The 237-room Cairns hotel, formerly a Holiday Inn, occupies a waterfront location on the Coral Sea in the city of Cairns, Australia.

The hotel is a five-star, 28-key all-suite luxury hotel, with 21 suites at 610 sq ft and seven larger suites at a capacious 1050 sq ft created around a courtyard-within-a-room concept.

M by Montcalm is a striking new-build 269-room hotel, in a 23-storey contemporary tower. It is scheduled to open in early 2015.

The newly-built Hilton Garden Inn Barranquilla, a 123-room Hilton Garden Inn property in Colombia’s Caribbean port city.

He will assume co-responsibility for the maintenance and further development of operational standards at InterCityHotels.

The special guest rooms will be decorated with the popular character “Hello Kitty”, from the walls and furniture to the amenities.

Modular guest rooms and hallways are built entirely in a Chinese manufacturing plant to then be assembled on location at the nine African hotels under development.

Following relocations to China in 2011 and Dubai in 2013, the move will bring the company closer to owners, Associates, and guests in its 3rd largest market.

By Peg McGregor: With the exception of a rare few, hotels tend to be several years behind on the innovation curve, but the industry just might have to speed up.