Editor's Note: Some linked articles may be behind subscription paywalls.

Mark Elliott, president of Hodges Ward Elliott, died unexpectedly June 12, according to a statement from Hodges Ward Elliott. Elliott joined HWE in 1983 and since then has personally sold and/or financed nearly 1,500 hotels, approximately 297,000 rooms, with a dollar volume of approximately $52 billion.

A past co-chairman of the Industry Real Estate Finance Advisory Council, Elliott is a past recipient of the Jack A. Shaffer Financial Advisor of the Year award and the C. Everett Johnson award.

“One of the truly good guys in hospitality has passed away,” wrote AHLA President and CEO Chip Rogers on LinkedIn. “Mark Elliott touched the lives of so many in our industry. He was always funny and forever gracious. He leaves us far too soon and will be sorely missed.”

CEO of Noble Investment Group Mit Shah said in a comment on HWE's LinkedIn post that "Mark represented everything good about humanity. He was always present. Father. Husband. Brother. Friend. We have lost an icon. May God rest his beautiful soul."

See the HWE LinkedIn post for more information and tributes.

Retail spending declined 1.3% last month as consumers spent more on services rather than goods, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The Department of Commerce reported that consumers cut spending on furniture, electronics and building materials and spent more at restaurants as more people become vaccinated and restrictions were relaxed.

"Spending, in part driven by government stimulus, has helped propel the broader U.S. economy, which grew at a 6.4% annual rate in the first quarter. Economists project that by the end of this year gross domestic product will reach the path it was projected to follow had the pandemic never happened—and then exceed it, at least temporarily," the news outlet reports.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's plan to do away with all coronavirus restrictions on June 21 has been postponed by four weeks due to a spike in cases and a highly transmissible new variant of the virus going around, The New York Times reports.

Restaurants are open but will have to continue to enforce social distancing rules indoors and limit capacity. Theaters and nightclubs will remain closed.

The limit on people attending weddings in England is being lifted, however. As reported by The Guardian, new regulations now say weddings with more than 30 people can take place after June 21 as long as social distancing measures are in place.

New cases in Britain are averaging approximately 8,000 a day and "are doubling every week in the worst affected areas," according to The New York Times.

Commercial PACE lending, which is a lending platform designed to fund investments in renewable energy and energy-efficient improvements, has helped hotel owners and developers during the pandemic, HNN's Bryan Wroten writes.

PACE lending is appealing to borrowers because it's a self-assessment that is similar to a tax improvement district, but the owner imposes a long-term tax agreement on the property for up to 30 years, said Jim Butler, partner at Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell and chairman of the law firm’s global hospitality group.

"It’s a non-recourse loan, and interest rates are typically low at about 5% to 6% because of its high security. Rather than the owner holding the debt, the loan remains with the property even following a transaction," Wroten writes.

With more people looking to plan vacations closer to home because of the pandemic, hotels in Florida are coming up with creative offerings and experiences to attract vacationers this summer, according to The Palm Beach Post.

The W Fort Lauderdale is offering private in-room concerts to guests through an entertainment partnership. Guests choose a keyboardist, saxophonist or acoustic guitar player to come to their room to perform.

The Ben West Palm, an Autograph Collection Hotel, has a Book Butler that brings "books to guest rooms from a specially curated in-room menu." The hotel also offers Book Bites, or prepared small plates for guests to enjoy while reading, the news outlet reports.