Editor's Note: Some linked articles may be behind subscription paywalls.
1. Four Seasons New York, Santa Barbara Expect 2024 Reopenings
Closed since the early days of the pandemic in 2020, the Four Seasons Hotel New York and the Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara are expected to reopen in the fall of 2024, according to a joint statement from Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts and property owner Ty Warner Hotels & Resorts. The companies are planning renovations and enhancements for both properties.
In its coverage of the announcement, Bloomberg reports that owner Ty Warner Hotels & Resorts and operator Four Seasons had a dispute over expectations for operating costs and profit margins.
2. American Travelers Head to Europe
Trade group Airlines for America reports that the number of passengers flying on domestic flights dipped 2% in July while the number on transatlantic routes jumped 19% when compared to July 2019, according to the Wall Street Journal. Booking app Hopper also reports that domestic fares have decreased 11% year over year while the cost of international flights grew by 11% over last year and 28% compared to 2019.
U.S. airline executives in their recent earnings calls have had different takes on whether these trends will last.
“We have not made an assumption that this environment changes before we get into the heart of winter," Frontier Airlines President and CEO Barry Biffle said. "Although I do know that once we get to January, February, it’s a heck of a lot better to be in Florida than it is in most parts of Europe.”
3. Park Open to Future Investments in San Francisco
During the hotel real estate investment trust's second-quarter earnings call, Park Hotels & Resorts President and CEO Tom Baltimore Jr. said despite the decision to turn over keys to two large hotels in San Francisco, he's still open to future deals in the city, reports HNN's Sean McCracken.
"It's not helpful to the overall narrative for Park that we continue to have to talk about San Francisco, but we realize until it's completely removed from the portfolio and is still in guidance, we still have to address it," he told analysts. "If you take that out, that was the lion's share of the reason we had a modest 2% reduction in guidance to the midpoint. It is San Francisco. We'd rather talk about Hawaii and the explosive growth we're seeing given the fact we still don't have the Japanese traveler."
4. Hotel Demand Dips as End of Summer Nears
Weekly demand has dipped for U.S. hotels, and that trend is expected to continue over the next several weeks, writes STR's Chris Klauda and William Anns. In turn, global hotel occupancy, excluding the U.S., continues its recovery.
"While at a slower pace than a year ago, U.S. demand has advanced, especially in the top 25 markets and on the weekdays," they write. "However, with summer’s end on the horizon, business and group travel will have to increase more to make up for the loss of demand from leisure travelers."
The Labor Day holiday is expected to be a low point for U.S. hotel demand.
5. US Employers Add 187,000 Jobs in July
The U.S. Department of Labor reports that employers added 187,000 jobs in July, a slight increase over June's 185,000 jobs, the Associated Press reports. Unemployment dipped to 3.5%.
"The U.S. economy and job market have repeatedly defied predictions of an impending recession," the AP reports. "Increasingly, economists are expressing confidence that inflation fighters at the Federal Reserve can pull off a rare 'soft landing’ — raising interest rates just enough to rein in rising prices without tipping the world’s largest economy into recession."