Editor's Note: Some linked articles may be behind subscription paywalls.
1. Delayed US jobs report shows mixed results for October, November
The job market in the United States continues to cool, according to a delayed report from the Labor Department that published Tuesday. NPR reported that only 64,000 jobs were added in November, and the unemployment rate is the highest its been in four years, reportedly rising to 4.6% from 4.4% in September.
The report included information for October as well, which saw a net loss of 105,000 jobs in the U.S. The decline in October was due in part to a drop in the federal workforce, "as 162,000 government workers who'd taken buyouts earlier in the year were officially dropped from the payrolls," per the NPR article.
2. Aparthotels company Kasa's CEO on Sonder 'hiccup'
Following the flurry of headlines about aparthotels company Sonder's collapse, CoStar News' Bryan Wroten spoke with Roman Pedan, founder and CEO of Kasa, another aparthotels operator, who said that the fallout won't have a major effect on the aparthotel space.
“Yes, there was one hiccup that they experienced, but that hiccup probably wasn’t widely known, people weren’t widely aware of it,” Pedan said. “It made a big splash in the industry, but for the average consumer, I would be surprised if it reached their radar.”
With 85 locations across the U.S., Kasa manages both hotel and apartment hotel spaces for travelers. Prior to Sonder’s bankruptcy, Kasa was the second-largest aparthotel company in the segment.
3. Park-Equities sells three hotels to be converted into extended-stay housing
Park-Equities has completed the sale of three hotels in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to an unnamed buyer for an unknown amount in an all-cash deal, the company revealed in a news release.
The three hotels — located at 11314 Boardwalk Dr., 9901 Gwenadele Ave. and 7682 Airline Highway — were acquired to be repositioned as extended-stay, "no-hassle" housing units that are "fit for individuals and families seeking housing without the commitment of long-term leases," per the news release. Renovations on the properties will begin immediately.
According to the release, Park-Equities and the buyer on the transaction are seeking similar hotel properties in in the Midwest, South, or Southeast regions of the U.S. for a similar transaction.
4. First Park Hyatt opens in Mexico
Hyatt has opened its first Park Hyatt-branded hotel in Mexico. The Park Hyatt Cabo del Sol, which opened in partnership with RLH Properties, extends the brand's footprint to Baja California.
The luxury hotel has 163 guestrooms and 88 suites and 34,500 square feet of indoor-outdoor meeting and event spaces. There are three restaurant concepts on property, with a fourth expected to open in the spring. The hotel will open a 59,000-square-foot fitness and wellness center, which Hyatt boasts is one of the largest in the region, in the first quarter of 2026.
5. Connecticut attracts visitors for new Hallmark Christmas movie tour
Calling all Hallmark Christmas movie lovers — there's a new tour showing off small-town Connecticut, which is the setting of 22 Christmas movies on the Hallmark channel. The Associated Press reported on the weeklong “Hallmark Movie Christmas Tour,” which was organized by Mayfield Tours from Spartanburg, South Carolina, and was based on the state's tourism department's “Connecticut Christmas Movie Trail” map.
The sold-out tour hosted 53 fans who watched the corresponding movies on the bus on their multi-state excursion.