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With the planned departure of current President Stephanie Linnartz, Marriott International's Board of Directors has announced plans to add president to the title of current CEO Tony Capuano beginning on Feb. 24, according to a news release.

Capuano has been with Marriott since 1995, taking over as chief executive after the passing of Arne Sorenson, becoming only the second person outside the Marriott family to do so.

Linnartz had been with Marriott since 1997. She is leaving the company to take over as president and CEO of Under Armour.

Ty Warner, a billionaire who built his fortune by creating Beanie Babies toys, owns and has kept closed the Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore in Santa Barbara, California, which is now drawing the ire of locals and travelers, SFGate reports.

While some question why the hotel hasn't opened as others owned by Warner are back in operation, the news outlet notes it could be related to ongoing labor disputes.

"The Santa Barbara property alone employs 450 people, and at least 250 are currently represented by local labor attorney Bruce Anticouni of Santa Barbara-based labor law firm Anticouni & Ricotta," SFGate reports. "'Four Seasons is contractually obligated to compensate its former employees substantial separation pay when their employment has come to an end,' Anticouni wrote in an April 2021 memo. The effort for restitution escalated in February 2022 when the law firm filed a $6 million class-action lawsuit for loss of wages on behalf of the employees it represents."

A spokesperson said the property will open again at some point.

“We are in the process of getting it back up and reopening, renovating, getting it set to go,” Ty Warner Hotels and Resorts spokesperson Kelly Woodard said to SFGate. “Right now there’s no timeline. We’re actively moving on improvements, but the timeline is still TBD — there’s no official statement on opening.”

Upselling guests on amenities and upgrades is a big part of the financial well-being for many hotels, but it's a process that requires buy-in from employees and efficiency in operations, HNN's Terence Baker reports.

Kurt Macher, general manager of the 202-room Shangri-La The Shard, London, said it's important that front-desk staff understand what upselling opportunities are available and possible.

“Have the team be aware of the business’s [key performance indicators]. There are constant communications, training tools and monthly goals. We look at how to drive [the business] on a daily basis,” he said.

The Wall Street Journal looks at the history and trajectory of Blackstone Inc.'s Breit — or Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust — which launched with the promise of letting retail investors get a part of one of the biggest commercial real estate investment platforms on the planet but ended up restricting sell-offs from skittish investors as markets turned.

"Despite strong returns, a wave of Breit investors headed for the exits at the end of last year, spooked by a stock market downturn, rising interest rates and the slumping property market," the newspaper reports. "Small investors differed sharply from the methodical, big-picture investors on which Blackstone had built its fortunes. They had smaller stakes and shorter timelines — and often made decisions based on gut and emotion."

CoStar News' Andy Peters reports lenders are setting aside higher levels of reserves to protect against potential losses from commercial real estate loans, even as CRE lending hit a record high for the final quarter of 2022.

"In the case of the largest U.S. bank by assets, JPMorgan Chase, the New York-based company recorded a fourth-quarter loan-loss provision of $2.3 billion, a 49% increase from its third-quarter provision of $1.5 billion," Peters reports.

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