption velocity: members can pool smaller balances to reach awards faster instead of waiting to earn points individually. Choice positioned the launch as part of a broader push to make rewards more flexible and accessible for what the company calls "value-minded" members.

The week's other developments set the competitive backdrop: Choice agreed to acquire RV-stay platform Harvest Hosts for roughly $130 million, opened two Cambria Hotels and four Ascend Collection properties, Hyatt named Amar Lalvani to the newly created role of chief creative officer, and Expedia Group is expected to lay off 58 corporate employees later this year under a federal WARN notice. Accor's Mews rollout, already spanning 850 properties, will test whether a single F&B stack can lift total revenue at scale across three brand tiers.