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1. Sunstone to sell Hyatt Regency San Francisco
Sunstone Hotel Investors has entered into a definitive agreement to sell the 821-room Hyatt Regency San Francisco to funds affiliated with Blackstone Real Estate for a gross sale price of $279 million, CoStar News' Natalie Harms reports.
The California-based real estate investment trust deployed about $70 million of the sale proceeds into the repurchase of its common and preferred stock during 2026. Eastdil Secured marketed the hotel and served as the exclusive broker for the sale.
"The sale is consistent with our strategy of more actively managing the portfolio to capitalize on higher private market values and recycle the proceeds into more accretive options on a risk-adjusted basis. While we have already generated value by deploying a portion of the proceeds, the remaining liquidity increases our flexibility and facilitates our ability to reinvest in a manner that will provide our investors with superior returns and greater per-share NAV growth," Sunstone CEO Bryan Giglia said in a news release.
2. Hotel workers continue striking in World Cup markets
In addition to hotel workers striking at the Embassy Suites in Seattle's Pioneer Square neighborhood, workers at the Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown are now on strike as well, local news station ABC6 reports. Both markets are seeing an increase in hotel demand for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, making it an opportune time to drive a bargain.
Unite Here Local 274, who is representing the Philadelphia hotel workers, said it attempted to negotiate a deal before the World Cup but was unsuccessful. The union is seeking higher wages and expanded access to family healthcare for hotel workers.
"Family medical is a huge thing now, especially since what we're going through with the Big Beautiful Bill," said Briheem Douglas, vice president of Unite Here Local 274.
3. German hotel industry enters new phase
With the German hotel industry still lagging behind pre-COVID-19 levels in most markets, hoteliers in the country are open to shifting their strategy away from what has been the norm. CoStar News' Terence Baker reports that owners and investors are increasingly terminating fixed-lease models and opting for hotel management agreements instead.
“The lease structure as seen in Germany is unsustainable. When you sign a lease for 20 years, and you give yourself a rent increase every year regardless of the market, then you are losing your delta. There is the need for an adjustment mechanism,” said Asli Kutlucan, CEO of Adina Hotels.
4. Europe faces extended heat wave
Forecasters are projecting a prolonged heat wave in large areas of western and central Europe, the New York Times reports.
"Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland are all under top-level heat warnings. The most intense conditions are forecast across swaths of Britain, France and Spain, where temperatures could reach or exceed 40 degrees Celsius, or 104 degrees Fahrenheit," the newspaper reports.
The Times reports that Europe is warming faster than any other continent. Researchers estimate that the continent has seen tens of thousands of heat-related deaths annually in recent years.
5. Costs drop in Europe, Asia in June
Businesses in Europe and parts of Asia are seeing costs cool in June after a spike caused by the onset of the war in the Middle East, the Wall Street Journal reports. How long this recovery lasts depends on how quickly energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz return to its pre-war levels.
S&P Global's composite purchasing managers' index for the eurozone rose to 49.5 from 48.5. Anything below 50 points to a contraction, which means the eurozone economy is at risk of contracting for a second consecutive quarter, technically a recession.
“The eurozone economy is showing enough resilience to just about stay out of recession,” said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.