Miscellaneous

📖 Joanna Fantozzi, Senior Editor at Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, has over seven years of experience in the restaurant and hospitality industry. She has worked at Informa since 2018, holding roles such as Associate and Assistant Editor. Joanna has a bachelor's degree in English and a master's in journalism. Her expertise includes restaurant industry news and innovations. She has written for The New York Times, Forbes, and facilitated events like MUFSO and Restaurants Rise.

🚗 81.8 million will travel for Thanksgiving from November 25 to December 1, 2025. 73 million will drive, and 6 million will fly. Gas prices average $3.06/gallon. Car rentals are 15% cheaper, with busiest pick-up day on Wednesday. Drunk-driving crashes accounted for 868 deaths, 35% of holiday traffic fatalities from 2019-2023. Top destinations include Florida, New York, and California. International favorites are Paris, Cancun, and Sydney. 20.7 million will take cruises in 2025, rising to 21.7 million in 2026.

🍽 Kimpton's 2026 Culinary + Cocktail Trend Forecast reveals intriguing trends across its 83 properties worldwide. Charcoal cooking and unique pancake variations like Korean Hotteok will rise. Heritage cuisines and citrus hybrids will feature prominently. Cocktail trends include natural botanicals replacing sugar, layered drinks, and banana milk gaining global appeal. Expect innovations like aroma technology and cryogenics in bars, emphasizing texture and garden-to-glass concepts. Kimpton properties worldwide, including those in Sacramento and Riyadh, will showcase these dynamic trends.

🍷 Renais Gin launches a limited Harvest Edition in collaboration with artist Frankie Penwill. Who? Renais Gin and Frankie Penwill. When? November 2025. Where? UK. What? A limited release of 600 bottles at £65 each, includes a fine art print worth £60. How? Available exclusively via the Renais online shop. Why? Celebrate the harvest season and festive gifting. CEO Alex Watson praises Penwill's botanical-inspired designs, reflecting Renais' ethos of using fine grapes and botanicals.

💸 Sonder Inc. and Marriott International dissolved their partnership, impacting guests’ reservations. Marriott's response involved canceling bookings and directing guests to seek refunds from their banks, a practice criticized for lacking hospitality. No re-accommodation or goodwill gestures were offered, highlighting industry issues where distribution models overshadow guest care. This situation raises concerns about diminishing differences between direct bookings and third-party platforms, emphasizing potential risks for the hospitality sector's reputation and loyalty standards.

🍴 Bret Thorn is the senior food & beverage editor at Nation’s Restaurant News since 1999 and Restaurant Hospitality since 2016. He studied at Tufts University (BA in history, 1990) and Le Cordon Bleu (1986). Thorn worked in Thailand from 1992 to 1997 and covered Tiananmen Square protests for ABC News in 1989. He served as president of IFEC in 2005 and won a Neal Award in 2006. Thorn lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. and is a published author in food literature.

🍴 Food, Drink & Hospitality Week 2026, at Excel London from 30 March to 01 April, features a diverse ambassador line-up from food, drink, hospitality, and tech sectors. Notable figures include Nick Powell, Portfolio Director, and Steve Alton, CEO, British Institute of Innkeeping, with 13,000 BII members participating. Events include IFE Manufacturing, IFE, HRC, International Salon Culinaire, The Pub Show, and Hospitality Tech360, offering insights and innovation to UK’s industry operators and suppliers.

📖 Hospitality ON offers weekly expert insights into the hospitality industry. Members gain access to exclusive content, job opportunities, and a complete ecosystem. Consider joining to stay updated with the latest trends and information in the hospitality sector. Explore membership options for enhanced resources and networking.

🗺 Travel agencies persist due to expertise, time-saving, exclusive deals, and tailored support, even in a digital world. They offer human understanding, curated choices, and problem-solving when plans change, bolstered by direct airline and hotel partnerships for perks like upgrades and discounts. For complex trips, agencies transform logistics into seamless experiences, emphasizing trust, personalization, and peace of mind. While online options abound, these offline luxuries remain indispensable in the evolving travel landscape.