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1. Markets stabilize after dips caused by US jobs report
Market conditions have seemed to stabilize after taking a tumble over the weekend in light of a disappointing recent U.S. jobs report, according to the Associated Press. The report found that U.S. employers added only 73,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department reported Friday, which is short of the 115,000 originally expected.
The report also revised May and June payrolls, removing 258,000 jobs off those counts. The U.S. unemployment rate ticked higher to 4.2%.
Wall Street responded with a sell-off on Friday, but futures were up for both S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, each rising 0.5% before the bell. Nasdaq futures climbed 0.7%.
2. Park Hotels & Resorts prioritizes renovations over acquisitions
During the company's latest earnings call, Park Hotels & Resorts Chairman and CEO Tom Baltimore said that the hotel real estate investment trust's primary strategy is improving its portfolio, CoStar News' Sean McCracken reported. Park plans to complete $300 million to $400 million in hotel asset sales by the end of the year.
Baltimore said that Park derives 90% of its value from its core assets — such as the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort and the Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort. Park is prioritizing development and renovations at those properties over chasing new hotels.
"You can see where we're investing those dollars," he said. "We really believe that we can generate higher development yields than we can through acquisition yields, at this point. I think the great work in Orlando and the extraordinary work in Key West are great examples of that."
3. Grand Canyon wildfire continues to burn, causing advisories
A persistent wildfire in the Grand Canyon is disrupting visitors in the national park. The Dragon Bravo fire has been burning in the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona for almost a month and has become the largest wildfire of the year so far in the continental U.S., the New York Times reported.
The fire has closed the park’s North Rim for the rest of the season, according to the National Park's website, and has affected 114,000 acres. Bolstered by continued warm, dry weather, the fire is expected to grow even more. It's only 11% contained, according to the newspaper. The South Rim of the Grand Canyon, which accounts for 90% of tourists, is mostly unaffected.
“We’re kind of locked in a dry, breezy, abnormally hot pattern because our monsoon hasn’t showed up,” said Benjamin Peterson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Flagstaff, Arizona.
4. 10,000 hotels join European lawsuit against Booking.com
More than 10,000 European hotels have filed a class-action lawsuit against online travel agency Booking.com that's seeking compensation for alleged antitrust violations, The Economic Times reports. The Hotel Claims Alliance is leading the lawsuit, which is supported by over 30 national hotel associations in the region, and is coordinated by Hotrec, an association representing European hotels, restaurants and cafes.
The lawsuit follows a 2024 ruling by the European Court of Justice that proclaimed Booking.com's “best price” clauses illegal and is seeking damages for the years 2004 to 2024. Registration for the lawsuit has been extended to Aug. 29.
“European hoteliers have long suffered from unfair conditions and excessive costs,” said Alexandros Vassilikos, president of Hotrec. “Abusive practices in the digital market will not be tolerated by the hotel industry in Europe.”
5. Tilman Fertitta pauses plans to build hotel in Las Vegas
Texas billionaire Tilman Fertitta, currently serving as President Donald Trump's U.S. ambassador to Italy, has reportedly reevaluated plans for a casino project on the Las Vegas Strip. The plans will be abandoned so long as he owns his stake in Wynn Resorts, a representative of Fertitta Entertainment said according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Fertitta's Wynn ownership, which is 13 million shares valued at more than $1.4 billion, is a “conflict of interest,” said Steven Scheinthal, executive vice president and general counsel for Fertitta Entertainment. The Wynn Las Vegas and Encore towers are a little over a mile away from Fertitta’s property at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Harmon Avenue, which is currently a surface parking lot.