Austin, Texas – Associated Luxury Hotels International (ALHI), a global sales leader representing over 250 luxury hotels, resorts, cruise lines, and destination management organizations, announced multiple new strategic partnerships with Cyberlabs, UNEVN, PLAYHRDR Advisors, The Esports Radar You can also read about the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) The luxury hospitality sector can benefit from the latest gaming, esports and entertainment technologies.
The announcement was made at Global Esports Industry Week (GEIW), co-organized by ESIC and The Esports Radar, held June 18–22, 2025, in Austin, Texas. The event brings global leaders in gaming and tourism together with technology experts to shape the future. ALHI supports international esports tournaments as part of its collaborations with ESIC, The Esports Radar and other partners by identifying luxury accommodations in its global portfolio.
Meanwhile, Cyberlabs, UNEVN. PLAYHRDR Advisors Each will work with ALHI in order to provide cutting-edge gaming and esports solutions, as well as educational programs, across all of its Member properties. This will redefine how hotels and destinations interact with today’s tech savvy and experience-driven travelers.
These partnerships represent a major step forward for ALHI in its commitment to innovation and experience travel. They enable ALHI Members to tap into a rapidly growing gaming community, estimated to be more than three billion players.
The convergence of esports and travel is fascinating. Gaming has become mainstream. ALHI, the leader in this industry, is committed to ensuring that guests can stay engaged while traveling for either business or pleasure. Michael Dominguez, President & CEO of ALHI
UNEVN: Turning Hospitality Spaces Into Plug-and Play Esports Zones
UNEVN, founded in Espoo, Finland by Aleksi and Santeri Rinkinen alongside former professional Dota 2 champion Jesse ‘JerAx’ Vainikka, specializes in the BASE desk – a portable, all-in-one esports and gaming station designed with hospitality in mind.
In less than a minute, this sleek setup can transform any space that is not being used into a gaming area for guests. This sleek setup transforms any underused space into a premium guest-ready gaming experience in less than a minute.
With our BASE desk, hotels can easily provide esports gaming lounges in their rooms without having to worry about major renovations and staffing issues. The BASE desk gives hotels a flexible amenity to appeal to both casual players and esports lovers, bringing new innovations to next-generation hotel experiences. Aleksi Rinkinen is the CEO of UNEVN
The BASE desk is a valuable asset for forward-thinking hotels by:
- Gaming lounges on demand and in-room entertainment are now available.
- The hotel industry can tap into a $200 billion market to attract leisure travelers who are looking for interactive experiences.
- Plug-and-play models that require minimal storage or setup space maximize operational efficiency
Cyberlabs: Designing Gaming Hospitality for the Future
Cyberlabs, an entertainment digital consultancy based in London, is known for bringing gaming, content creation, and esports into physical environments. They have worked on experiential activations for the retail and education sectors. In addition, they are in a long-term relationship with Charlton Athletic F.C. where the Cyberlabs Gaming Box is located inside the stadium.
Cyberlabs and ALHI have formed a new partnership that will see Cyberlabs consult member hotels and resorts on reimagining underutilized guest rooms and public spaces. Cyberlabs and ALHI will introduce scalable gaming studios and gaming concepts to elevate the guest’s experience and create new revenue opportunities.
The future of hospitality will include gaming in its entertainment DNA. We are thrilled to be partnering with ALHI in order to provide practical and guest-focused solutions for premium hotels, cruise lines, and resorts worldwide. Sam Cooke, co-founder and CEO of Cyberlabs
PLAYHRDR: Strategic Advisory and Educational Programming for Hotels & Destinations
PLAYHRDR advisors (PLAYHRDR), specialists in esports destinations development and educational initiatives. This new partnership with ALHI will introduce innovative esports-readiness programs and educational options to ALHI’s members properties and global destination management organizations (DMOs).
This partnership will equip ALHI’s portfolio of hotels, resorts and DMOs to take advantage of the rapidly growing esports industry. PLAYHRDR’s expertise will be used to deliver a variety of programs to integrate esports in ALHI’s tourism and hospitality sectors.
Key collaborative deliverables include:
- ALHI Member Properties to Offer Esports Ready Certification ProgramsPLAYHRDR develops tailored certification programs aimed at ALHI property executives and employees. These programs cover topics such as the fundamentals of esports, technology, planning and managing events, marketing and future trends.
- Destination Marketing Organizations Educational ProgramsPLAYHRDR creates and delivers educational event programs to DMO partners of ALHI. The focus will be on integrating Esports in tourism and event strategy. This will include strategic planning, workshops, and seminars aimed at attracting events and audiences for esports.
