With a soft opening in October 2014, Sonesta Ocean Point Resort will be the premier five-star, all-suite property in St. Maarten, bringing a new brand of style, luxury and outstanding service to this stunning Caribbean island.

While massive hotel developments such as the Baha Mar complex in the Bahamas and the Singulari project in Antigua capture headlines, smaller properties in the region are staking out their turf with enhancements that indicate solid knowledge of both their source markets and guests' expectations.

It is the fifth consecutive year the Hotels.com Hotel Price Index (HPI) has recorded a rise. The global HPI stood at 115 at the end of the first six months of 2014, 15 points higher than at the index's launch in 2004 and four points off its all-time high of 119 set in the first half of 2007.

Haiti’s recently-revived tourism push has a major focus: developing the island of Ile a Vache. The government said this week that it’s projects on the island had already launched, with plans for 1,000 luxury hotel rooms, an archaeology museum, nightclubs, art galleries and craft boutiques.