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1. Miami Beach hotels, condos are sinking into the ground
According to a study by the University of Miami, there are 35 buildings that have sunk by as much as three inches between 2016 and 2023 in Florida cities Surfside, Bal Harbour, Miami Beach and Sunny Isles, the Miami Herald reports.
Properties include the Surf Club Towers and Faena Hotel, the Porsche Design Tower, The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Trump Tower III and Trump International Beach Resorts. Buildings in northern and central Sunny Isles are sinking at a rate of nearly 70%.
“Almost all the buildings at the coast itself, they’re subsiding,” said Falk Amelung, a geophysicist at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric and Earth Science and the study’s senior author.
2. US manufacturers procure imports ahead of tariffs
North American manufacturers — particularly those from the U.S. — had the highest buying activity in more than a year in November, signaling a demand to procure goods before President-elect Donald Trump potentially imposes new tariffs next year, the Wall Street Journal reports.
HNN's Bryan Wroten reported in early December that hotel procurement executives were recommending that owners should start preparing now for the proposed tariffs. Trump said he wants to impose a 25% tariff on all products coming from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10% on goods from China.
“They do need to plan for the purchasing of goods and, to some extent, services prior to any of these tariffs going into place,” said Neil Flavin, chief operating officer of asset and hotel management at HVS.
3. Concord execs look back on 40 years
Concord Hospitality will reach its 40th year of hotel operations, ownership and development next year. President and CEO Mark Laport said he looks back on the company's growth with pride, since he's been with the company each step of the way, HNN's Sean McCracken reports.
"There was very much an incremental growth strategy," he said. "The good news is our earliest years were successful in a small way, and we simply built upon that. I like to say ours is a success of incrementality. One step at a time. No big portfolio acquisitions, but very much masters of what we like to call the one-off."
4. FTC bans hidden fees
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission passed a rule on Tuesday that will ban hidden fees, Reuters reports. Ticket sellers, hotels and vacation rental sites will need to disclose total prices upfront.
"We all know the experience of encountering a hidden fee at the very last stage of checkout — these junk fees sneak onto your bill and companies end up making you pay more because they can. Those fees add up, taking real money out of the pockets of Americans," President Joe Biden said in a statement.
Hotel News Now reported on hidden fees legislation in August from the Hotel Data Conference.
5. US retail sales higher than expected in November
U.S. retail sales were up 0.7% in November, more than economists' projection of 0.5%, Reuters reports. Retail sales were up 0.5% in October.
Consumer spending is up due to low layoffs and strong wage growth, along with strong household balance sheets and savings, the news outlet reports. The growth in retail sales could be another factor in the Federal Reserve's decision to potentially pause interest rate cuts in January.