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1. LA Hotel Reaches Union Deal as 62 Others Face Possible Strike
Just days ahead a potential hotel worker strike that would be the largest in U.S. history, the Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites in downtown Los Angeles has reached a tentative deal with its employees, the Los Angeles Times reports. The contracts are set to expire at midnight tonight for more than 15,000 union employees at 62 hotels in Los Angeles and Orange County hotels.
The proposed deal includes higher pay and benefits for the hotel’s union workers, setting a standard for other hotels in the city.
“It is the first domino to fall, but it is a big domino. We applaud the Bonaventure for putting the workers and the city first,” said Kurt Petersen, co-president of Unite Here Local 11. “This is the best contract ever for hotel workers in Los Angeles and sets a standard for workers in this city. There is still work to do, but it takes steps as we head towards the World Cup and Olympics.”
2. Flight Disruptions Threaten Holiday Travel
The number of people traveling this weekend for the July Fourth holiday is expected to top pre-pandemic numbers, but the spate of flight disruptions this week have many worrying whether the airlines can handle the demand, Reuters reports. Flight-tracking service FlightAware reports there were about 43,000 delays and 7,700 cancellations between June 24 and June 29.
United Airlines had the most, with about 19% of its flights canceled and 47% delayed, the news agency reports. By Thursday, United still canceled about 18% of its flights.
"It's all-hands-on-deck as our pilots get aircraft moving, contact center teams work overtime to take care of our customers, and our airport customer service staff works tirelessly to deliver bags and board flights," United said in a statement.
3. High-End Hotels Seek To Differentiate Themselves
As the luxury and ultra-luxury hotel segments have recovered from the pandemic, hoteliers in these spaces are working to differentiate their offerings from upper-upscale accommodations, reports HNN’s Dana Miller.
In a panel discussion at the 2023 NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference, Homi Vazifdar, founder and executive director of The Canyon Group, said the transition from pure luxury to experiential luxury drove his time to add ultra-luxury tented camps and lodges to capture high average daily rates and occupancies.
“That’s our mantra for the next few years,” he said.
4. US Weekly Hotel Performance for the Week Ending June 24
U.S. hotel performance for the week ending June 24 remained mostly flat compared to the previous week, according to data from STR, CoStar’s hospitality analytics firm. In a year-over-year comparison, results for the week were mixed.
Occupancy dropped by 1% to 71.4% while average daily rate increased by 0.9% to $159. As a result, revenue per available room dipped by 0.1% to $113.58.
Among the top 25 markets, Minneapolis reported the highest increases across all three metrics. Occupancy grew by 9.1% to 74.5% while ADR jumped 20.2% to $158.08, combining for RevPAR growth of 31.1% to $117.80. Taylor Swift’s "Eras Tour" was the main driver of those increases.
5. US Consumer Spending Grew Slightly in May
The U.S. Department of Commerce reports consumer spending grew by 0.1% in May from the prior month compared to a revised 0.6% increase in April, according to the Wall Street Journal. American consumers spent more on healthcare and air travel while decreasing their spending on goods.
“Consumers are downshifting but still doing reasonably well,” said Joseph LaVorgna, chief economist at SMBC Nikko Securities.