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1. Chicago council considers higher downtown hotel tax
Chicago City Council is considering implementing a tourism improvement district for its downtown hotels, which would lift the tax on these rooms to 19%, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The hotel room tax would be the highest in the nation, and estimates say it could raise $40 million a year in new revenue to attract conventions and tourism.
The Chicago's convention and tourism agency, Choose Chicago, currently has a budget of $33 million. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has an annual operating budget of $457 million, followed by Visit Orlando with $116 million, San Diego Tourism Authority with $56.9 million and NYC & Co. at $45 million.
The council will hold a public hearing on Feb. 27 to discuss increasing the tax rate from 17.5%.
2. Game over for Las Vegas Atari hotel plans
Video game company Atari announced plans six years ago to build a themed hotel in Las Vegas but revealed this week it is shelving those plans, the Las Vegas Sun reports. The gaming company is now focusing its efforts on its planned hotel project in Phoenix.
Atari spokesperson Sara Collins told the newspaper the company “explored developing a location in Las Vegas” in 2020 and 2021 but that “the deal didn’t come to fruition.”
3. Hospitality employers see labor market stabilizing
Hoteliers expect a more favorable labor environment this year but are aware that could change, reports CoStar News Hotels' Sean McCracken.
Greg Presnol, vice president of operations for third-party operator Palette Hotels, said in almost every way, 2025 is on track to be a better year than the past few.
"Indicators suggest conditions might be stabilizing after several years of having volatility," he said. "Although the challenges still remain for us, particularly in hospitality and certainly other service-driven sectors, we're seeing more of a balanced hiring at this point compared to the last few years."
4. Bank earnings paint worrying picture
Several of the largest banks in the U.S. have reported earnings that came in below what analysts expected, the New York Times reports. JPMorgan Chase is dealing with a delayed merger while Citi is dealing with "stubborn expenses," and Bank of America faces questions over artificial intelligence tools.
Banking executives also confronted questions about President Donald Trump's proposition of capping credit card interest rates at 10%. Unsurprisingly, none of the executives were supportive of the idea.
“It would obviously be bad for us,” said Jeremy Barnum, JPMorgan’s chief financial officer.
5. UK economy grew more than expected in November
The United Kingdom's economy grew by 0.3% in November, beating expectations and turning around a 0.1% decrease in October, the Wall Street Journal reports. An increase of 1.1% in industrial production compared to the previous month was the main driver.
“These figures confirm an unexpectedly upbeat November for the economy, as most sectors seemingly shrugged off pre-budget uncertainty, though were flattered somewhat by the uplift to manufacturing from Jaguar Land Rover’s return to production,” said Suren Thiru, economics director at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.