Beyoncé’s Hotel Shake-Up Gave Sydney Sweeney the Boot—Shoutout to the Hospitality Hierarchy

Italy's Hotel Il Pellicano poster girl status, Eurostar's two new routes, and other fun bits from your favorite sassy travel newsletter.

Jun 20, 2025

We gave your inbox a break for Juneteenth. But don’t get used to the silence—Happenings is here and noisier than ever, courtesy of HAP Editor Luke Abrahams. ⬇️

Travel & Hotel Buzz You Should Know About… 🐝

Beyoncé made a hotel blunder in London

We ALL love Beyonce. I saw her recently perform in London, and I was so stoked afterwards that I could not work or focus the next day. She is a true queen. Yet her crown suffered a wee bit of a malfunction recently after a suite mix-up at a top London hotel. As with any tour Her Majesty does, space is key. She is from the US after all, where bigger is better. According to The Sun newspaper, Beyoncé had booked out all of the top suites at the hotel for 12 consecutive nights, while she was in town for the London leg of her ‘Cowboy Carter’ tour. That meant Hollywood stars Julianne Moore and Sydney Sweeney got booted out and had to be moved to two other London addresses as a result. Sources say Beyoncé was mortified when she found out. Read more about the story here.

Eurostar is launching TWO new routes

Train travel rules, we all know that. There's nothing better than staring out of those big old windows and just getting lost in the beauty of a void. It’s the nexus of nostalgia, and every train company from Belmond to the Rocky Mountaineer to a regional Shinkansen knows it. Eurostar has announced the launch of two new direct routes from London to Frankfurt and Geneva. Not the sexiest destinations for leisure travellers, but if you are in Europe for business, it adds a whole new level of ease to your life, minus a crazy airport or two. Why are they expanding? Gwendoline Cazenave, Eurostar CEO, said, “We’re seeing strong demand for train travel across Europe, with customers wanting to go further by rail than ever before." And there you have it. To find out when both routes launch, click here.

WTF is a Labubu? Why Are People Traveling With Them? 🫤

WTAF is a labubu?! I keep seeing these bloody things all over social media and the streets of London, and I am like, "What is this little MONSTER?" While the thought of Lady Gaga creating a merch line for her posse fills me with glee, she sadly has nothing to do with this new Furby craze. I first came across these little creatures when my friend Charlotte said she was off to Harrods to buy a labubu. I looked at her point-blank and asked, "WTF is a labubu?!" She looked back and said, "How do you, of all people, not know what a lebubu is, darling?" These stupid little teddies are basically collectible toys (like the Beanie Babies of the 90s), part of the "The Monsters" series created by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung. They look like demon elves sent straight from the pits of hell. People often strap them onto their backpacks, onto their carry-on, or sleep with them because they think their mischievous elf-like appearance looks cute. It's a no from me, but I must confess, I do like the name. Find out more about the trend here.

NYC Know-It-All: Volume VII

Our weekly column from hospitality-obsessed city native Megan Shelton unveils the gotta-be-there spots across the Big Apple that are anything BUT basic.

If you lived in or around Manhattan in the early 2010s, chances are you partied at Up&Down. After closing in 2021, the space has finally been reimagined as Drai's Supper Club–an outpost of the famed Las Vegas venue–featuring a bi-level experience with French-American fare and live jazz upstairs, and a sultry lounge with live DJ sets and craft cocktails downstairs.
The Dynamo Room is now open at Penn Plaza, bringing a bold new vision to the modern steakhouse inspired by NYC's 19th-century grills. With immersive art installations, a standout raw bar, and a robust martini list, this restaurant is worth the trip to a part of the city we'd all rather avoid.
On view at Gagosian through July 12, JAPONISME –> Cognitive Revolution: Learning from Hiroshige features Takahashi Murakami's latest works that reinterpret Utagawa Hiroshige's prints and explore the art of replication through the lens of Japonisme.
A24 is preparing to reopen the historic Cherry Lane Theatre as a cultural hub with film screenings and performances, plus a planned lobby restaurant and bar in collaboration with top NYC restaurateurs Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson. More to come on this...

For more NYC + travel content, follow Megan, who doubles as HAP's NYC Know-It-All and Contributing Travel Editor, on Instagram, TikTok, and her Substack, Turndown Service.

Meet The Photographer: Paloma Saint Léger 📷

In our latest edition of Meet The Photographer, we catch up with French snapper, Paloma Saint Léger. She's a travel, fashion, and lifestyle photographer with a fabulous eye for detail, and her fun projects between Europe, Asia, and Southern Africa. Follow her here.

Luke: Sum up your aesthetic style in a sentence.

Paloma: I’m drawn to everyday scenes that hold emotion and stillness, capturing them with a gentle, cinematic approach.

Luke: Who would you say is your visual hero? Why?

Paloma: “I couldn’t pick one person, as I am inspired by the work of many. Three that come to mind would be Wong Kar-Wai, Elia Suleiman, and Takeshi Kitano. Their work is incredibly poetic, and the stills in their movies are very striking.”

Luke: What do you shoot on? Why this model and how does it help you achieve your artistic goals?

Paloma: I shoot on film with a lot of different cameras. To me, it isn’t about the camera itself, but about choosing a medium that resonates with you. I am melancholic, and film is a way for me to translate this melancholy into images.

Luke: You are French! Tell us your favourite boutique hotel in France and why does it stick out most?

Paloma: I have a passion for Provence, so I would pick La Bastide de Gordes. The perfectly curated old-school interiors are what I usually miss in modern hotels. This and the incredible view.

Luke: If there were one photographer, dead or alive, who would you shoot with, and why?

Paloma: I would have to say Jack Davison. There is something special about his work; it’s weird and beautiful, and it moves me deeply.

Luke: Tell me your wildest travel story.

Paloma: I fell into a sort of hypoglycemic coma on a 16-hour train ride in Thailand, and woke up after 15 minutes of being slapped by the train driver, surrounded by a bunch of monks wondering if I had passed. One to remember.

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