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1. Hurricane Milton carves path of destruction across Florida
At least four people are dead and airports across Florida are closed after Hurricane Milton passed over the heavily populated Tampa Bay region, the New York Times reports. The hurricane generated several destructive tornadoes, left more than 3 million without power and ripped the roof off of Tropicana Field, home to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Officials say it's still too soon to give an accurate tally of how much destruction the quick-moving storm caused. The hurricane had largely moved out to the Atlantic Ocean Thursday, but several parts of Central Florida still had to deal with river flooding, and government officials urged residents to stay in "safe spaces ... to let rescue workers do their jobs."
2. Marriott reaches FTC settlement for data breaches, faces long-term scrutiny
The Federal Trade Commission has announced a pair of proposed settlements with Marriott International related to a series of large data breaches from Marriott and Starwood Hotels & Resorts between 2014 and 2020. The settlements include $52 million in fines and 20 years of FTC oversight on a "comprehensive information security program" due to the company's "failure to implement reasonable data security led to three large data breaches from 2014 to 2020 impacting more than 344 million customers worldwide."
Other requirements are new policies to "retain personal information for only as long as is reasonably necessary to fulfill the purpose for which it was collected" and to provide customers a new way to review "unauthorized activity in their Marriott Bonvoy loyalty rewards accounts and Marriott must restore any loyalty points stolen by malicious actors."
3. Tropicana demolition paves way for Las Vegas' new era
The controlled implosion of the Tropicana Las Vegas marks the start of a new era for the market, particularly as its destruction makes way for the construction of a new stadium to house the baseball team currently known as the Oakland Athletics, CoStar News' Lou Hirsh reports.
The demolition also marks a shift in supply-demand dynamics for Las Vegas.
“This is the most significant decline in hotel rooms in the past decade,” said Emmy Hise, CoStar Group’s senior director of hospitality analytics. “Demolitions and closures like this don’t happen often. It will be years before the Las Vegas hotel supply returns to its previous levels.”
4. AHLA rallies opposition to New York's Safe Hotels Act
The American Hotel & Lodging Association says "hundreds of hotel and hospitality professionals" gathered at New York City Hall to oppose the "Safe Hotels Act," which has been supported by unions and law enforcement in the city and would require minimum staffing levels and a new licensing requirement for hotels across the city.
The proposed law “takes dead aim at a single industry and will do sweeping harm to the hotel sector, the economy, and hotel guests,” Kevin Carey, interim president and CEO of AHLA, said in a statement. “This bill will cause devastating and unintended consequences across New York City’s tourism and hospitality industries, forcing many hotels and small businesses to close their doors. We urge the City Council to reconsider and work toward real solutions that protect both safety and the livelihoods of thousands of hardworking New Yorkers.”
5. Hotel strikes spread to Sacramento
Sacramento became the latest market to face hotel strikes Wednesday when 150 workers at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento walked off the job, hospitality union Unite Here announced.
Union officials say workers participating in the one-day strike were looking for "higher wages, fair staffing and workloads, and the reversal of COVID-era cuts."
“I’m on strike because I am tired of asking for more money and better benefits. Now the company wants to raise the hours we have to work to qualify for healthcare,” Jenny Amaya, a housekeeper at the hotel said in a statement. “I love my job, and going on strike wasn’t an easy decision, but it’s what I have to do for my health. Things are so hard right now, but I know that when we fight together, we can win a better future.”