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1. TUI Sees Spike in Profits
European travel operator TUI has announced a full-year profit of €977 million ($1.05 billion) for the fiscal year ending in September and is now projecting a 25% increase in profits in 2024, Reuters reports. Those profit figures far exceeded the €409 million recorded in 2022 and have now surpassed 2019 performance.
TUI has seen some slowing in Egypt related to conflict in Gaza, but CEO Sebastian Ebel said he expects that demand to rebound after Christmas.
One big change could be coming for the German company, which is publicly weighing leaving the London Stock Exchange and only listing in Frankfurt. A shareholder proposal on leaving the London Stock Exchange could come as soon as February, Reuters reports.
2. Ashford REIT Hands Back Five Hotels
Ashford Hospitality Trust has handed back the keys on five of the hotels the real estate investment trust had previously announced would go back to lenders, CoStar's Candace Carlisle reports. The 95-hotel company will hand back keys to an additional 14 hotels by early next year.
The five hotels that are no longer part of Ashford's portfolio are Embassy Suites Flagstaff in Flagstaff, Arizona; Embassy Suites Walnut Creek in Walnut Creek, California; Marriott Bridgewater in Bridgewater, New Jersey; Marriott Research Triangle Park in Durham, North Carolina; and the W Atlanta Downtown in Atlanta.
"The company is fully cooperating on a consensual transfer of ownership," the REIT said in a statement.
3. Tourism Economics Expects Resilient Demand in 2024
There are definitely reasons to be pessimistic heading into 2024, especially with job numbers seemingly softening, but Tourism Economics President Adam Sacks says he expects travel demand to hold strong heading into the new year, HNN's Bryan Wroten reports from PKF Hospitality Group's virtual 196+ Summit Americas.
“Basically, things continue to look really good,” Sacks said. “We’re not seeing things let up as far as demand, but I would say as we look forward into the future, there is a bit of a tug of war.”
Sacks said he doesn't expect to see a true recession in 2024, although the economy will essentially stall for the first half of the year.
4. Hospitality Jobs Decrease in ADP Data
Leisure and hospitality have been a consistent leader in jobs growth since the bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic, but new data from payroll company ADP shows a contraction of jobs in the sector, CNBC reports.
Overall, private payrolls grew by 103,000 jobs in November, which came in slightly lower than estimates, but leisure and hospitality saw a net decrease of 7,000 jobs in the month.
“Restaurants and hotels were the biggest job creators during the post-pandemic recovery,” ADP’s chief economist Nela Richardson told the news outlet. “But that boost is behind us, and the return to trend in leisure and hospitality suggests the economy as a whole will see more moderate hiring and wage growth in 2024.”
5. Consumers Contend with Sea of Hotel Brands
A new story from The Wall Street Journal highlights how convoluted the hotel brand environment has grown for consumers, with industry distinctions often leading to more confusion than clarification for potential guests sorting through a "confusing sea of sameness."
"Hilton, Marriott, IHG, Hyatt and Accor already offer lodging for every conceivable customer, but are thin-slicing the market into ever more pieces," the newspaper reports. "There aren’t just economy hotels anymore — there are now premium economy hotels. Looking for luxury? There’s classic luxury, distinctive luxury, cutting-edge luxury, all-inclusive luxury and lifestyle luxury."