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1. US travel landscape falls short of hopes
That second term of U.S. President Donald Trump began with promises of a "golden age of travel," but Politico reports waves of disruptions have kept things from feeling golden.
Erik Hansen, the U.S. Travel Association’s senior vice president of government relations, said the past year has been marred by chaos.
“The alarm bells are going off,” Hansen said. “We’re going to be in damage control before we can start being back in the mode where we’re improving the system again.”
Meanwhile, Reuters reports fuel prices are translating into fewer routes and higher fares in air travel.
2. Middle East war continues to upend oil prices, markets
The price of oil continued to climb Monday amid the backdrop of war in Iran, with global stock markets taking a hit, but Wall Street seemed poised for early gains, the Associated Press reports.
Brent crude, which had been priced at about $70 a barrel before the war began, climbed 2.3% to $107.75.
But Trump promised "great progress is being made" on talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
3. 'Tell Me More': Hotel industry seeing 'real growth' to start the year
Hotel results have come in stronger than expected to start the year, according to the hosts on "Tell Me More: A Hospitality Data Podcast."
Isaac Collazo, STR's senior director of analytics, noted February's 4.3% year-over-year increase in revenue per available room was the highest mark in over a year, coupled with a year-over-year increase in rooms demand.
"It's growth on growth. This is real, this is real growth," Collazo said.
4. TSA agents to receive pay but disruptions continue
With the partial government shutdown hitting a record length, TSA workers were set to finally receive pay Monday, but government officials said Immigration and Customs Enforcement could end up maintaining a presence at airports, the New York Times reports.
“It depends how many TSA agents come back to work,” White House border czar Tom Homan said on CNN. “How many TSA agents have actually quit and have no plan coming back to work? I’m working very closely with the TSA administrator and the ICE director to decide what airport needs what.”
5. Vancouver latest World Cup market to see rooms open up
CBC News reports Vancouver is the latest FIFA World Cup host market that has released thousands of rooms from their designated room blocks, but B.C. Hotel Association officials doesn't expect rates to plummet in response.
Paul Hawes, president and CEO of the association, said they still expect roughly 90% occupancy around World Cup matches despite FIFA releasing roughly 15,000 rooms.
“The demand continues to be high … there's no reason to change the pricing,” he said.