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1. Extreme weather delays travel across northern US
Severe rain and snow plagued parts of the United States this weekend, the Associated Press reported. In the Pacific Northwest, Washington state has seen catastrophic flooding throughout the weekend with more rain coming down Sunday before the water could recede.
Meanwhile, in the Northeast and Midwest, over 1,000 flights were delayed and 100 were canceled thanks to a snowstorm Saturday that brought in several inches of snow in the New York-New Jersey area.
The Midwest also experienced extreme weather this weekend thanks to an influx of arctic air that swept south from Canada. The Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport recorded temperatures as low as -10 degrees.
2. South Korean hotel firm buys New York plot
South Korea-based Lotte Hotels & Resorts has purchased the land beneath its Lotte New York Palace hotel in a $490 million deal, CoStar News' Terence Baker reports. Lotte already owned the 909-room hotel and purchased the land from the Archdiocese of New York, per Yonhap News.
According to The Korea Herald, the land had been leased in a 25-year agreement but now has changed hands “following years of negotiations.” It added the “transaction is expected to improve cash flow over time, reduce lease-related liabilities and strengthen [Lotte Hotels’] balance sheet.”
3. Airbnb fined for advertising unlicensed properties in Spain
Short-term rental giant Airbnb has been fined €64 million ($75.2 million) by the Spanish government for advertising unlicensed apartments, the BBC reports. The crackdown on Airbnb operations comes at a time of overtourism negatively affecting residents in the country.
"There are thousands of families who are living on the edge due to housing, while a few get rich with business models that expel people from their homes," Spain's Consumer Rights Minister Pablo Bustinduy said in a statement.
According to the Spanish government, 65,122 Airbnb advertisements "breached consumer rules" and promoted properties that were not licensed to be rented or properties that had a license number that did not match the official registers.
4. Hyatt opens newest Bunkhouse hotel amid lifestyle brand differentiation
The 49-room Hotel Daphne opened its doors in Houston this month, and Lisa Bonifacio, managing director at Hyatt Lifestyle, shared on the latest episode of the CoStar News Hotels podcast that the opening comes at a time when Bunkhouse Hotels has firmly been integrated into Hyatt's lifestyle hotel group.
A little over a year after Hyatt's acquisition of Bunkhouse and Standard International, Bonifacio said Hyatt is focused on differentiating its lifestyle hotels from each other, as well as from its competition.
"So, how do you keep them distinct, and how do you keep them different? I think it's a challenge, but it's a challenge we like and focus on a daily basis that we've been doing for a long time," Bonifacio said. "It's the passion of all of us that work on these teams and work on these hotels, so we'll continue to do so within the greater Hyatt group."
5. Top global travel destinations revealed for 2026
Travel and Tour World released its list of the top 50 global destinations for 2026. The top five destinations on the list were Japan, Canada, Ireland, Mexico and the United Kingdom, respectively.
The list was generated based on "reader engagement, editorial analysis, destination performance indicators, and global safety benchmarks," according to the news release.
"The Top 50 Global Travel Destinations for 2026 captures the changing priorities of global travelers — where experience, safety, and authenticity matter more than ever," said Anup Kumar Keshan, CEO and editor-in-chief of Travel and Tour World. "This ranking is both a reflection of traveler sentiment and a roadmap for the global tourism industry."