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1. Blackstone Closes Village Hotels Deal
Blackstone Real Estate has closed on its acquisition of Village Hotels, a United Kingdom-based hotel owner, operator and developer, from affiliates of KSL Capital Partners, reports CoStar News' Bert Erik ten Cate. Though the companies did not disclose financial details, Blackstone is understood to have paid approximately £800 million ($1 billion).
Village Hotels' portfolio includes 33 hotels with 4,400 keys in large regional cities and suburban areas across the U.K. The hotels offer full-service hotel stays, fitness clubs, food and beverage outlets and coworking spaces.
2. Hawaii's Hotel Rates Price Out Visitors
Average hotel rates across Hawaii have increased by 35% from April 2019 to April 2024, leading some to connect that to the declining number of visitors to the island state, SFGate reports. Many are pointing the finger at general inflation.
“It’s very expensive to do business in Hawaii, and so Hawaii is going to be at a premium price point versus other destinations due to the location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean,” said Josh Hargrove, general manager of the Westin Maui Resort & Spa. “Anything that happens on the mainland is going to be magnified here.”
3. Hotel Tech Leaders Talk Real Use of AI
The topic of artificial intelligence dominated discussions at HITEC and HSMAI's Commercial Strategy Conference, report HNN's Sean McCracken and Trevor Simpson. The two go into greater detail in their podcast recap on the first day of the conference.
"AI is being built into everything that Microsoft does. AI is being built in everything that Google's doing. ... So AI is a thing. It is not just a fad; it's a trend," said Michael Goldrich, chief advisor at Vivander Advisors, on the prevalence of artificial intelligence.
4. US Consumer Confidence Dipped in June
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index shows that U.S. consumer confidence weakened slightly in June, declining from 101.3 in May to 100.4, according to a news release. The Expectations Index, based on short-term outlooks for income, business and labor market conditions, fell to 73 from 74.9 for the same time period.
"Confidence pulled back in June but remained within the same narrow range that's held throughout the past two years, as strength in current labor market views continued to outweigh concerns about the future. However, if material weaknesses in the labor market appear, confidence could weaken as the year progresses," Dana Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board, said in the news release.
5. Canada's Inflation Rose in May
Inflation in Canada rose from 2.7% in April to 2.9% in May, upsetting economists' forecasts of a 2.6% increase, the Wall Street Journal reports. The surprise increase may stop the country's central bank from cutting interest rates again in July.
"The biggest drivers of consumer price growth in Canada last month remained mortgage-interest costs and rent in the higher rate environment," according to the article.
Consumers also saw higher prices in services, such as travel tours and flights. The prices of food bought at stores increased, though modestly, for the first time in a year. The cost of services generally rose 4.6% in May while the cost of goods grew by 1%.