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1. New York City signed billion-dollar deal for shelter hotels
The city of New York negotiated and signed a new no-bid contract with the Hotel Association of New York City Foundation for using hotels as shelters for immigrants and the unhoused, the New York Post reports. The contract runs through June 30, 2026.
The $929.1 million authorized is the maximum allowed under the contract, and the final price tag could come in lower, said Vijay Dandapani, CEO of the city's hotel association.
“This agreement is an extension of the non-profit HANYC foundation’s ongoing work since COVID to connect city funding with hotels to address New York’s need to provide emergency services to the homeless,” he said.
2. Hotel del Coronado completes $550 million renovation
The Hotel del Coronado has completed its multi-year, $550 million renovation with the completion of the Victorian building renovation, according to a news release. Blackstone Real Estate is the owner and sponsor of the revitalization work.
The last phase of the project focused on the hotel's Victorian Neighborhood. It included restoration of its front porch, lobby, main entry and drive experience. There were also updates to its guestrooms, the garden courtyard, event spaces and two new dining options.
3. Experts say consistency will give hoteliers success with AI searches
Consistency and efficiency are the two key parts to having success with AI, reports CoStar News' Sean McCracken from the 2025 HSMAI Commercial Strategy Conference.
Milestone Inc. founder and President Benu Aggarwal said consistency is the "biggest holy grail." Hoteliers should focus on having a handful of images with written and video content to highlight the same bullet points. Having too much out there can dilute the message.
"Decide [on] getting 20-plus amazing images and get every single channel to use the same images and same information because search at the end of the day is multimodal," she said. "Your images, your content, your experience, your videos, everything needs to be consistent and needs to have the same data."
4. Concerns rise over US stagflation
Though the U.S. is not currently experiencing stagflation, the combination of rising prices alongside tepid economic growth is causing concerns about the red flags on the horizon, the New York Times reports. There are fears that the tariffs implemented this year combined with the impact of rising oil prices caused by the conflict between Israel and Iran could put the U.S. on stagflation's path.
When officials from the Federal Reserve met earlier this week and voted to hold interest rates steady, they did so with the expectation gross domestic product would grow at a 1.4% rate this year, according to the newspaper. They also expect consumer prices to rise 3% and unemployment to tick up to 4.5%.
“The two big stagflation shocks that threw the whole global economy for a loop both emanated from oil,” Alan Blinder, a Princeton economist and former Fed vice chair, told the newspaper.
5. US retail sales drop nearly 1% in May
The U.S. Department of Commerce reported that sales at retail stores and restaurants fell by 0.9% in May following a 0.1% dip in April and 1.5% increase in March, according to the Associated Press. The sharp turn around is attributed largely to Americans buying cars earlier this year to get ahead of the 25% tariff on imported cars and car parts.
At the same time, another category that excludes volatile gas, cars and restaurants sales increased by 0.4% in May.
“Today’s data suggests consumers are downshifting, but they haven’t yet slammed the brakes,” Ellen Zentner, chief economic strategist for Morgan Stanley wealth management, said. “Like the economy as a whole, consumer spending has been resilient in the face of tariff uncertainty.”