Editor's Note: Some linked articles may be behind subscription paywalls.
1. Hilton Looks To Accelerate Global Growth
Hilton exceeded expectations in the third quarter for revenue per available room, which system-wide was up 6.8% year over year. That performance, and openings set for the fourth quarter, are giving executives confidence in the hotel brand company's ability to accelerate growth of its global portfolio next year, according to a company news release.
In the third quarter, Hilton opened 15,700 rooms, including at its first Spark by Hilton and Tempo by Hilton hotels. Another 35,500 rooms were approved in the quarter and the company's pipeline has 457,300 hotel rooms in development.
"We believe we have hit an inflection point and expect a meaningful uptick in openings in the fourth quarter with continued positive momentum into next year," Hilton President and CEO Chris Nassetta said in the release. "With a record number of approvals year-to-date driving the largest pipeline in our history, we are confident in our ability to accelerate net unit growth to [5.5% to 6%] next year."
2. Hurricane Otis Makes Landfall in Acapulco
Hurricane Otis made landfall early Wednesday and battered popular Mexican tourism destination Acapulco as a Category 5 storm, making it "one of the fiercest hurricanes to ever hit the region," the New York Times reports.
As of publication time, the storm had already weakened to a Category 2 Hurricane and was "expected to continue to weaken quickly in Guerrero state’s steep mountains."
United Kingdom newspaper The Daily Mail published footage of the hurricane damaging the Acapulco’s Mundo Imperial Hotel, and Sky News reported guests in hotels in the city were being moved to higher ground.
3. Strikers Reach Agreement With Long Beach Hotel
In ongoing hotel industry labor strikes across Southern California, the Loews Hollywood hotel said it has reached a tentative agreement with union Unite Here Local 11 that will result in 300 members returning to work, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Union members from five additional hotels in the area — in Dana Point, Long Beach, Pasadena and San Pedro — have in turn gone on strike.
The union said the “agreements provide for higher pay and benefits, as well as improved healthcare, more robust staffing, pension increases and more inclusive hiring procedures for formerly incarcerated people and immigrants but has declined to give specifics about wages and other economic details,” according to the Times.
4. Vietnam and Japan Host Conference To Tackle Overtourism
At a conference to mark 50 years of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan, the two countries have discussed ways to offset overtourism, according to the Vietnamese government.
In the first nine months of 2023, Vietnam recorded 8.9 million arrivals, including 414,000 from Japan. Initiatives discussed include the use of satellites.
Nguyen Anh Tuan¸ director of host Institute of Tourism Development Research, a division of the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism, said the causes of the problem include seasonality, limited infrastructure, a lack of capacity planning at destinations, a lack of reasonable planning to regulate visitor numbers and a lack of product diversity.
“Overtourism has the certain impact on the environment, culture, society, infrastructure at the destinations as well as affecting tourist psychology. These impacts cause a decline in experiential value, a decline in product and service quality and a discrediting of the destination's image,” he said.
5. Maui Fully Reopens to Tourists
Approximately two-and-a-half months since devastating wildfires ripped through areas of Maui, the island’s mayor, Richard Bissen, said the area between Kahana and Kaʻanapali will reopen to tourists on Nov. 1, Maui News reports. It is the last part of the island to reopen.
Bissen said Maui “sheltering close to 7,000 survivors remains a critical focus of our efforts, and their needs are our priority. I appreciate the help our hotels have provided these past several weeks.”
