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1. Trump travel ban goes into effect
An order from U.S. President Donald Trump banning citizens from 12 countries entry to the United States goes into effect on Monday, Reuters reports. Trump said the move will protect the country from "foreign terrorists."
The countries included in the travel ban are: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. There will be entry restrictions on an additional seven countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
According to Reuters, officials and residents from the affected countries "expressed dismay and disbelief" at the edict. Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna called the ban "draconian and unconstitutional."
2. China's exports to US at lowest level since 2020
Chinese shipments to the United States were down 35% year over year in May, the biggest percentage decline since COVID-19 affected shipments in February 2020, the Wall Street Journal reports. This comes after the U.S. and China agreed to significantly decrease the level of tariffs imposed on one another on May 12.
China's exports increased elsewhere, however, growing 4.8% year over year. According to the Associated Press, exports were up 14.8% to Southeast Asia and 12% to the European Union.
“The acceleration of exports to other economies has helped China’s exports to remain relatively buoyant in the face of the trade war,” Lynn Song, chief economist at ING Economics, said.
3. Hotel brand executives discuss economy, demand picture
Executives from the largest brand companies in the hotel industry spoke about the current macroeconomic environment, how demand is shaping up in 2025, how the new U.S. presidential administration is affecting travel and more during a panel at the NYU International Hospitality Forum, CoStar News Hotels' Natalie Harms reports.
The sentiment among the hotel executives was mostly positive despite most of the companies lowering their full-year guidance during their first-quarter earnings calls.
"In virtually every market that we all operate ... we're seeing good RevPAR growth — it's a combination of both occupancy and average rate, which is really encouraging. We're all seeing really vibrant activity on the growth side of the equation as well, which would suggest that the owner and franchise community fundamentally believe, long term, in the strengths and the fundamentals the industry," said Anthony Capuano, president and CEO of Marriott International.
4. Playa receives Mexican antitrust approval for sale to Hyatt
Playa Hotels & Resorts received approvals relating to anti-competition filings under Ley Federal de Competencia Económica in Mexico in connection to its pending $2.6 billion sale to Hyatt Hotels Corp. According to a Playa news release, "antitrust approval in Mexico was the final regulatory approval required to complete the transaction."
Hyatt's tender offer to acquire Playa for $13.50 per share in cash is set to expire at 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Monday. The news release says that the tendered shares are "expected to be accepted for payment on or about June 11, 2025."
5. Tropical Storm Barbara to become hurricane
Two tropical storms off Mexico's Pacific coast are gaining strength, with one of the storms forecast to become a hurricane later in the day on Monday, the Associated Press reports. Tropical Storm Barbara will reach hurricane strength on Monday, but should begin to weaken by Tuesday, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Swells from Barbara are likely to form life-threatening surf and rip current conditions along the southwestern Mexican Coast, the NHC said. The storm may bring rainfall of 2 to 4 inches to the coastal areas of Guerrero, Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco, and could lead to localized flooding.