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Hawaii Tourism Authority and Hawaii Gov. Josh Green are encouraging visitors to avoid traveling to West Maui, including Lahaina, Napili, Kaanapali and Kapalua, but expressed the importance of supporting other parts of Maui and neighboring islands, Maui Now reports.

As of now, residents and authorized emergency relief workers are welcome to come to West Maui. Green issued a sixth emergency proclamation on Aug. 19, stating all nonessential travel to West Maui is strongly discouraged through Oct. 17 is still in effect.

“But all of the other areas of Maui…and the rest of Hawai‘i are safe,” Green said. “When you come, you will support our local economy and help speed the recovery of the people that are suffering right now.”

Lawmakers in California are bringing back legislation that would authorize workers on strike, including hotel staffers, to collect unemployment benefits, the Los Angeles Times reports.

An early version of Senate Bill 799 shows workers could collect unemployment benefits after they're on strike for two weeks. Striking union workers aren't qualified to collect those benefits in most states.

“Even coming out of the strike, when folks eventually get a contract that they agree on, their families have suffered during this time,” said Sen. Anthony Portantino, who wrote the bill.

While resort fees, amenity fees or "hidden fees," have caused dissatisfaction among some consumers due to lack of transparency, hoteliers don't plan to get rid of them just yet as its a profitable revenue stream. Instead, they are increasing communication about the fees so guests know what they are getting into, reports Hotel News Now's Dana Miller.

"That's where a lot of issues have come in the past or where the complaints come from, is that they're ultimately finding it out in the end. The more that we can [make it transparent to them] on the website, in the booking engine, in your transnational emails," Jason Pirock, head of marketing at Springboard Hospitality. "If you set those expectations up front ... I'm not going to say they're going to be happy at the end of the day, but at least they're knowing what they're getting into."

Though the past two years have resulted in rapid pay increases for workers in retail, hospitality and other low-wage industries, the New York Times reports that the minimum wage has increasingly become meaningless.

"Nationally, only about 68,000 people on average earned the federal minimum wage in the first seven months of 2023, according to a New York Times analysis of government data. That is less than one of every 1,000 hourly workers. Walmart, once noted for its rock-bottom wages, pays workers at least $14 an hour, even where it can legally pay roughly half that," the news outlet reports.

When the labor market cools, many are worried that in inflation-adjusted terms, the federal minimum wage could "be worth less than at any time since 1949." Workers in some states could then struggle to maintain their recent wage gains if employers regain leverage.

Recent data from The Highland Group, which provides consulting services to hoteliers, shows that boutique hotels overall increased in all performance indicators through June 2023 in comparison to 2022.

"The lifestyle segment averaged the largest increases in performance, while soft brands reported a 5-percentage point premium in [revenue per available room] recovery compared to the same class of U.S. hotels. Luxury class boutiques continue to perform strongly; however, rate growth has stabilized, similar to all U.S. luxury hotels during this period. Boutique hotel development is clearly following an upward trend with a 29% annual increase in the pipeline of new rooms projected through 2027," a news release states.

Kim Bardoul, partner at The Highland Group, said interest in development of boutique hotels is justified by its strong performance.

Read more news on Hotel News Now.