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1. Signs of hope emerge for interest rate cuts
While the Federal Reserve has been slower to cut rates than many investors have hoped, there are now signs that cuts could come sooner rather than later. CNBC reports at least one Fed governor is publicly calling for a rate cut in July.
“Should inflation pressures remain contained, I would support lowering the policy rate as soon as our next meeting in order to bring it closer to its neutral setting and to sustain a healthy labor market,” Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman said Monday. “In the meantime, I will continue to carefully monitor economic conditions as the administration’s policies, the economy, and financial markets continue to evolve.”
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell speaks to Congress today about monetary policy and is likely to face pressure on rate cuts from politicians aligned with President Donald Trump.
2. Hoteliers push back on Los Angeles minimum wage hikes
Los Angeles remains a battleground between hotel executives and employees as the city faces a new $30-an-hour minimum wage ahead of several major events, including the World Cup, Super Bowl and Olympics, the Wall Street Journal Reports.
The minimum wage legislation, approved last month, makes hotels with 60 rooms or more pay workers the $30 rate by 2028. Hotel investors say it has had a chilling affect on the market.
“We would love to sell” our L.A. hotels, Pebblebrook Hotel Trust CEO Jon Bortz told the newspaper. “But nobody will buy them.”
Pebblebrook owns two hotels in the city and seven more in the surrounding area.
3. Why the Springboard-Hotel Equities merger is unique
In early May, Springboard Hospitality and Hotel Equities officials announced a merger of the two hotel operators, and Ben Rafter, CEO of the combined company, says the deal is unlike other industry mergers and acquisitions.
"What made it interesting was most mergers are the big company sort of subsuming the little company," he said in a video interview at the 2025 NYU International Hospitality Investment Forum. "And when we met — Hotel Equities and Springboard — we thought that the two companies were very complementary. So unlike synergies and reduction, we're merging the two to grow. You have Springboard's commercial capabilities, [revenue generation], marketing, content creation sitting on top of a much bigger platform now with Hotel Equities and their traditional revenue-management strength and brand-flag strength."
4. International travelers use ceasefire to leave Israel
A potentially tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Iran has given many foreign nationals a window to leave Israel, Reuters reports, as travel across the Middle East has been disrupted by the conflict.
The news agency described an organized effort to get travelers out of the country including "two large groups of Canadians and Australians gathered at a hotel in Tel Aviv, the former to board a bus to Jordan and the latter a flight to Dubai."
The broader economic impacts of the conflict still remain uncertain. The Wall Street Journal reports American oil drillers are taking a cautious approach to potential energy disruptions.
5. Migrant shelter at New York's Roosevelt Hotel closes
The historic Roosevelt Hotel is officially turning the page on its era as a migrant shelter today, New York's WABC reports. Roughly 75% of the more than 232,000 migrants that have come to New York City have gone through the shelter since it opened in 2023.
The next steps for the former hotel are still unknown. It initially opened in 1924, but has not operated as a hotel since closing during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.