Trump plans to order ban on new green cards: U.S. President Donald Trump plans to issue an executive order temporarily banning new green cards for at least 60 days, The New York Times reports. The order will no longer include guest worker programs.
In his tweets, Trump has reasoned the temporary ban on immigration will protect American jobs during a time when “the United States economy sheds its work force at a record rate and when few employers are reaching out for workers at home or abroad,” the article states.
Business groups pushed back against the administration’s earlier plan to include at least some guest worker programs, the newspaper reports. The administration dropped guest worker programs from the ban altogether after realizing it would be overly complicated.
Blackstone, Starwood Capital invest in Extended Stay America: Blackstone Group and Starwood Capital have acquired equity positions in Extended Stay America in light of extended-stay hotels’ resilience during the coronavirus pandemic, The Wall Street Journal reports. Hotels that are more economically priced “are still enjoying some demand, attracting medical, government, construction workers, airline crew and even some full-time residents,” the article states.
Both companies are familiar with ESA, the newspaper reports. Blackstone acquired the company in 2004 for about $2 billion, later selling it in 2007 to Lightstone Group for $8 billion. Blackstone and Starwood Capital both vied for the company, then known as Extended Stay Inc., in 2010 through competing groups looking to take the company out of bankruptcy. Blackstone’s consortia won out with a $3.9 billion purchase price.
How Lone Star-Unizo deal could affect Japanese M&A: After nine months of negotiations, U.S. private equity firm Lone Star will acquire Japanese hotel chain Unizo Holdings for $1.9 billion, reports HNN’s Terence Baker.
The Japanese hotel market was among the top global performers and had been attracting more money and investors into the market prior to COVID-19, said Ryuji Sawada, partner in PwC’s Tokyo office. Previously, Japanese companies saw shareholders stay loyal to their Japanese owners, but Lone Star’s acquisition could be a sign of coming changes, Sawada said.
“Hostile takeovers are still rare in the Japanese market, and I think they will be (going forward), but I believe the number of non-hostile M&As will increase this year and the next because of COVID-19,” Sawada said.
Oyo cutting employee pay in India: An internal memo shows Oyo Hotels & Homes is cutting the pay of all its employees in India by 25% for the next four months, Reuters reports. The company also put some Indian employees on unpaid leave, echoing a move earlier in April when it furloughed thousands of its employees around the world.
India’s government announced a 21-day lockdown in March in response to the pandemic, but the government later extended the lockdown until 3 May, the news agency reports. Oyo founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal said on 8 April the pandemic has led to a 50% to 60% decrease in revenue and occupancy levels.
Pandemic leads hoteliers to rethink services, amenities: As the hotel industry struggles to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, hoteliers are looking at new approaches to the services and amenities long-associated with a hotel stay, NBC News reports.
Breakfast buffets, in-room minibars and some in-person interactions are among many areas under consideration.
“We now have almost no touch points in the entire hotel, which is completely against a hotel's nature of being hands-on and kind,” said Rudy Tauscher, GM of the Four Seasons New York, which is hosting medical professionals. "We used to be known for the human touch—but now we're all about no touch at all."
Compiled by Bryan Wroten.