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1. Hurricane Lee Reaches Category 5
Hurricane Lee has strengthened to a Category 5 hurricane, and it is expected to increase in strength over the course of the day, CNN reports.
The center of Lee is expected to pass to the north of the Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico over the weekend and into next week, according to the article. Computer model trends show the storm turning to the north in the early part of next week, but it's uncertain when that will happen exactly and how far west it will travel first, leaving questions over how much it will affect the U.S. mainland.
2. Las Vegas Hotel Unions Set Strike Authorization Vote
Members of the Culinary and Bartenders Unions in Las Vegas will vote Sept. 26 whether to authorize a potential strike as they negotiate new contracts with hotels, casinos, coffee shops and restaurants around the city, the Wall Street Journal reports. They are seeking lighter workloads, increased on-the-job security protection and a wage increase.
The unions have more than 50,000 members who work at places owned or operated by Caesars Entertainment, Wynn Resorts and MGM Resorts International, the newspaper reports. They also work for non-gaming hotels, such as the Trump Hotel Las Vegas and the Waldorf Astoria.
3. Highgate Exec Says Tech Investments Can Help With Rising Costs
The upcoming wave of debt maturity will affect all hoteliers, but further investment in technology can help alleviate some cost pressures, said Kurien Jacob, managing director and partner at Highgate Tech Ventures, in a video interview with HNN's Terence Baker.
Speaking at the 2023 Hotel Data Conference, Jacob said, "Technology is the No. 1 focus for any hotel company today. It is what is going to drive the future and differentiate [hotels], as well as ... drive revenue-maximizing cost efficiencies, productivity and all that. It is in the forefront,” he said.
4. Economic Data Revisions Upset Markets
Revisions of economic data aren't unusual, but sometimes the revisions are large enough to completely change how economists and investors understand the actual situation, the Wall Street Journal reports. The United Kingdom's gross domestic product, for example, grew much more than previously thought, beating out Germany and coming more in line with France.
The economic revision problem is worsening as early reporting on figures can give a misleading impression that can take too long to correct after a revision comes out, the newspaper reports.
“Markets don’t tend to react to revisions and especially to revisions like we’ve just had to GDP because your average trader or investor is interested in what’s the latest data, not what happened two years ago,” says Paul Donovan, chief economist of UBS Global Wealth Management.
5. Maui Seeks Return of Tourists
Weeks ago, Hawaii officials were asking tourists to stay away from Maui due the wildfires, but now tourists are welcome back to enjoy parts of the island outside of the burn zone, the Associated Press reports. State officials hope tourists, and their dollars, will help the island's economic recovery from the fires.
“I know what a terrible disaster that was. But now we’re in crisis mode,” said Richie Olsten, director of operations at Air Maui Helicopters. “If we can’t keep the people that have jobs employed, how are they going to help family members and friends that lost everything?”