Editor's Note: Some linked articles may be behind subscription paywalls.
1. Trump flip-flops on cellphone tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump has exempted certain Chinese tech products, including some mobile phones, from imposed 145% tariffs. But on Sunday, Trump suggested that exemption might be short-lived, according to the BBC. Chinese President Xi Jinping requested the U.S. cancel its tariff policy to China and “return to the right path of mutual respect.”
CNBC reports that Chinese exports to the U.S. in March jumped 9.1% year over year as businesses rushed to get products to market before Trump’s tariffs took effect. China’s exports to countries within the Associations of Southeast Nations jumped by 11.6% in the same period and to Vietnam by 19%.
2. United Arab Emirates hotels experience remarkable performance during Eid al-Fitr
Hoteliers in the United Arab Emirates posted excellent performance metrics during the Eid al-Fitr celebrations that follows the religious observation period of Ramadan, according to data from CoStar’s hotel-analytics division STR. Ajman posted occupancy of 95.8% on March 31 and Ras al Khaimah posted the highest average daily rate of 1,184.36 Emirati dirhams ($322.44) and highest revenue per available room metric of 1,100.43 dirhams, also both on Mar. 31.
“Ramadan occurring earlier in the winter season has helped balance last year’s overperformance due to Catholic Easter coinciding with Ramadan, which drove additional demand,” said Kostas Nikolaidis, senior account manager of Middle East and Africa at STR. “Consequently, Eid 2025 coincided with the UAE spring break school holidays, which unlocked the opportunity for many families to make extended travel plans.”
3. Hotel Properties’ Ong steps down from managing director role after 45 years
Ong Beng Seng, the managing director of Singapore hotel ownership firm Hotel Properties Ltd. since 1980, will step down from his position and will not seek reelection to the firm’s board, according to The Straits Times and an annual report from the company issued Monday.
The Strait Times added that the 79-year-old Ong “is set to plead guilty in a court case linked to former (Singapore] transport minister Subramaniam Iswaran” in relation to “obtaining gifts from [Ong]” and others. Ong and his family own approximately 60% of HPL.
According to its website, HPL has 42 hotels, including the 75-room Four Seasons Resort Seychelles; 85-room Six Senses Kanuhura, Maldives; 122-room Concorde New York, and 60-room Como Alpina Dolomites, Italy.
4. Taiwan’s Shayher Group acquires Park Hyatt Melbourne
Taiwanese real estate investment firm Shayher Group, which has an office in Brisbane, Australia, has acquired the 245-room Park Hyatt Melbourne for 200 million Australian dollars ($126 million), according to Australia’s Real Estate Source. According to CoStar data, the seller, Hong Kong-based Fu Wah International Group, acquired the hotel in January 2014 from Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC Real Estate for AU$135 million.
RES said the deal, “the priciest commercial real estate transaction in [Melbourne in] a year, is subject to a management agreement with Hyatt.” Shayher has been highly active in Australia in the last decade, mostly in office and business-park acquisitions, but it also owns the 312-room hotel W Brisbane, according to CoStar.
5. Omni Hotels cleared of gender-based pay bias allegations
Dallas-based operator Omni Hotels Management Corp., the parent company of Omni Hotels & Resorts, was cleared on April 11 of allegations of gender-based pay bias by a Dallas federal court. The decision in the case of Lindsley versus Omni Hotels Management Corp. “comes after a yearslong legal battle and a retrial ordered by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals,” according to USA Herald.
The newspaper added that “despite a previous jury awarding [former employee Sarah] Lindsley over $25 million in damages in 2023, the Fifth Circuit overturned that decision in Dec. 2024, citing inconsistencies in the liability findings and ordering a new trial.”