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China's National Health Commission announced Tuesday it has cut the length of quarantine time that international travelers must complete upon arrival, CNBC reports, marking "a big step toward loosening COVID controls that have persisted for more than two years."

Travelers coming from overseas to China will now only need to isolate for seven days in mainland China at a centralized hotel or other facility, and an additional three days at home.

"Previously, overseas arrivals in China typically had to spend 14 to 21 days in centralized quarantine, depending on the city of entry and destination within the country," the news outlet reports.

Shares of consumer- and travel-related stocks increased sharply following the announcement, MarketWatch reports.

United Kingdom-based hospitality company Whitbread PLC, owner of the Premier Inn hotel brand, announced Wednesday that Dominic Paul will become the next CEO, succeeding Alison Brittain, who is retiring at the end of 2023. Paul, who recently served as CEO of Domino's Pizza Group in the U.K. and Ireland, will join Whitbread in early January 2023.

"Following an extensive search and thorough evaluation of high-quality candidates we are confident Dominic's great track record of growing and transforming consumer brands in the UK and internationally will help to lead Whitbread in the next stage of the Group's development," Chairman Adam Crozier said in a news release.

Hotel News Now's Sean McCracken reports from the 2022 HSMAI Marketing Strategy Summit that changes in consumer behavior during the pandemic have boiled down to five trends.

One of these trends includes embracing a more holistic mindset. Daniel Levine, director of the Avant-Guide Institute, said much of the struggle of the past two years has been related to redefining what a more beneficial work-life balance looks like.

"The idea of work-life balance has changed in the last few years to this idea of work-life integration," he said. "It's not about work is over here and the rest of your life is over here. People are learning, 'Hey, let's mix it.' It's all one thing, and if that doesn't work in my life, I'm going to do different work."

A recent survey conducted by the British Beer and Pub Association, British Institute of Innkeeping and UK Hospitality shows only 37% of hospitality businesses across the United Kingdom are turning a profit, according to a news release.

The main contributing factors to this bleak performance are rising costs of energy, goods and labor. As a result, nearly 45% of businesses have been forced to cut operating hours to avoid permanent closure, and one in six businesses report having no cash reserves.

JLL Hotels and Hospitality's latest Hospitality Debt Market Overview report shows there's a large disconnect between hospitality fundamentals as debt markets have been crumbling.

"The credit markets fear that aggressive monetary tightening by the Fed could tip the economy into a recession, which has resulted in higher credit spreads and all-in loan coupons," the report states. "Additionally, the floating rate index SOFR, which tracks the Federal Funds Rate, has increased almost 150 basis points since January, with the expectation that the index could increase another 200 to 250 basis points by the end of the year if Fed monetary tightening continues."

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