Nominations

🏨 Meliá Hotels International, in collaboration with Agius Group's Blue Clay Collection, plans to open nine hotels in Malta within three years. This expansion, involving four of Meliá's brands, aims to tap into Malta's growing leisure market. Currently, Malta hosts 21,937 hotel rooms, with 7,887 managed by international chains. This move aligns with Meliá's strategy to enhance international growth through local alliances, amidst rising competition in Mediterranean markets.

🥘 Arnaud Donckele, a visionary French chef, joins Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, a Belmond Hotel in Oxfordshire, as the new culinary director. Known for heading two Michelin three-starred restaurants, La Vague d’Or and Plénitude, Donckele brings his innovative culinary approach to the UK. His philosophy celebrates seasonal ingredients, terroir, and complex sauces, aligning with the hotel's garden-to-table eco-friendly ethos, enhancing its reputation in contemporary French gastronomy.

📄 Anne Roy, été 2025: Elle devient Directrice des Ressources Humaines au Royal Monceau – Raffles Paris. Précédemment, elle était Responsable RH au Groupe Rocca, supervisant huit entités sur cinq destinations. Sa carrière inclut la structuration du département RH du Groupe Gohard. Sa méthode est axée sur la structuration, l'accompagnement et la croissance dans des environnements de luxe et d'artisanat haut de gamme.

🏝️ Christophe Bourachot has been appointed as the Head of Leisure Services at Azureva. With over 25 years in tourism and animation, he first joined Azureva in 1998. Previously, he was the Animation Manager at Azureva Ronce-les-Bains and Ocean Centre Coordinator since 2009. He holds titles in Tourist Establishment Management and Proximity Management, bringing his expertise to Azureva's leisure offerings both domestically and internationally.

📁 Boris Simm, ex-Senior VP Operations at Ruby Hotels Group since May 2025, joins PRIMESTAR. He will enhance operational performance and service quality across PRIMESTAR's portfolio, focusing on talent retention, leadership development, and organizational efficiency. He'll also drive the strategic deployment of June to boost PRIMESTAR's lifestyle segment positioning. Simm, part of Ruby's Executive Board since April 2019, brings expertise in scalable operations and consistent service standards.

💼 José María Dalmau, with 33 years at Meliá, advanced to Vice President Business Development, focusing on global expansion. Equipped with an MBA and extensive strategic governance expertise, he aims to expedite growth decisions. Meanwhile, Manuel Riego, with 22 years of experience, is appointed Vice President Sales & Marketing. He'll oversee sales performance, aligning it with marketing strategies amid rising acquisition costs. Their roles enhance Meliá's strategic execution on global scales.

📰 LUXE AI, fondée par Nyah Chapman, a launched a concierge platform with 8,000 beta-testers in nine cities including Miami and Dubai, backed by Google and NVIDIA. Apollo Go, a Baidu subsidiary, obtained Dubai’s first driverless vehicle test permit, aiming for commercial launch in Q1 2026, with plans to deploy over 1,000 vehicles. GoMyHire expands in Asia, now in 10 markets. Journey launches in Spain with José Antonio Núñez and Laura Piamba joining for business development.

📈 M. Coles prendra ses fonctions le 16 février 2026 chez Sommet Education. Fort de plus de 25 ans d'expérience, il a dirigé Mander Portman Woodward (MPW) depuis 2013, quadruplant la performance en cinq ans. Il a établi des partenariats stratégiques, notamment avec l'University of the Arts London, et a mené des investissements majeurs. Auparavant, à Regent’s University London, il a occupé des postes de direction, contribuant à la croissance et au développement de programmes de troisième cycle.

🏨 Amir Golbarg a commencé sa carrière en hospitalité en 2007 à Dubaï. En 2012, il a rejoint Minor Hotels à Bangkok, puis est devenu Hotel Manager au Souq Waqif Hotel à Doha en 2015. En mars 2019, il est revenu chez Minor Hotels comme Vice President Operations pour le Moyen-Orient. Promu Senior Vice President en septembre 2021, il supervise plus de 38 hôtels, 7 000 clés, et un pipeline de 30 hôtels depuis le bureau régional de Dubaï.

💻 Airbnb nomme Ahmad Al-Dahle comme nouveau CTO, reconnu expert mondial en IA, pour intégrer l'intelligence artificielle au cœur de son modèle. L'objectif ? Réduire les frictions, personnaliser les offres à grande échelle, et anticiper les besoins. Les priorités incluent la personnalisation algorithmique, des outils de réservation intelligente, et de nouvelles interfaces utilisateur. Cette stratégie vise à enrichir l'expérience des voyageurs et partenaires, fusionnant puissance technologique et sensibilité humaine.