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1. US avoids recession despite $11 billion shutdown, says treasury secretary
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday the U.S. can expect to avoid a recession following the 43-day government shutdown, which resulted in an $11 billion permanent hit to the U.S. economy, Reuters reports.
Bessent credited the services economy for inflation, rather than U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs.
"I am very, very optimistic on 2026. We have set the table for a very strong, non-inflationary growth economy," Bessent said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
2. Hotel performance in October didn't worsen as expected
With the U.S. shutdown in the rearview mirror, Tell Me More: A Hospitality Data Podcast's co-hosts Isaac Collazo of STR and Jan Freitag from CoStar Group took a look at October hotel data on their latest episode.
The takeaway from the data, Collazo said, is that hotel performance was not as bad as it was expected to be. While revenue per available room and occupancy fell for the month, average daily rate was up 1.5%, which was "the best increase of the past six months," Collazo said.
"There was just so much to happen this month," he said, adding that the shutdown period coincided with 2024's hurricane period. "It really was actually a decent month, all things considered. ... Still not a great month, but it wasn't as bad as I think people feared."
3. FAA asks pilots to 'exercise caution' when flying over Venezuela
The Federal Aviation Administration has asked pilots to "exercise caution" when navigating over Venezuela “due to the worsening security situation and heightened military activity,” the Associated Press reported.
"The warning comes as the Trump administration has ramped up pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The U.S. military has conducted bomber flights up to the coast of Venezuela, sometimes as part of a training exercise to simulate an attack, and sent the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford into the region," per the article.
Following the statement, Mary Schiavo, a former inspector general for the Department of Transportation, said that while she doesn't interpret the warning as an escalation of conflict in the region, she also recommends pilots stay vigilant.
4. Ashford Hospitality to offload three properties for nearly $70 million
Ashford Hospitality Trust Inc. revealed late last week that it has entered into agreements to sell three of its portfolio hotels for about $69.5 million in aggregate gross proceeds. The hotels to be sold are the Le Pavillon, New Orleans, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel; the Embassy Suites by Hilton Austin Arboretum; and the Embassy Suites by Hilton Houston Near the Galleria.
On the company's latest earnings call, Stephen Zsigray, president and CEO of the Dallas-based real estate investment trust, confirmed plans for Ashford Trust to sell more hotels to deleverage its business.
According to a news release, Ashford Trust "expects more than $2 million in annual cash flow improvement and $14.5 million in future capital expenditure savings following the sales."
5. Death toll rises in Southeast Asia following heavy rains
Devastating flooding and landslides have continued to plague Southeast Asia, and the death toll in the region has again risen, the AP reports. One more person has been killed in Vietnam, bringing the total to 91 — with 11 people still missing.
Vietnam has suffered landslides from the 500-mile stretch between the Quang Tri and Lam Dong provinces. Over 60 people were killed in Dak Lak, mostly due to drowning, and Khanh Hoa, Lam Dong, Gia Lai, Danang, Hue and Quang Tri provinces have all seen fatalities.
The overall damage so far is estimated to be around $500 million in this round of floods as rains continue in some places, the AP reports.