Bazin knows what’s up: Chinese midmarket operator Huazhu Group is an up and comer you should be paying attention to writes The Business Times via Bloomberg. Formerly known as China Lodging Group, the Shanghai-based company, which was originally a budget hotel chain operator founded in 2007, has now overtaken InterContinental Hotels Group, Hyatt Hotels Corp, Shangri-La Asia and other major global chains to become the world’s fourth-largest hotel group by market value. And as a bonus, AccorHotels’ Sebastien Bazin sits on its board. —Chloe Riley
Who knew I was such a romantic? AccorHotels, actually. The French company has determined that I’m an “old soul” who prefers to relax in natural surroundings. Its Seeker Project uses biometrics to gauge users’ affinity for the types of travel they prefer. In person, it’s an LED installation that guides guests, outfitted with a headset and wristband, through a series of metrics. I took an online version, swiping photos of everything from music festivals and jungle vistas to architectural details and city markets into Yes or No piles. Included in the results are some helpful suggests of locations – with Accor hotels, bien sûr – where me, my soul and a few close friends can hang out. Central Africa? Baku? I’m good with that. —Barbara Bohn
Alcohol-free the way to be? The opening of an alcohol-free hotel in Tunis, Tunisia has rekindled controversy about the concept of “halal tourism” in the country. While Ministry of Tourism officials are reluctant to use the term, writes the Middle East-focused Al-Monitor, many people in the sector consider it a new measure that could give a much-needed boost to Tunisia’s declining tourism sector. The sector received a heavy blow following an attack by the Islamic State on a hotel three years ago that killed 39 people and wounded 40 others. —C.R.
Some Friday eye candy, courtesy of Ian Schrager. Take The Telegraph’s tour through Schrager’s newest Edition outpost on the Turquoise Coast of Turkey. It’s the fifth Edition, co-owned by Marriott International. Six more openings are planned for this year, with 40 projects signed “on every continent,” the maestro says. —B.B.