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1. University of California buys Berkeley hotel for $175.8 million
UC Investments, the investment unit of the University of California, bought the 331-room Residence Inn by Marriott Berkeley for $175.8 million from Pyramid Global Hospitality. Bay Area News Group reports that the hotel was appraised at $218 million back in 2023 when it received a $120 million financing package.
“UC Investments got a very good deal for this hotel,” said Alan Reay, president of Atlas Hospitality Group.
According to CoStar data, this is the first time the hotel has changed hands since being built in 2021.
2. Slowdown in hiring could lead to additional rate cuts
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Tuesday that the sharp slowdown in hiring in the U.S. is a growing risk to the economy, which implies the Fed will likely look to cut interest rates again this year, the Associated Press reports.
"The outlook for employment and inflation does not appear to have changed much since our September meeting," Powell said. The Fed cut interest rates for the first time this year at that September meeting.
There's an expectation that the Fed will cut rates twice more this year and once next year, the AP reports.
3. Langham Hospitality Group shifts focus to management deals
The next growth phase of Langham Hospitality Group will be geared toward hotel management deals rather than ownership, CEO Bob van den Oord said in an interview with CoStar News' Terence Baker. He said the company, which owns 65% of the properties in the Langham brand, needs to be more asset-light moving forward.
"There are only so many places you can build and command the right [average daily] rate for the required return on investment,” van den Oord said.
4. Trump threatens pulling World Cup from Boston
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to move Boston's World Cup matches away from the city next year due to parts of the city being "taken over" by unrest, the Associated Press reports.
The news outlet reports that the decision really isn't up to Trump — World Cup sites are contracted by FIFA, and there would be a lengthy legal process and logistical hurdles to moving the event eight months out from its start. Boston's Mayor Michelle Wu response indicates there isn't much fear in this playing out.
“Boston is honored and excited to host World Cup matches, and we look forward to welcoming fans from around the world to our beautiful city, the cradle of liberty and city of champions," she said in a statement.
5. MGM Resorts drops casino bid in New York
MGM Resorts International withdrew its $2.3 billion bid for a state casino license in the New York suburb of Yonkers, citing its expected return on investment had changed, CoStar News' Andria Cheng reports.
“Since submitting our application in June, the competitive and economic assumptions underpinning our application have shifted, altering our return expectations on the proposed $2.3 billion investment,” MGM said. “The newly defined competitive landscape — with four proposals clustered in a small geographic area — challenges the returns we initially anticipated from this project.”
MGM's bid was centered on transforming the Empire City Casino in Yonkers into a commercial casino and entertainment destination, Cheng reports. In September, a five-person committee appointed by elected officials voted 5-0 in favor of MGM's bid.