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1. San Francisco Hilton could convert to apartments
One of the two large San Francisco properties formerly owned by Park Hotels & Resorts, which handed the keys over to its lenders, could soon be bought and converted to housing, San Francisco Business Times reports.
Both the 1,919-room Hilton San Francisco Union Square and 1,024-room Parc 55 hotel are nearing a sale with a bondholder report noting "several offers are presently under review" and brokerage Eastdil noting at least 70 potential buyers have signed confidentiality agreements. But analysts believe many of the most motivated buyers are more interested in the Hilton Union Square to convert it to housing.
“I think some of the higher-probability buyers are looking to convert hotels to apartments, like is going on with offices to apartments,” Atlas Hospitality President Alan Reay told the news outlet.
Park had previously walked away from the two properties because of the high cost of servicing the $725 million CMBS loan on the properties and weak overall demand in San Francisco.
2. Companies try to get ahead of Trump tariffs
American companies are dipping into their cash reserves to buy up as much product that needs to be imported as possible to avoid the potentially high costs of President-elect Donald Trump's planned tariffs, The Wall Street Journal reports.
"Already, exports from China surged last month, which some economists think could have been driven at least in part by front-loading amid uncertainty around election results," the newspaper reports. "Outbound shipments from China rose nearly 13% in October from a year earlier, well above consensus expectations and up sharply from 2.4% growth in September."
3. How second Trump term will affect labor environment
Tariffs aren't the only change to the economy expected under a second Trump administration, and HNN's Bryan Wroten interviewed Andria Ryan, labor attorney and partner at Fisher Phillips, to highlight how the incoming president is expected to shift the labor market.
Overtime rules, the National Labor Relations Board and immigration policy are all expected to change the operating environment for hotels, Ryan said. Already a Texas court's ruling against a Biden-administration rule to increase the overtime salary threshold is expected to change the landscape.
Ryan added that she doesn't think Trump's Department of Labor will appeal that decision, much like what happened with a similar Obama-administration overtime threshold rule blocked by a judgein 2016.
4. UK inflation moving in the wrong direction
The U.K. economy got some bad news this morning with the inflation rate hitting 2.3% in October, compared to a relatively tame 1.7% in September, the BBC reports. In addition to the higher costs, the higher level of inflation could make it more difficult for the Bank of England to cut interest rates as hoped.
Energy costs appear to be among the biggest culprits in the cost increases with annual gas and electricity bills up by roughly £149 [$188.57].
5. American workers feel stagnant
A new survey from Glassdoor highlights that a growing number of professionals in the U.S. are feeling frustrated with a lack of career growth prospects as "65% of the 3,400 professionals surveyed ... last month said they feel stuck in their current role," Axios reports.
Some of the worst affected workers are in the tech industry, with employee satisfaction in that industry dropping 7.5% since 2022.