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1. LA wildfires continue to spread, kill 5
The wildfires around the Los Angeles area have damaged or destroyed more than 2,000 homes, businesses and other buildings and killed at least five people, the Los Angeles Times reports. In addition to the earlier Palisades, Eaton and Hurst fires, a fourth fire started in the Hollywood Hills area Wednesday evening.
Operating hotels in the region have been taking in evacuees, who number at least 130,000. The Hotel Association of Los Angeles provided a list to the LA Times of hotels able to take in displaced residents, often at discounted rates.
2. Highgate sued over data breach
Hotel management company Highgate Hotels is the subject of a class action lawsuit regarding a data breach of the employee email system, Bloomberg Law reports. The lawsuit filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York alleges the company committed negligence by not protecting employees' data and that it "failed to even encrypt or redact this highly sensitive data."
According to a data breach notification filed with the Maine Attorney General's office, Highgate became aware of unusual activity in its network on March 26, 2024. The company took containment measures, started an investigation and brought on a cybersecurity firm for assistance. The attacker acquired files on Highgate's network as well as accessed certain employee email accounts prior to Dec. 28, 2023, and on certain dates until April 4, 2024.
3. Singapore sees wave of new hotel development
New hotels are opening and in the works in Singapore thanks to an increase in tourism demand, writes HNN contributor Selena Oh. Existing hotels are getting updates to keep up with the new competition.
In 2023, Singapore welcomed 13.6 million tourists. Average daily rate reached 324.34 Singapore dollars ($237.09) in full-year 2023, and revenue per available room reached 245.19 Singapore dollars, according to CoStar hospitality data. Year-to-date data through November 2024 shows ADR was 321.76 Singapore dollars and RevPAR was 251.80 Singapore dollars.
Last year, some of the major hotel openings included the 989-room Mercure ICON Singapore City Center; the 48-room 21 Carpenter; the 250-room Citadines Science Park Singapore, and the 143-room The Standard, Singapore.
4. Vail Resorts reaches tentative deal with ski patrol union
After a weekslong strike that resulted in closed trails and long lines at the ski lift, Vail Resorts has reached a tentative agreement with the ski patrol union at Park City Mountain Resort in Utah, the Associated Press reports. Neither side released details about the deal.
The Park City Professional Ski Patrollers had sought a $2 increase to bring the hourly wage up to $23, arguing that $27 an hour was a livable wage in the city, the AP reports. Vail Resorts had previously said it was generous with the union in past years, raising base pay from $13 to $21 an hour in 2022.
The ski patrollers monitor terrain, respond to accidents, move injured skiers and reduce the risk of avalanches on the slopes.
5. US weekly jobless claims drops by 10,000
The U.S. Department of Labor reports that initial jobless claims for the week ending Jan. 4 dropped by 10,000 to 201,000, according to the Associated Press. This is the lowest level of initial claims since February 2024.
The four-week average of claims, which helps reduce volatility, fell by 10,250 to 213,000. The total number of people receiving unemployment benefits for the week ending Dec. 28 was 1.87 million, an increase of 33,000.