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1. Fed Officials Want More Evidence Inflation is Cooling
Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari said he wants to see "many more months of positive inflation data" before the Federal Reserve cuts rates, and he kept the door open on additional rate increases, CNBC reports.
“I’m not seeing the need to hurry and do rate cuts. I think we should take our time and get it right,” he told the news outlet while stressing he is confident the U.S. will get back to a 2% inflation rate.
The Fed is no longer expected to be the first major central bank to cut rates, with the European Central Bank and the Bank of England now expected to cut rates first.
2. Hotel Companies, Airlines Fret Over EU-Forced Google Changes
Prominent European travel companies are lobbying the European Union against how the Digital Markets Act affects Google — and five large tech companies — over concerns changes could hurt their revenues, Reuters reports.
Groups lobbying against the changes include Air France KLM, British Airways owner IAG, hotel group Hotrec, European Hotel Forum, EuroCommerce, Ecommerce Europe and Independent Retail Europe.
"Initial observations indicate that these changes risk severely depleting direct sales revenues of companies by giving more prominence to powerful online intermediaries due to the preferential treatment they would receive," a joint letter said.
3. How AI Affects Hotel Marketing
The latest episode of the Next Gen in Lodging podcast focuses on how artificial intelligence is affecting marketing in the hotel industry, with Springboard Hospitality's Jason Pirock noting it helps boost efficiency.
"I say that because ... it's been around for a long time. Whether [it's] machine-learning versus AI — it's been called a lot of different things. Obviously, it's had its resurgence more recently, but I ultimately look at it as support. I look at it as an extension of what you do in order to be more productive, maybe more efficient," he said.
4. British Airports Brace For EU Travel Rule Changes
New systems requiring biometric information for British travelers to head into the European Union through crossing points of the English Channel are expected to be in place this October, despite concerns that they might spur travel chaos in the short term, the BBC reports.
Doug Bannister, chief executive for the Port of Dover, said the changes are aimed to "minimize dwell times, queues and of course congestion out on the road network and throughout the town."
5. Inflation Not Expected To Stop Summer Travel
A report on Investopedia citing Morning Consult research notes increased costs from inflation will not be enough to discourage travelers this summer.
“People are kind of gritting their teeth and making the purchases because summer is coming and people want to travel in summer,” said Lindsey Roeschke, a travel and hospitality analyst at Morning Consult. “So it's easier to make those trade-offs and to say, ‘Oh, I guess I'm not going to take that trip [during] spring break and I can just save more money and then travel over the summer.’”