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1. Hotels championed as winners of World Cup
Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 in extra time on Sunday to capture its second men's World Cup championship. Lamine Yamal and the rest of the Spain team weren't the only victors throughout the tournament — the Wall Street Journal reports that "hotels have been big winners."
"Host-city hotels squeezed roughly 35% more revenue out of available rooms during the average match day through early July than they did a year earlier, according to an analysis of CoStar data. Occupancy-rate increases were lukewarm during the group stage, but accelerated in the round of 32 and again during the round of 16," the newspaper reports.
2. Andy Burnham becomes UK prime minister
Andy Burnham officially became the seventh U.K. prime minister in the past decade on Monday after a meeting with King Charles III, the New York Times reports. He replaces Keir Starmer, who formally resigned this morning.
Burnham said in his first remarks as prime minister that he will "put the care of people at the heart of everything I do."
“I know people at home are fed up with politics,” he told a large crowd of supporters gathered outside of No. 10 Downing Street. “I hear you, and I want to be honest with you. We have not been good enough, and we need to be better. We will be.”
3. US hoteliers question future of international inbound travel
While the World Cup boosted revenues at host market hotels and served as a boon to local economies, international inbound travel demand to the U.S. was underwhelming. This has hoteliers and analysts questioning the short-term future of this travel segment if an event such as this one couldn't attract more visitors, CoStar News Hotels reports.
There are two messages international travelers are currently receiving, said Joe Imbrogno, general manager of the Reverb by Hard Rock Downtown Atlanta. One alludes to the U.S. being unwelcoming and one alludes to the U.S. being an amazing experience. How those messages evolve could determine the future of international inbound travel across the country.
"People are deciding which messages they want to listen to," he said. "Over time, hopefully the first set of messaging kind of normalizes and takes care of itself and what people remember are all the good things, and longer term, that that will certainly encourage additional international visitation. I think at the moment, probably not."
4. Unite Here issues travel advisory alert on Graduate Hotels
Hotel workers' union Unite Here issued a travel advisory for Graduate Hotels by Hilton as workers at two Graduate properties demand a fair process to decide on a union, according to a news release.
Unite Here said that workers at the Graduate by Hilton Berkeley and Graduate Boulderado Hotel are pushing for a union in light of short staffing, heavy workloads and insufficient wages. The union cited Graduate closing the Graduate New York on Cornell Tech's campus abruptly and laying off the staff at the Graduate Palo Alto.
“I am fighting for the union because it's difficult to pay my bills as a single mom. With the cost of everything, I am struggling to keep up with my bills and to afford things for my daughter," said Rosalva Rodriguez, a housekeeper at the Graduate by Hilton Berkeley. "I can't afford the health insurance the company offers. I worry so much that if I get sick or anything happens to me, I wouldn't be able to afford it."
5. Average price of gas in US hits $4 a gallon
The average price of gas increased to $4 per gallon on Monday, an upward trend after tensions and fighting in Iran have ratcheted up again, the New York Times reports. Gas prices hit this mark for the first time since 2022 back in March before dipping in response to the tentative ceasefire agreement.
"The preliminary agreement did not hold, and the conflict has escalated once more, with the United States this week reinstating a naval blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for oil and gas transport. The blockade and the strikes in the area have all but halted shipping, pushing up energy prices," the newspaper reports.
Brent crude prices are more than $90 a barrel, the highest mark in more than a month.