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1. More Job Vacancies Than Unemployed in UK
In latest numbers from the United Kingdom, the nation’s unemployment rate for the first three months of 2022 fell 0.3% to 3.7%, a rate that for the first time since official records began signifies fewer unemployed people than job vacancies, according to the government’s official statistician, the Office for National Statistics.
Darren Morgan, ONS’s director of economic statistics production and analysis, voiced a caveat, stating “total employment, while up on the quarter, remains below its pre-pandemic level," newspaper The Independent reports. "Since the start of the pandemic, around half a million more people have completely disengaged from the labor market.”
In an accompanying tweet, the ONS said after taking inflation into account, average U.K. pay including bonuses rose 1.4% between January and March.
2. Union Urges Guests To Request Daily Room Cleaning
U.S. hospitality and hotel union Unite Here has launched a campaign to encourage hotel guests to request daily hotel cleaning to help save jobs in the industry. It said hotel firms have used crises before to cut jobs and that “the end of daily room cleaning in U.S. hotels would eliminate as many as 180,000 jobs.”
Reporting on the campaign, The Wall Street Journal notes the union believes cleaning rooms only between stays adds more stress and leads to dirtier and harder to clean rooms. The article also referenced findings from The American Hotel & Lodging Association that added “many guests don’t want that service every day.”
3. Chatham Lodging Closes on Four-Asset Hotel Sale
West Palm Beach-based real estate investment trust Chatham Lodging Trust announced the closing of four hotel sales consisting of 537 rooms for a sum of approximately $80 million. The assets are the 180-room Hilton Garden Inn in Burlington, Massachusetts; the 137-room Homewood Suites by Hilton Dallas Market Center; the 120-room Residence Inn by Marriott Houston West University; and the 100-room Courtyard by Marriott Houston West University, according to a news release.
The REIT said that “including near-term capital expenditure requirements, the aggregate sales proceeds would equate to an approximate 2% and 6% capitalization rate on net operating income for 2021 and 2019, respectively." The REIT now has 39 hotel assets with 5,914 rooms. According to CoStar, buyers included Arbor Lodging Partners and National Property Advisors.
4. Absence of International Travelers Alters Caribbean Hotel Operations
Hoteliers in the Caribbean, heavily dependent on international visitors, have had to fundamentally change how they operate their hotels, with labor, brand standards, sustainability and addressing guest needs topping the list of concerns, writes Hotel News Now's Bryan Wroten.
Hoteliers speaking at the Caribbean Hotel & Resort Investment Summit said hoteliers have had to be very flexible. Eileen Kett, Club Med’s senior vice president of development for the Americas and general counsel, said wages are being driven up more by cost of living in the region then competition between employers.
Javier Coll, group president of global business development for Apple Leisure Group, added “chains are coming to the market, building new hotels or rebranding [European plan] hotels into all-inclusives, and that requires more staff.”
5. Australia Raises Interest Rates For First Time in Decade
The Reserve Bank of Australia, the country’s central bank, has raised interest rates for the first time in a decade, according to the BBC. Philip Lowe, the bank’s governor, stated lifting the cash rate to 0.35% on May 17 is intended to counteract inflation, which he said is at a 21-year high,
The BBC reports the rate increase is controversial due to Australia hosting national elections on May 21. The news agency added “the last time rates rose during an election campaign was in 2007, when it was widely seen to negatively impact [prime minister] John Howard before he lost government.”