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1. Energy, fuel costs drive up US inflation to 4.2%
The Consumer Price Index jumped 4.2% year over year in May, driven largely by energy costs, The New York Times reports. In that period, fuel oil was up 58.9% and gasoline was up 40.5%.
As a result, airfares also increased 26.7% year over year.
The newspaper reports early expectations are this will mean the Federal Reserve is more likely to hold interest rates steady for a longer period.
2. Hotel jobs drop in LA following new wage rules
An analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows Los Angeles County hotels and motels saw a 1.7% year-over-year drop in their workforce in December, which is the same time new higher minimum wage rules were implemented, Fox News reports.
The data was published in a new analysis by the Employment Policies Institute, which pointed to the hotel-specific $22.50 minimum wage as the reason for the drop.
3. CEO change likely to lead to key strategy shifts for Choice
Analysts who cover Choice Hotels International say the departure of former president and CEO Patrick Pacious is likely to lead to a period of more communication with investors and some new thinking for the North Bethesda, Maryland-based company, CoStar News' Trevor Simpson reports.
Dominic Dragisich, the company's chief growth and strategy officer, is currently serving as interim CEO, but C. Patrick Scholes, managing director of lodging and leisure equity research at Truist, said investors want a holistic search for Pacious' successor.
"The board owes it to the shareholders to not just shoo-in" Dragisich, he said. "Maybe it turns out he is the best, but ... maybe there's a senior executive at Marriott or Hilton or Hyatt, just as there was with Steve Joyce. They shouldn't leave any stone unturned here."
4. Shangri-La in Dubai sells for nearly $300 million
The 302-room Shangri-La Hotel, Dubai became the first major hotel to trade since the onset of the war in Iran in a newly announced 1.1 billion United Arab Emirati dirham deal, which is worth almost $300 million, CoStar News' Terence Baker reports.
Various news outlets report the buyer is AHS Properties and the seller is Mismak Properties Co., LLC, a division of First Abu Dhabi Bank.
5. Cuban tourist hot spots have turned into ghost towns
Fuel shortages and economic crisis — along with American sanctions — have recently driven international hotel operators out of Cuba, and Reuters reports many formerly popular tourism spots in the country have turned decidedly more quiet.
The news outlet was able to spot only six foreign tourists in Old Havana during a recent visit, all of which were from other parts of Latin America.