Searching for New Luxury Hotels Just Got Easier

Every year, incentive planners are tasked with finding exciting luxury hotels for their qualifiers, who are among the most seasoned travelers in the world.   

Enter Steve Davino, a hotelier with 40 years of experience (including 8 as ​​vice president, sales and marketing International for Ritz-Carlton and Bulgari Hotels, followed by two years launching the Edition brand for Marriott), and co-founder of the new website, New Hotel Guide.

"New luxury hotels have a need to create awareness and welcome planners to their properties during this special time when the property is new and pristine," he said. "New Hotel Guide brings these two together."

Davino joined forces with co-founder Penny Wing, whose industry experience stretches back more than three decades as founder of Incentive Travel Inc. She is also founder of Reiimagine.com, which provides digital marketing and sales representation for boutique hotels and resorts, and  Brojure, an online content creation platform.

Crossing 10,000 Users

New Hotel Guide showcases new and newly renovated luxury (Forbes 4- or 5-star) properties around the world; since its rollout last year, it has grown to more than 1,800 hotel listings from 130 countries, with openings stretching as far out as 2029. There are already 10,000 active buyers on the site, which is free to use for planners.

Basic listings are free for hotels, and there are three different levels of upgraded listings. Inclusion is at the discretion of New Hotel Guide. Planners can expect a direct booking platform to launch in early 2025, and the site will also link to Cvent if they prefer to book there.

The website also includes opening offers and promotions and, like Brojure, a feature where planners can quickly pull together a high-quality presentation for their clients using the listing information and graphics.

Like Detective Work

Wing compares her work finding new hotels before anyone else does to being a detective. “Sometimes, I’m researching building permits in major cities, and other times, I’m reading all the media or reaching out to DMCs and tourist boards. 

“Many of our hotels are not listed with the online travel agencies or Cvent,” said Wing. “They all wait until they are open. We are constantly discovering new properties and adding 100+ monthly.”

The company recently brought in Linda McNairy of Ground Floor Solutions, who has decades of experience with StarCite (now part of Cvent) and American Express, as a partner.

“With my background at StarCite, I know how difficult it is to build a search engine, and to get the performance you want,” she said. “We’re really beginning to get the momentum going.”