- Esports Strategy Consulting for Destination Marketing OrganizationsPLAYHRDR is offering consulting services for DMO partners to ALHI. They will provide comprehensive assessments and market positioning plans that help destinations to support, grow and attract video game and esports event organizers.
This partnership marks a major step in the bridge-building between the booming esports sector and the luxury tourism and hospitality sectors. We’re excited to provide ALHI with the tools and knowledge to embrace esports. This will create new revenue streams, and attract an exciting audience. Ed Tomasi is the President of PLAYHRDR Consultants
ESIC & The Esports Radar: Powering Global Esports Industry Week
ESIC was founded in 2016 and is the global authority for esports integrity. It oversees education, investigations, and enforcement relating to cheating and match-fixing. In partnership with The Esports Radar (alongside tournament partner BLAST), ESIC organizes Global Esports Industry Week (GEIW)—a major five-day business event held from June 18–22, 2025 in Austin, Texas—running alongside the sold-out BLAST.tv Austin Major.
ESIC and The Esports Radar, through their strategic collaboration with ALHI will host GEIW executive forums, workshops on networking, and social gatherings in ALHI properties. This includes the inaugural GEIW Summit at the Downright Austin. This partnership underlines ALHI’s position as a hospitality hub for global esports. ALHI’s portfolio is currently planning more international summits, industry gatherings and other events.
We are thrilled to partner with ALHI in hosting the inaugural Global Esports Industry Week, a property of ALHI that is truly exceptional. This collaboration highlights our commitment in delivering world class experiences to the global video game and esports sectors. We are looking forward to continuing this momentum, by working with ALHI properties in our future international events. Stephen Hanna, CEO ESIC
Sam Cooke, the CEO & Co-Founder of The Insights Group, which owns The Esports Radar, added: I believe we will look at this moment in history as a significant milestone for the hospitality sector to embrace gaming and esports. There is so much potential with this group of partners backing ALHI and member properties.
Hospitality’s Next Chapter: A Unified vision
These partnerships are more than just hardware. They’re also about the hospitality industry evolving to meet today’s expectations for connected travelers. We give our members new tools by working with UNEVN and Cyberlabs to reach new audiences, bring gaming events and increase revenue. Neil Johnson, Vice President of Esports & Consulting Services at ALHI
ALHI’s efforts continue to be a leader in identifying new ways for its members to differentiate themselves, including through immersive experiences and creator culture.
Cyberlabs
Cyberlabs is a global leader in digital entertainment for education, sport, community and leisure venues. Based in London, UK our services include everything from strategic planning and commercialisation to bespoke design and outfitting with cutting edge equipment. We also provide ongoing operational support. For more information, please visit: [email protected]
UNEVN
UNEVN’s mission is support and enable high performance gaming across all levels, and in any space with our tools. We are obsessed with the smallest details in our Espoo, Finland-based product development and manufacturing. The BASE Desk is our flagship product. It’s a reimagined and truly portable PC gaming set-up. The BASE is easy to fold, transport and set up. It also comes with the top-spec monitor and computer needed for esports.
More information: [email protected]
PLAYHRDR Consultants
PLAYHRDR is a leading consultancy that focuses on esports, video gaming and the development of this ecosystem. The firm works with government, colleges, venues and destinations to integrate and advance the esports industry. They help clients capitalize on and understand the opportunities in the sector. Ed Tomasi is the owner and leader of PLAYHRDR, who has over 20 years experience in the esports sector. Visit the website for more information. playhrdr.com.
About Esports Integrity Commission
Esports Integrity Commission, or ESIC, is the official guardian of esports. They work to stop, prevent, investigate, prosecute, and disrupt all forms of malpractice and cheating in esports. Its primary objective is to promote industry investment and safeguard the sporting quality of esports. ESIC’s goal is to promote fair play and integrity by addressing issues like cheating and match-fixing. It works with publishers, tournaments organizers, and stakeholders to create unified standards of competition integrity. This fosters a safe, equitable, and fair environment for all players in the global video game and esports eco-system. Visit for more information. ESIC.
About Associated Luxury Hotels International
Associated Luxury Hotels International, ALHI, is a Global Sales Organization (GSO). It represents its exclusive members, which include the world’s finest independently owned or operated hotels and resorts as well as cruise ships, DMCs and meeting, incentive and convention companies (MICE). ALHI provides personalized service and networking to over 250 members of luxury properties around the world through a GSO team consisting of 80 professionals located in 26 offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia. ALHI offers meeting and events professionals a wide range of solutions based on the desired attributes to create a successful event. ALHI, which has been dedicated to its company vision for three decades, strives to be different by offering a portfolio that is exclusive and that represents an independent spirit. This commitment to excellence consistently wins the industry’s most prestigious awards. Please visit our website to find out more. www.alhi.com.
