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1. Heavy Labor Day travel weekend kicks off amid high gas prices
Labor Day travelers are facing their highest gas prices ever, and CNN reports it has spurred some scrambling from the White House.
The New York Times reports that overall travel numbers are expected to fall slightly compared to last year, with 17 million air travelers expected to pass through TSA checkpoints.
Bad weather could also complicate the weekend, with the worst effects expected in the Mid-Atlantic.
2. US jobs report beats expectations
The latest data from the U.S. Labor Department shows employers added 162,000 jobs in August, which The Wall Street Journal notes more than triples economists' expectations.
The unemployment rate stayed at 4.1%, which matched economists' projections.
The newspaper also reports this simplifies the decision-making behind a potential September interest rate increase from the Federal Reserve, allowing officials to focus more squarely on next week's consumer inflation report.
3. As business travel returns, hotels are adapting to new trends
CoStar News' Bryan Wroten reports there has been a recent rebound in the business travel segment, but that doesn't mean all those travelers are returning to pre-pandemic norms.
One major change is a shorter booking window.
“Nowadays, in our environment, it’s a little bit different,” said Karen Carroll, vice president of revenue strategy and e-commerce at hotel management, ownership and consulting company GF Hotels and Resorts. “You have to look at those business travelers and the demand that often materializes within a two-week window.”
4. Noise complaints remain persistent issue for hotels
Noise problems are among the most common complaints at hotels, either from adjoining rooms, outside the hotel or noisy HVAC or other systems, CNN reports, but there is precious little many older hotels can do to address the concern.
“Many hotels around the world were built before [noise abatement] standards were put in place,” said Glenn Nowak, an associate professor of architecture at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.
5. Home swapping a new travel trend
USA Today reports an increasing number of travelers are avoiding hotels via a newer form of alternative accommodation: home swapping.
Multiple online platforms have popped up that allow travelers to share their homes with other travelers in return for the right to do the same and significantly cut down their travel costs as well as experience a city in a more authentic way.
"I think the nature of it is more personal and I'm really going to someone's home that they live in," traveler and musician Cassandra Jenkins said to the news outlet.