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As Hurricane Ian approaches the west coast of Florida on Wednesday, hoteliers in affected areas rely on months of annual preparation to weather the effects, HNN’s Bryan Wroten, Trevor Simpson and Dana Miller report.

Nicholas Bilotta, senior vice president of operations at GF Hotels & Resorts, said he and his team started preparing for Hurricane Ian as soon as there were signs, and the company has had daily calls with its Florida properties since last week.

The New York Times reports the storm continues to grow stronger. It’s currently a Category 4 storm and could reach Category 5, “the strongest classification on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.”

Hong Kong has faced some of the tightest COVID-19 restrictions in the world since 2020, and as the city starts to slowly open back up, some industry leaders are skeptical at its ability to return to the international travel hub it once was, the New York Times reports.

There are travel barriers in place that could affect the ability for new hires to come in from abroad and for business travelers’ to come in for conferences, the newspaper reports. Coupled with a tense political environment as the city shows loyalty to mainland China, its return to form “would mean a massive effort to rebuild Hong Kong’s global image,” said Frederik Gollob, the chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.

One possible upside to the British pound hitting a record low against the U.S. dollar for the U.K. is its travel implications. Currencies in the United States, Australia and Switzerland have grown in value against the pound, meaning travelers from those countries could stretch their money further, the Washington Post reports.

“There’s statistical evidence and research showing that people book travel based on prices,” said Gary Richardson, a professor of economics at the University of California at Irvine. “Britain is cheaper, so more people would want to go there.”

After the new British government announced plans to cut taxes and increase borrowing, the value of the pound plummeted to record lows against the U.S. dollar. The Bank of England will buy government bonds through Oct. 14 starting on Wednesday in an attempt to stabilize the market, the Associated Press reports.

“Were dysfunction in this market to continue or worsen, there would be a material risk to U.K. financial stability,″ the bank said in a statement. “This would lead to an unwarranted tightening of financing conditions and a reduction of the flow of credit to the real economy.″

Dubai Holding, the parent company of United Arab Emirates-based hotel company Jumeirah Group, announced on Wednesday that Katerina Giannouka will take over as CEO of Jumeirah Group in December, replacing Jose Silva, HNN’s Terence Baker reports.

Giannouka spent the past five years as vice president of development for the Asia-Pacific region at Radisson Hotel Group.

“Given Katerina’s impressive track record as a transformative business leader, as well as her luxury hospitality background and drive to create resilient teams and culture, I am confident that she will build on Jumeirah’s incredible success story,” Dubai Holding Group CEO Amit Kaushal said in a statement.

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