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1. Ukraine Invasion Expected To Further Increase Inflation
The Organization for Economic Development has said that the invasion of Ukraine likely will dampen global economic growth by more than one percentage point and increase inflation by a further “2.5 percentage points on aggregate across the world,” according to a news release.
The organization said the reasons for this were quite simple, with Ukraine and Russia accounting for approximately a third of all wheat exports and being important producers of fertilizers and metals used in industry. It added that with “Russia supplying around 16% of the world’s natural gas and 11% of oil, energy prices have jumped alarmingly.”
2. Ukrainian Hoteliers Send Second Appeal For Companies To Exit Russia
Following a letter on March 18, Ukrainian hoteliers have sent out a second appeal to the top executives of Western hotel firms urging them to exit operations in Russia in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The presidents of both the Ukrainian Hotel & Resort Association and State Agency for Tourism Development in Ukraine are signatories to this second letter.
The letter states that “since the start of this campaign, none of the hotel operators has changed their stance and is adamant they will continue operating in Russia. In contrast, the Russian missiles continue to rain down on peaceful Ukrainian citizens. … It is because the hotels have little or no asset position that it should be more accessible, not more challenging, to exit Russia, and we reject the claim that [hotel firms] are in line with actions taken by other industries.”
3. Rooftop Pools Drive Demand, Extra Revenue Stream for Hotels
As travel demand heats up, guests increasingly are looking to cool down in rooftop pools, and more emphasis on outdoors spaces means hoteliers are finding ways to increase revenue in the summer and shoulder seasons. For some markets, that might also include winter, writes Hotel News Now’s Dana Miller.
Sandra Grisham, general manager of the Alaia Belize Autograph Collection, on the island of Ambergris Caye, Belize, said of her rooftop pool that “the developer was smart in that he didn’t just make it a pool but he made it a destination. When you're on our rooftop, you see things you would not normally see unless you were on an airplane. That has really brought a lot of revenue. We thought at first it would just be a daytime event, but it's turned into a nighttime event, [too]. We see people having private dinners on the north and south sides [of the] rooftop.”
4. Biden Sets Out Anti-Inflation Legislation Tackling Shipping Costs
U.S. President Joe Biden is seeking to push through legislation that he believes will tackle inflation caused by shipping companies raising prices. The legislation, which according to the New York Times has bipartisan support, will be aimed at a “handful of foreign-owned ocean carriers.”
The newspaper said that the “price to transport a container from China to the West Coast of the United States costs 12 times as much as it did two years ago, while the time it takes a container to make that journey has nearly doubled.” The legislation hopes to increase competition within the shipping sector, and additional regulations will grant more power to the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission.
5. New York City’s Legendary Chelsea Hotel Begins Soft Re-Opening
New York City’s Chelsea Hotel — which for most of its colorful history has been residences, rather than hotel rooms — has begun to accept bookings for two floors as it seeks to reopen in full in September, according to The New York Post. In its more legendary periods, the hotel on West 23rd Street was home to such luminaries as Patti Smith, Dylan Thomas, Quintin Crisp, Robert Mapplethorpe and William S. Burroughs.
Closed for the past 11 years, the 12-floor property was bought for $250 million in 2016 by BD Hotels. Its repositioning will be as a luxury hotel of 155 rooms and several floors of residences.