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1. US adds more jobs than expected in September
U.S. employers added 119,000 jobs in September, according to the Labor Department, well above prior expectations of 50,000 jobs added in the month, the Associated Press reports. The unemployment rate increased to 4.4% from 4.3% in August.
The Labor Department said on Wednesday that it won't be releasing job numbers for the month of October due to insufficient staffing during the 43-day government shutdown.
2. Air travel to stabilize by Thanksgiving
The government shutdown had a large impact on air travel in the U.S., forcing cancellations and cutbacks of flights as air traffic controllers awaited getting paid once again. With the conclusion of the shutdown last week, the expectation is that the U.S. travel system should stabilize by Thanksgiving, the BBC reports.
There's expected to be about 82 million Americans traveling at least 50 miles from home for Thanksgiving, according to data from AAA.
Erik Hansen, vice president of government relations for the U.S. Travel Association, said operations should be close to normal in short order.
"We expect it to take a few days to get back to [normal for our] air travel system," he said. "But by the time we get to Thanksgiving, I think our system will be just as functional as it always is."
3. Hotel companies differ in outlook expectations
Publicly traded hotel companies were mixed across the board when it came to either lowering or raising their outlook expectations during third-quarter earnings calls, CoStar News reports. Most executives are in agreement, however, that there's uncertainty around the economy that will persist into next year.
"With ongoing economic uncertainty, we expect global RevPAR to increase 1% to 2% in the fourth quarter," said Leeny Oberg, chief financial officer and executive vice president of development at Marriott International. "As we look ahead to next year, while we're still working on our budget, our preliminary view is that 2026 year-over-year global RevPAR growth could be similar to the 1.5% to 2.5% growth expected this year. Growth is expected to a gain internationally than in the U.S. and Canada. And next summer's World Cup could contribute around 30 to 35 basis points to full-year global RevPAR growth."
4. Famous cabin hotel in Quebec to be sold
The Fairmont Le Chateau Montebello — a famous log-cabin hotel in Quebec — will be put up for sale after its owner, the defaulted Evergrande Group, failed to make payments on its debt, Bloomberg reports. Accor manages the 210-room hotel.
The 95-year-old property will remain open during the sale process, the news outlet reports. The hotel bills itself as the world's largest log cabin and opened as a private club during the Great Depression.
5. UK hotel ads banned for false prices
Advertisements from four U.K. hotel and travel firms have been banned due to promoting misleading minimum prices on hotel rooms, the BBC reports. The Advertising Standards Authority cracked down on ads from Hilton, Travelodge, Booking.com and Accor for listing such prices.
"Advertised prices must match what's really available. If only a few rooms are actually offered at the price shown, or it only applies to a specific date, then this information must be made clear to avoid misleading people," said Emily Henwood, operations manager at the ASA. "People should be able to trust the prices they see in ads and these rulings show that we will take action if the rules are broken."