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1. Delta shares positive travel demand outlook
Delta Air Lines reported strong demand for its flights, especially among travelers willing to pay for more expensive seats, according to the New York Times. During the company's latest earnings call, executives said the company saw a $5 billion profit in 2025.
“Our consumer is healthy and investing in travel,” Ed Bastian, Delta’s chief executive, said on the call. “Last week, in fact, we set a new record for bookings with sales up double digits on a year-over-year basis.”
Executives also said the company has ordered 30 Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets, a model the airline has not used before.
2. Marriott to open 2,700 rooms in Saudi Arabia
Marriott International will open more than 2,700 rooms in Saudi Arabia through a new agreement with Al Qimmah Hospitality, according to a news release. The agreement calls for five new properties in Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah.
The hotels set to open are the JW Marriott Jeddah, The Apartments; Four Points by Sheraton Shesha, Makkah; Four Points by Sheraton Madinah King Fahd Road; Element Madinah Sultana Road; and Four Points Flex by Sheraton Madinah Hijrah Road.
3. Premier Inn sees year-over-year demand growth
Executives at United Kingdom-based Whitbread PLC said the company's Premier Inn brand is enjoying year-over-year increases in demand along with reduced operational costs, reports CoStar News Hotels' Terence Baker from the company's latest earnings call.
In an accompanying statement, Whitbread CEO Dominic Paul said, "in the U.K., the overall market continued its return to growth and we delivered a positive RevPAR performance, which has continued and stepped up in the current trading period. The structural shift in supply, together with our brand strength and commercial [program], means we are confident in our ability to maintain a healthy [revenue per available room] premium versus the market.”
4. China probes Trip.com over monopoly concerns
China's State Administration for Market Regulation is investigating Shanghai-based online travel company Trip.com over concerns of monopolistic practices, Reuters reports. The Chinese government has been cracking down on suspected unfair competition.
An industry association for homestays in the Yunnan province said it received several complaints from its member businesses about online travel agencies, including Trip.com, allegedly taking advantage of their dominant market positions, the news agency reports.
China's anti-monopoly law levies fines between 1% and 10% of annual sales of from the previous year of companies found to violate the law.
5. Saks Global files for bankruptcy
Saks Global has filed for bankruptcy protection as it deals with billions in debt and lagging sales, among other issues, CoStar News reports. The company owns luxury retailers Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman.
"The filing is the latest sign that America’s luxury department stores, once landmarks that served as immersive fantasy worlds for the wealthy and aspirational, are becoming an endangered species," the New York Times reports.
Saks said it secured about $1.75 billion to finance it through its bankruptcy proceedings, and it intends to come out of it later this year and honor its customer programs and pay vendors and employees.