Editor's Note: Some linked articles may be behind subscription paywalls.
1. UK June inflation rises to 16-month high
In June, the United Kingdom's inflation rate increased 3.6% year over year, the largest rise since January 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics. In May, U.K. inflation rose by 3.4%.
The ONS said core inflation — which includes owner-occupiers’ housing costs but excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco — “rose by 4.3% in the 12 months to June 2025, up slightly from 4.2% in the 12 months to May.” The agency added that “airfares rose by 7.9% between May and June 2025, compared with a rise of 3.2% between May and June 2024. Fares usually rise in June, but the increase this year was the largest June rise since 2018.”
The Bank of England, in line with many of the world’s central banks, has an inflation target rate of 2%, with the BBC adding a “cut in the cost of borrowing is still expected at next month’s rate-setting meeting.”
2. Marriott CFO Oberg announces retirement
Leeny Oberg, Marriott International’s chief financial officer and executive vice president of development, has announced her retirement, effective on March 31, 2026.
Oberg has been at the Bethesda, Maryland-based global hotel company since August 2007, when she accepted the role of vice president of investor relations and treasury at food-services procurement wing Sodexho Marriott Services. She rose up the chain of command with finance roles at Marriott and Ritz-Carlton, working both in the U.S. and in the U.K. with responsibility for Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Marriott also named two executives who will succeed Oberg. Jen Mason, currently global officer, treasurer and risk management, will become executive vice president and chief financial officer on April 1. Shawn Hill, currently Marriott's chief development officer for Asia-Pacific excluding China, will become executive vice president and chief development officer on Jan. 1.
3. The numbers behind the growth of the extended-stay hotel segment
The extended-stay sector continues to have strong legs, according to Mark Skinner, principal at The Highland Group, which keeps tabs on that segment of the hotel industry. On the latest episode of the CoStar News Hotels podcast, Skinner said there has been some softening of demand but the extended-stay sector has not shown radically out-of-control supply-demand dynamics.
"Extended-stay supply and demand are both increasing, but they are increasing well below their long-term average, which is about 5% over the last 25 years," he said. "So over the last trailing 12 months, you've got supply increasing about 2.9%. You've got demand increasing at about 2.5%. Over the last five months, supply has actually increased faster than demand every month."
4. Weeklong vacations not in reach of 27% of European Union citizens
A total of 27% of European Union citizens couldn't afford a weeklong vacation in 2024, according to Eurostats. That percentage has fallen from 28.5% in 2023.
The highest percentage of people unable to take a seven-day break hailed mostly from Eastern Europe, with 58.6% of Romanians, 46% of Greeks and 41.4% of Bulgarians being included in the group. Citizens from Luxembourg, at the other end of the scale, included only 8.9% unable to take a vacation, the only country within the 27-nation bloc who returned a single-digit response.
5. Las Vegas Sands starts work on $8 billion Singapore resort
Las Vegas Sands has broken ground on its latest development, an $8 billion resort and entertainment complex in Singapore, where the company already owns and operates the Marina Bay Sands. A news release from Las Vegas Sands said the new development will feature a “soaring 570-suite luxury hotel tower capped with signature rooftop and dining experiences, luxury retail boutiques, gaming, holistic spa and wellness amenities.”
The hotel will rise 55 floors, and the resort will also have approximately 200,000 square feet of meeting space and a 15,000-seat arena. No opening date for the resort has been announced.