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1. Barcelona Protesters Squirt Water at Tourists
Protesters in Barcelona angry at overtourism in their city took their frustrations out directly on tourists, squirting them with water guns and yelling at them to go home, CNBC reports. Protesters also used police-style tape to block hotel entrances and sidewalk cafes in the Barceloneta neighborhood.
A crowd of about 3,000 people then marched with a banner demanding the city decrease the number of tourists, according to the article.
Barcelona saw tourism surge from 1.7 million visitors in 1990 to 7.8 million in 2023, during which time the number of hotels quadrupled, CNBC reports.
2. NYC Migrant Hotels Set To Take in $1 Billion in Public Funding
An internal city document obtained by the New York Post reports that hotels, motels and inns make up nearly 80% of the 193 migrants shelters in the city, which have received $1.98 billion in public funding for housing through May 31 this year. The overall city budget for handling the migrant crisis was $4.88 billion for the same period.
When looking at individual contracts, the report noted the $5.13-million-a-month deal with the 1,331-room Row NYC hotel in Manhattan and the city's Health + Hospitals agency as well as the $2-million-a-month deal with the 335-room Crowne Plaza JFK hotel in South Jamaica, Queens.
3. How Hoteliers Are Creating a Unified Commercial Strategy
Coming up with a commercial strategy that incorporates the disciplines of sales, marketing and revenue management requires trust and respect to be successful, hotel executives said at the HSMAI Commercial Strategy Conference, HNN's Sean McCracken reports.
Lori Kiel, chief commercial officer at The Boca Raton, said to lead a team that includes all these disciplines means understanding how they all work.
"I've got to know enough about sales so that when I use my own expertise, I know how to optimize using my salesperson's expertise, as well," she said. "What is the segment that they're after? What are the feeder markets? Do we all know the need dates? ... In marketing, it's the same thing. What are you marketing? Are you marketing what I need, or are you out there just marketing what you want to market? It matters."
4. OECD Reports Cooling of Global Jobs Market
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's annual report on the jobs market found that there are signs the global jobs market is cooling as the number of vacancies is falling compared to the number of people looking for jobs, the Wall Street Journal reports. However, it does not expect to see a sudden increase in jobless rates.
“The labor market remains pretty strong,” said Stefano Scarpetta, the OECD’s director for employment. “The labor market is easing, but slowly.”
The report also found that wages have risen faster than prices in the past year, but real wages are still below 2019 levels in many countries, including the U.S., the newspaper reports.
5. TSA Sets New Record of Daily Screenings Again
Just weeks after setting a new daily screening record, the Transportation Security Administration reports breaking it again with more than 3 million passengers screened across the U.S. on July 7, ABC News reports. The previous record was 2.99 million, set on June 23.
"TSA fully, unerringly, and efficiently checked 35 passengers every second, along with all their luggage and carry-on baggage, while demonstrating unwavering professionalism and respect for travelers during the intensely busy holiday weekend," Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said in a congratulatory message to TSA employees.