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1. Rent Increases Threaten Interest Rate Cuts
The U.S. Federal Reserve has already tempered expectations for interest rate cuts amid its fight against inflation, and rent hikes around the U.S. won't help that fight. Rent levels in several Northeast and Midwest cities, including Kansas City and Washington, D.C., will be rising this year, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Apartment rents are rising at a time when home prices are too pricey for renters, so they have no choice but to stick with the rising costs.
“The housing situation is a complicated one,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said at a press conference last week. “The best thing we can do for the housing market is to bring inflation down so that we can bring rates down.”
2. Whitbread Reports First Quarter Earnings
Whitbread PLC's Premier Inn brand's performance in the first quarter was boosted by sales growth in Germany while rooms revenue was flat in the United Kingdom, HNN's Terence Baker reports.
Total accommodation sales grew 15% year over year for German Premier Inn hotels.
“Our cohort of more established [German] hotels is continuing to outperform the … market and we remain on course to achieve the important milestone of reaching break even on a run-rate basis during the second half of 2024,” Whitbread CEO Dominic Paul said during an earnings conference call Tuesday.
3. Growing Loyalty Program, Portfolio Among Goals for IHG Americas
IHG Hotels & Resorts CEO of the Americas Jolyon Bulley said in a video interview that his main focuses are on growing the company's loyalty program and expanding its hotel portfolio. Luxury growth is also a goal, as the company has gone from one to five luxury brands over the past seven years.
"We're really looking to grow that in the U.S.," he said at the recent NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference.
4. Tens of Millions of Americans Under Extreme Heat Warning
A heat wave across the U.S. has tens of millions of Americans under extreme heat warnings, the Associated Press reports.
Temperatures reached a high of 97 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday in Chicago, breaking a 1957 temperature record. Temperatures have exceeded 110 degrees Fahrenheit in Phoenix, as the first two weeks of June have been the hottest on record.
A wildfire caused by hot and windy weather in Southern California has continued to burn since it began on Saturday, with officials saying the continued hot and windy weather will challenge the efforts of firefighters.
5. State of Utah Advises Migrants To Go Elsewhere
Migrants looking for refuge in Utah have been advised to "consider another state," with fliers from the State of Utah reading "There is no room in shelters. No hotels for you," the New York Times reports.
This is indicative of the challenges migrants have been facing as they enter the U.S., the newspaper reports.
“The population of asylum seekers continues to increase rapidly without resources from the state, county or city,” said Wendy Garvin, executive director of Unsheltered Utah, which serves homeless people. “We’re scrambling because we don’t have extra funding to put toward this new population."