Editor's Note: Some linked articles may be behind subscription paywalls.
1. US House to vote on short-term spending bill
The U.S. House of Representatives will vote Wednesday on a short-term spending bill that if passed would circumvent a government shutdown, the New York Times reports.
According to the newspaper, "a significant number of conservatives in the House GOP conference are fundamentally opposed to legislation that does not mandate deep cuts to federal spending and routinely try to block such measures from even being considered."
“It would be political malpractice to shut the government down,” Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said. “I think everyone understands that, and so we hope that this will get done quickly, and we get everybody back home to their districts to work into the campaign trail.”
2. Helene expected to be 'fastest progression' into hurricane ever
Tropical Storm Helene's transition from a potential tropical cyclone to a Category 3 hurricane is forecast to be the fastest progression ever predicted for a depression by the National Hurricane Center, USA Today reports. Helene is forecast to make landfall in Florida on Thursday as a Category 3 hurricane.
“They had never forecast a major hurricane within 60 hours for a disturbance below tropical storm level,” said Sam Lillo, a meteorologist and software engineer for DTN Weather, based on a computer analysis of the center’s historical forecast data. "The entire forecast is also basically faster than has ever been seen for 36 hours and 48 hours from a tropical depression.”
Airlines are preparing for flight disruptions, according to USA Today. FlightAware says a percentage of flights to Cancun, Mexico, have been canceled or delayed at this point.
Hoteliers in hurricane-prone areas must have a plan going into active storm seasons, HNN's Sean McCracken recently reported on the HNN podcast.
3. Demand growth inconsistent across Asia-Pacific region
On the latest episode of the Hotel News Now podcast, STR's Jesper Palmqvist said there's been a clear disparity in hotel demand growth across Asia-Pacific markets so far in 2024, HNN's Sean McCracken reports.
There are currently three "buckets" across the region, Palmqvist said: markets experiencing declines in demand and rate; slow and steady growth markets; and the clear outperformers.
"I think Japan will take a little bit of time for that slowdown at a national level because we still see that rate growth in Tokyo and Osaka and Kyoto to some degree," he said. "So that's going to continue a bit. I would expect Indonesia and Malaysia to soften a bit. Thailand will see something before peak season comes in because growth in peak is always going to be lower than growth in shoulder and low. You can have more impact."
4. Nearly 2,000 workers go on strike at Hawaii hotel
Nearly 2,000 workers at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort — the largest Hilton resort in the world — began an open-ended strike at 5 a.m. local time on Tuesday, the Associated Press reports. The workers are requesting higher wages, more manageable workloads and a reversal of pandemic-era cuts such as limited daily room cleaning.
This adds to a growing number of hotel workers currently on strike in Honolulu, San Diego and San Francisco, according to the Unite Here union. More than 10,000 hotel workers went on strike on Labor Day weekend, the AP reports.
“I am on strike again, and this time I am ready to stay on strike for as long as it takes to win,” Aileen Bautista, a housekeeper at Hilton Hawaiian Village, said in a statement.
5. Four Seasons hotel in San Francisco up for auction
The Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco at Embarcadero is scheduled for auction on Oct. 10, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The property's owner, Westbrook Partners, was served with a delinquency notice by its lender after it fell behind on payments toward a $72.5 million loan.
According to CoStar data, Westbrook Partners acquired the property, formerly a Mandarin Oriental, from Loews Corporation for $126.6 million in May 2019.
According to the Chronicle, Westbrook Partners received a $72.5 million loan from HSBC Bank USA to finance the acquisition, and that debt was sold to Waterfall Asset Management in 2022. Waterfall is likely unwilling to extend the terms of the loan agreement, the newspaper reports.