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1. US unemployment claims fall to lowest in months
Unemployment in the United States was the lowest it's been in 10 weeks during the week ending on July 11, ABC News reports. The number of jobless claims filed that week dropped by 8,000 to 208,000, according to Labor Department data, which was lower than the 219,000 claims expected by analysts.
"The total number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the previous week ending July 4 fell by 16,000 to 1.81 million, also a historically healthy figure," reads the article.
2. Accor CEO investigated, cleared for conflicts of interest
Sébastien Bazin, CEO of Accor, was cleared following accusations of conflicts of interest and favoritism, according to the Financial Times. Bazin reportedly requested the investigation itself, which was completed by Paris law firm BDGS and lasted a few weeks.
The accusations originated from an anonymous document that was distributed among directors and included information about the company's "ties with Paris Society, the hospitality company owned by Laurent de Gourcuff, an associate of the chief executive, as well as the 2025 appointment of an external communications adviser to a management role within Ennismore, the luxury division that is preparing an IPO," MarketScreener reports.
3. World Cup hospitality impact varies by market
With the tournament coming to a close this weekend, hoteliers can look back and see the impact the World Cup has had on the U.S. hotel industry. CoStar News' Trevor Simpson rounded up coverage of the weeks-long tournament and found how hotel performance has varied across each of the host markets.
"Hoteliers initially had sky-high expectations for what the global tournament could mean for hotel performance. Those expectations see-sawed in the months leading up to its start, with most settling on the hopes of better performance on an annual basis but not at the level they once anticipated," Simpson writes.
4. Rate increases drive US hotel performance
According to CoStar data, the U.S. hotel industry saw a year-over-year increase of 4.5% in average daily rate and 5.2% increase in revenue per available room for the week ending in July 11. For the same period, hotel occupancy was up 0.7% to 67.6%.
Miami saw the highest increase in ADR — a 37.6% increase to $232.47 — and RevPAR — a 38% increase to $157. Miami's hotels can thank the World Cup quarterfinal match between England and Norway on July 11 for that push. Boston, which hosted the quarterfinal between France and Morocco on July 9, saw a 21.8% jump in ADR to $279.21.
5. Travel + Leisure to onboard 23 resorts via two acquisitions
Through a pair of acquisitions including Yes& Vacations and Spinnaker Resorts totaling $343 million, Orlando-based Travel + Leisure Co. will assume ownership of 23 resorts, Bisnow reports. The deal with Yes& has already closed while the Spinnaker transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of this year.
“These acquisitions reflect our approach to capital allocation — deploying capital where we believe it can generate attractive long-term returns while maintaining balance sheet flexibility and continuing our consistent approach to returning capital to shareholders,” Travel + Leisure Co. Chief Financial Officer Erik Hoag said in a news release.