Marriott International’s Board of Directors elected David Marriott to the board, according to a news release. As part of his transition to the board, David Marriott will step down at the end of April from his role as president, U.S. full service managed by Marriott.

Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board J.W. Marriott Jr. will transition to the role of chairman emeritus when David Marriott assumes the role of chairman in 2022.

"Like me, David grew up in the hospitality business," J.W. Marriott Jr. said in the release. "While having Marriott as his last name opened the first door for him, he has proven throughout his 21 years with the company that he is a disciplined operator, a thoughtful collaborator with our owners and franchisees, and a passionate steward of our culture. The board will benefit from his experience and insights."

The board of directors also elected Booz Allen Hamilton CEO Horacio Rozanski to the board.

The acquisition of Extended Stay America and its paired-share real estate investment Trust, ESH Hospitality, by Blackstone Real Estate Partners and Starwood Capital Group shows the strength of the extended-stay segment, reports HNN’s Danielle Hess.

"It's been ... a bottom-up recovery because the economy segment of the overall hotel industry has also suffered relatively low revenue loss, but nowhere near as low as economy extended-stay hotels," Mark Skinner, partner at The Highland Group, said. "And as yet, economy extended-stay hotels are the only segment to have recalled positive [revenue per available room] change."

More than 26,200 people traveled to Hawaii for vacation over the last weekend, Hawaii News Now reports. More than 25,000 people participated in the state’s pre-travel testing program, but about 1,000 should be following the state’s quarantine rules.

While the increase in arrivals to the state is positive news for the state’s economy, which depends heavily on tourism, health officials are generally concerned about people letting their guard down when traveling.

“These should be warning signs for all of us — cases climbed last spring, they climbed again in the summer, they will climb now if we stop taking precautions when we continue to get more and more people vaccinated,” said Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, during a White House briefing.

More than 4 million American workers have left the labor force since the start of the pandemic and are not seeking employment because of health issues and economic circumstances, leaving them out of the official unemployment rate, The New York Times reports. If or when they return to the labor force will help determine how the recovery progresses.

The labor participation rate of those 16 or older fell from about 63% to 61% in February 2020, the article states. The rate for those aged 25 to 54 dropped from 83% to 81%.

Research by Wells Fargo found women in their prime working years quit the labor force at nearly twice the rate men did, the newspaper reports. That is partly because more women work in industries less suited for social distancing, such as leisure and hospitality, as well as because they are more likely to be the ones providing child care. The share of Black women who quit is twice that of the share of white men.

Thanks to accumulated savings, coronavirus relief bills and countrywide vaccination efforts, U.S. consumer demand is putting a strain on “the globe-spanning supply chains companies rely on to deliver everything from toys to cars,” The Wall Street Journal reports. There’s concern another increase in demand could disrupt the supply chain more and increase costs again.

Manufacturers reported in a survey that longer delivery times are a universal problem, and February’s global delivery times were the second-longest on record.

“Shortages are pushing prices higher, according to the surveys,” the article states. “Factories reported the sharpest rise in the prices they pay for inputs in almost a decade, and they, in turn, raised the prices they charged.”

Compiled by Bryan Wroten.