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1. Florida Hotels Prepare Ahead of Storm
Hurricane Ian made landfall in Cuba this morning and is expected to approach the west coast of Florida on Wednesday, the New York Times reports. Meanwhile, hotels in Florida have begun preparations for the Category 3 hurricane.
Orlando-based Rosen Hotels & Resorts is offering distress rates to allow “Florida residents to have a safe and affordable place to stay as they ride out the storm,” Fox 35 Orlando reports. The low rates will be in effect as long as the situation is threatening and will be offered to those who are displaced after the storm as well.
Some Walt Disney World hotels will temporarily close Wednesday through Friday due to the hurricane, WFLA Tampa Bay reports.
2. Price of Lumber at Lowest in Two Years
Problems with the supply chain and high construction costs have plagued the hotel industry, but one major cost has dropped to a two-year low. Lumber futures are at $410.80 per thousand board feet, down more than 70% from this past March and the lowest level in more than two years, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Over the past two years, rising lumber costs increased the cost of construction, thus increasing the cost of commodities like homes, the news outlet reports. Buyers had been buying up as much lumber as they could to avoid a potential shortage, but that’s no longer the case.
“All the urgency over the past two years — ‘give me everything you can’ — that’s basically over. Lumberyards are not scared of the price going up,” said Michael Goodman, director of specialty products at wholesaler Sherwood Lumber Corp. “The sexy lumber world is coming to an end, unfortunately.”
3. Hoteliers Optimistic in Industry’s Future
Hoteliers speaking at the 2022 Lodging Conference in Phoenix were optimistic in the industry’s future despite some challenges such as supply chain and labor shortages, HNN’s Sean McCracken reports.
Chris Devine, chief financial officer and chief investment officer for Pyramid Global Hospitality, said all the talk about a potential recession is just obfuscating an otherwise thriving industry.
"Everyone is talking about recession, recession, and interest rates are definitely an issue for getting through deals," he said during the "Deals, Development, Mergers and Acquisitions" panel. "We have a broad spectrum in the U.S. with independent and branded [hotels], and we're also in Europe — the fundamentals continue to improve."
4. US Futures Rise After Slump
After five consecutive days of dropping, U.S. stock futures rose Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reports. Futures for the S&P 500, which Monday was nearly at its lowest level in two years, were up 1.3%, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 1.1%.
Yields on both U.S. and U.K. government bonds, however, dropped to 3.823% and 4.219%, respectively. Oil prices rose 1.6% after hitting its lowest level since January, the news outlet reports.
5. Two Airlines Fight Alliance Suit
American Airlines and JetBlue began their trial brought on by the U.S. Justice Department in regard to their “Northeast Alliance” on Tuesday, the New York Times reports. The alliance saw the two airlines combine forces in Boston and New York to “share some revenue and access to airport gates and allow customers to buy trips and take part in loyalty programs at the airlines interchangeably.”
The Justice Department sued the two companies last year, citing that the alliance diminished competition between two rivals. The two airlines disagree with the Justice Department’s allegations, the newspaper reports.
“Considering that there is no evidence of adverse effects, the NEA has been all upside for traveling consumers,” the airlines said in a legal filing this month.