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1. Bank of England Raises Interest Rates Again
As expected, the Bank of England raised interest rates in the United Kingdom to 3.5%. According to the BBC, interest rates in the country are at their highest in 14 years.
The Bank of England’s official policy is to have costs increase by 2% a year, but the current inflation rate in the U.K. is 10.7%, much higher and at an approximately 40-year high. The BBC added the central bank believes the U.K. economy “would perform better than expected between October and December, shrinking by 0.1% in the final three months of the year, rather than 0.3% as previously thought.”
2. Berlin Hotel’s Aquarium Bursts
The cylindrical aquarium in Berlin’s Radisson Collection Hotel Berlin, formerly the Radisson Blu, burst early Friday morning.
A statement Radisson Hotel Group sent to Hotel News Now said “this morning at approximately 6:30 a.m. Central European Time the aquarium of the Aquadom Berlin, which is located in the Radisson Collection Hotel, Berlin, collapsed. As far as we know to date, no guests were injured, and together with the authorities we are looking into the cause of the incident. We have immediately closed the hotel until further notice and are relocating guests.”
The aquarium is thought to be the world’s tallest free-standing aquarium and contained more than 1,500 fish. In its coverage of the incident, Reuters said the aquarium contains more than 260,000 gallons of water.
3. Tennis Star Rafael Nadal and Meliá Launch Hotel Brand Zel
Following in the footsteps of Portuguese soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo, tennis star Rafael Nadal is partnering with Meliá Hotels International to launch hotel brand Zel. Ronaldo collaborated with Pestana Hotels on the hotel brand Pestana CR7.
According to the Spanish hotel company, Zel is “inspired by the welcoming homes, outdoor culture and spontaneous lifestyle of the Mediterranean.” The debut hotel for the brand will be the Zel Mallorca, which is set to open next year on the island that Meliá calls home.
4. Remington Hotels President Focused on Growing More Leaders in the Industry
In an interview with Hotel News Now’s Dana Miller, Remington Hotels President Chris Green said the hotel industry must build the next generation of leaders, considering many have been swept aside during the pandemic into other industries. Green told Miller leadership and labor are at the heart of Remington's integration of third-party management company Chesapeake Hospitality, of which Green once was CEO and which was acquired in April for $26 million.
“We lost some future leaders. Those leaders in ‘01 and ‘09 would be, let’s say 45 and 35 ... they were junior managers. Then, we go through the pandemic, and we lost a bunch of people to other industries … We have a gap. We need to build and grow more leaders in the industry,” Green said.
5. Chicago Gives Permission For $1.7 Billion Hotel-Casino Complex
The city of Chicago has given the green light to a $1.7 billion hotel-casino and entertainment project, the blueprints of which include a 500-room hotel, 11 restaurants, a 3,000-seat theater and a 20,000-square-foot exhibition space, according to Bally’s Corporation, the proposed operator.
To occupy the former site of newspaper The Chicago Tribune’s Publishing Center, the project will be developed by SCB and now is awaiting approval by the Illinois gambling regulator.