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1. Rail Strike Avoided with Deal
The White House announced Thursday morning that a tentative agreement has been struck to avoid a national rail strike, the Washington Post reports. The deal still needs to be ratified, but it was confirmed by the group representing freight rail operators, a good sign that the two parties worked together on it.
President Biden said in a statement that the agreement would guarantee better pay, improved working conditions and peace of mind around healthcare costs for the workers, the Post reports.
Amid the threat of a freight rail worker strike, Amtrak preemptively canceled all of its long-distance trains starting Thursday, the newspaper reports. It is unclear how soon those trains will pick back up with the tentative deal being agreed upon. Between 24 to 28 trains were canceled, affecting travel in major U.S. cities such as Washington, D.C.; Chicago; and Los Angeles.
2. Queen's Funeral Causes Hotel Price Surge
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to travel to London for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral on Sept. 19, prompting hotels and airlines to raise prices in the city, Reuters reports.
Since the announcement of the Queen's death, the average rate for a hotel in London increased to $384 per night from $244 per night, Hayley Berg, lead economist at travel startup Hopper, told the news outlet.
Some high-end hotels including Claridge's, the Connaught, The Dorchester and the Berkeley are sold out this upcoming Sunday night.
3. Marriott CFO Confident in Travel Demand
Leeny Oberg, chief financial officer and executive vice president of business operations for Marriott International, said in a sit-down interview with Hotel News Now that the hospitality industry will persevere through a potential recession due to the strength of leisure demand and growing strength of group and business demand, HNN’s Bryan Wroten reports.
Oberg said she isn’t concerned with the current unemployment numbers.
“We’ve got a robust labor market with plenty of good jobs for people in the market for work, and that will have some impact on how things go forward combined with the [Federal Reserve’s] moves on both the U.S. balance sheet as well as with interest rates,” she said.
4. Hong Kong Adjusts Quarantine Protocol
Starting on Nov. 1, travelers who test positive for COVID-19 in Hong Kong will be allowed to stay in their own designated quarantine hotel rather than an isolation hotel or community facility, Bloomberg reports.
A summit for global bankers and an international rugby tournament are heading to the country in the coming months, prompting the shift in policy, the news outlet reports. The fear of getting sent to a quarantine facility has caused some potential attendees to reconsider traveling to Hong Kong.
“The change won’t reduce the time infected travelers need to isolate before being let out into the community — only allow them to avoid the uncomfortable, government-run facilities. They will be released from their quarantine hotels only after submitting negative tests on the sixth and seventh days of isolation, a spokesperson for the Health Bureau said on Wednesday,” the news outlet reports.
5. Offices Take Cue on Scent from Hotels
In attempts to lure employees back to in-person working, some companies have been inspired by the hospitality industry to add pleasant fragrances in their offices to make the air fresher and the environment more comforting, Commercial Observer reports.
“Many of the boutique hotels and luxury hotels [have] developed scent profiles, and some of them are very successful,” said Peter Miscovich, executive managing director for strategy and innovation at JLL. “We’ve seen this across the hospitality sector; we’ve seen it in retail spaces.”