Lodging Daily News

ASPEN, Colorado—Aspen Meadows Resort launched its partnership with the Salamander Collection brand, opened West End Social, and implemented an updated arrival experience. Salamander has been managing the property since 2022 and oversaw the latest renovation work alongside the resort’s owner, the Aspen Institute. The re-designed and re-conceived West End Social has an approachable menu, designed by Chef de Cuisine Rachel Saxton, which has shareable plates. There is both an openness and warmth to the redesign.

ARLINGTON, Virginia—Knowland released the top market performance numbers for December, citing San Diego as having the highest meeting volume improvement with 29.2 percent year-over-year (YOY) growth. Coming in second was San Francisco, where event volume increased 21.5 percent. San Diego’s healthcare event business segment doubled, and its pharmaceutical/biotechnology events tripled from last year. Much of this meeting activity was held in the first half of the month. The top market experienced an average number of

BELLEVUE, Washington—Staypineapple launched an electric vehicle (EV) car-sharing service in partnership with Zipcar. Exclusive for Staypineapple guest use, Zipcar EVs are now available at Staypineapple’s Hotel Rose in Portland, Oregon, and Watertown Hotel in Seattle, Washington. Each of Staypineapple’s participating hotels has a Zipcar Chevy Bolt available, parked and charged at the hotels’ on-site EV charging stations. These EVs ensure visitors to the hotels have access to sustainable transportation. “The launch of our Zipcar EV

Coury Hospitality announced the appointment of Andrew Casperson as chief operating officer. Promoted from executive vice president of operations, Carperson will lead operations strategies for Coury’s portfolio of hotels, bars, and restaurants. McNeill Investment Group announced the retirement of Sussan P. Harshbarger, chief legal officer and managing director. Harshbarger worked for many years with McNeill’s businesses and real estate entities. Commonwealth Hotels appointed Jennifer Porter as president to assist the hotel company’s performance, future growth,

NEEDHAM, Massachusetts—Tripadvisor announced its first Travelers’ Choice Award for 2024: the Best of the Best Destinations. With roughly four in five (81 percent) U.S. travelers planning vacations in 2024, the following are the most popular destinations for the year, according to Tripadvisor. Tripadvisor’s Best of the Best Destinations span seven categories for 2024: Top Destinations (formerly Popular Destinations); Trending Destinations; Culture Destinations; Food Destinations; Nature Destinations; and two new subcategories this year, Honeymoon Destinations and