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1. Winter storm halts travel in US
A winter storm hit the U.S. on Sunday and Monday, leaving heaps of snow, frigid temperatures and millions without power across a wide breadth of the country — mostly in the southern and eastern regions, the Associated Press reports.
More than 11,000 flights were canceled on Sunday, and more than 3,600 flights were canceled and 714 were delayed as of early Monday, Reuters reports, citing flight-tracking website FlightAware.
The AP reports that the majority of flights were canceled at busy airports in the Northeast on Sunday.
"In Philadelphia, 94% of flights, 326 flights, were canceled. Ninety-one percent of flights, 436 flights, were canceled at LaGuardia Airport in New York. New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport had 466 flights canceled, about 80% of flights, according to FlightAware," the AP reports.
2. Americans feel pessimistic about their economic future
According to a new poll conducted by the New York Times and Siena, a majority of Americans are concerned about their future financial situation — outside of the oldest age range — and there's a widespread belief that a middle-class lifestyle is out of reach.
Voters expressed pessimism in their ability to pay for housing, retirement and healthcare, all staples of middle-class life in America, the newspaper reports.
"Taken together, the findings illustrate how economic anxieties, feelings of insecurity and a bleak outlook for the future have continued to weigh on most voters despite a booming stock market and resilient consumer spending," the Times reports.
3. Luxury segment carries US hotel performance in 2025
On the latest episode of "Tell Me More: A Hospitality Data Podcast," STR's Isaac Collazo and CoStar Group's Jan Freitag dove into the full-year 2025 hotel performance numbers, remarking on the luxury segment leading the way.
On the whole, U.S. revenue per available room was down 0.3% in 2025. Luxury hotels, however, achieved 5.7% RevPAR growth, leading the way on the positive side of things.
"U.S. RevPAR would have decreased 0.9% versus 0.3%" if not for luxury's contribution, Collazo said.
4. Canada backs off China deal amid US tariff threat
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Sunday that Canada has "no intention" of pursuing a free trade deal with China, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened the country's neighbor up north with a 100% tariff on its exports if a deal was made, CNBC reports.
Canada and China entered a preliminary agreement to lower tariffs on select goods back on Jan. 16.
“What we have done with China is to rectify some issues that have developed in the last couple of years, [and the deal was] entirely consistent with CUSMA," Carney said, referencing the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade agreement.
5. Seattle hotels see influx in demand for NFC championship game
The city of Seattle got the results it was looking for in the NFL's NFC championship game, with the hometown Seahawks defeating their division rival Los Angeles Rams 31-27 to advance to the Super Bowl. Hoteliers in the market were similarly pleased with the demand brought to the Emerald City, Komo News reports.
"Typically January is a very slow month, slowest of the year, regularly around 65% occupancy," said Shelley Wooten, general manager of The Inn at the Market. "We were sold out last weekend which was great, over 95% for this weekend."