The Upgrade: EMEA Hospitality News

David Hart, CEO of hotel-management firm RBH Hospitality Management, underlines the company’s ability to add value across a wide spectrum of offerings, segments, markets and brands.

It's taken Langham Hotels & Resorts, part of Langham Hospitality Group, more than 160 years to develop its second hotel in Europe. That property is coming to Venice, but the company is also opening a hotel in Saudi Arabia soon. Josh Littman, Langham's head of development, for Europe, Middle East and Africa, joins the podcast and shares how the richness of the Langham brand and its several distinct strands of DNA will lead to more development activity.

Alison Grinnell, Marjan's group chief operating officer and CEO of Marjan Hospitality, joins the Upgrade to discuss plans for tourism growth in Ras Al Khaimah and Marjan Beach.

Kasada Capital Management’s managing director and co-CEO David Damiba joined "The Upgrade" podcast to talk about sophisticated debt, operations, alignment and timelines in the African hotel industry.

Matt Lederer, director of acquisitions at The Sirius Hotel Group, joins the podcast this month to discuss his company's partnership, and his history with, Marriott International.

Manesh Balani, managing director of Dubai-based procurement firm Orsini SPI, joined “The Upgrade: EMEA Hospitality News” podcast to discuss how the U.S.-Iran war forced his company to adapt its strategy for meeting the supply needs of its hotel clients in the region.

On this episode of The Upgrade, Marloes Knippenberg, CEO of Kerten Hospitality, said her and her company’s goal always has been to bring a fresh approach to the hotel and hospitality scene, starting a little more than a decade ago when owners began to want something different from a long list of brand standards. In the podcast with Terence Baker, news editor, EMEA, Knippenberg said that owner sea change more or less came in parallel to new demands of guests for more experiences.

The world of work is changing, with younger generations likely to have several careers, not just one linear one, said Chris Mumford, managing director at Cervus Leadership Consulting.

Christie & Co.’s Carine Bonnejean joins the podcast to discuss how Spain and Italy top the table of hotel investment appetite in Europe. Italian destinations beyond Milan, Rome and Venice are coming to the attention of hotel investors.

STR’s Sarah Duignan joined The Upgrade podcast to discuss global hotel performance highlights from full-year 2025 data, including the huge impact of Formula 1 races in markets such as Abu Dhabi.