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1. Concerns rise over possibility of CBP withdrawal from US airports
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has confirmed he is considering whether to pull U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers from airports in "sanctuary cities," a potential problem for international flights, the Associated Press reports.
“U.S. Travel believes such a move would have devastating consequences for the travel industry and communities that depend on international visitation,” the U.S. Travel Association said in a statement.
There are few details available at this point, including which airports might be considered. However, the U.S. Department of Justice published a list last year of states, cities and counties considered sanctuary jurisdictions.
2. Philippines hotel collapse leaves 4 dead, 17 missing
A hotel under construction in Angeles City, Philippines, collapsed Monday, killing four people and injuring another 17, the AP reports. Rescue efforts are ongoing, but there's risk of further collapse.
Two of those killed were construction workers. A third was a tourist staying in a neighboring budget inn trapped by falling debris while the fourth person remains unidentified. Most of the 17 injured were construction workers. Twenty-six workers were able to escape the collapse or were rescued.
The federal government plans an investigation into the cause of the hotel's collapse and will determine if there were any violations of safety and building regulations.
3. Sports tourism to drive US summer demand, Expedia says
The upcoming FIFA World Cup games in North America and other sports events this summer are expected to be a major driver of travel demand and travel spend, according to Expedia Group and PredictHQ. In a podcast interview with CoStar News Hotels' Natalie Harms, Expedia Vice President of Marketing for Travel Partners and Advertisers Brandon Ehrhardt said his company's recent report with PredictHQ projects total travel spend from the upcoming matches will generate more than $8.1 billion in travel spend.
The hotel industry's slice of the pie works out to about $4.8 billion, he said.
"What this is going to do is create an opportunity for a lot of hoteliers who may not think of themselves as the ground zero for World Cup lodging accommodations to win additional traffic because we see people coming, staying for longer ... willing to explore outside of that city," Ehrhardt said.
4. Delta staffs up to avoid more canceled flights
For years, Delta Air Lines has topped airline industry reliability rankings. Now, in an effort to lower its domestic flight cancellation rate, Delta has been upping its hiring of pilots and operations teams ahead of the busy summer season, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Delta has seen its domestic flight cancellation rate increase above the industry average this year, the newspaper reports. The issue appears seems to be the airline struggles to recover from problems with air traffic control or bad weather, such as when it had to cancel hundreds of flights after minor weather issues in early May.
"The airline has stepped up pilot hiring and is keeping more pilots available to fly on short notice," the newspaper reports. "It is also staffing up the teams that schedule and keep track of crews, to help avoid situations where pilots and flight attendants can’t reach anyone to confirm their schedules."
5. Teen summer job market worst since 1948
The job market for U.S. teams this summer looks to be the worst in decades, according to a new report based on federal government data from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The Wall Street Journal reports that one of the main reasons for the lack of summer jobs this year is employers in the entertainment and leisure industries intend to fill 70% fewer roles than in 2025.
“The collapse in entertainment and leisure hiring announcements is one of the clearest signals we have,” said Andy Challenger, senior vice president of sales at the firm. “That is exactly the kind of work teens depend on.”
The report projects a total of 790,000 jobs for teens in May, June and July, which would be the lowest summer-hiring total since 1948 when the federal government started tracking this statistic. In 2025, teen jobs dropped by 25% year over year to 801,000.
“Last summer was the weakest summer for teen hiring we have ever recorded. What is striking is that it happened without a recession,” Challenger said.