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1. San Francisco Hotel Owner Considers an Alternative
Sam Patel and his co-owners of the 45-room Best Western at Eddy and Polk streets in San Francisco invested $6 million in the hotel after buying it in 2016. Now they're considering whether it'd be better to strike a deal with the city to house some of the city's homeless population, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.
Behind all this is that while guests have responded positively to the hotel itself and the staff, they have had bad experiences in the neighborhood and areas immediately surrounding the hotel, and they're leaving online reviews to warn other travelers, the newspaper reports. The hotel's revenue is down 12% for the year.
2. US Avoided Recession in 2023
Despite multiple predictions the U.S. would fall into a recession — even a mild one — during 2023, the country's economy managed to avoid it, CNBC reports. Now everyone's attention has turned to whether the economy can do it again in 2024.
While some forecasts say the economy can dodge a recession, such as Bank of America's prediction of a soft landing, 76% of economists believe the odds of a recession happening over the next 12 months stand at 50% or less, according to a December survey by the National Association for Business Economics.
3. Revenue Managers Try New Strategies
As demand levels and segments shifted this year, hotel revenue managers tried to stay ahead of the game and tried new strategies to drive profitability, reports HNN's Dana Miller.
"We started looking at this year, even more than ever, different ways to drive revenue into the hotels, whether it be through raising parking prices, relooking at resort fees, relooking at food and beverage. It became about how can we drive incremental revenue to help offset rising costs," said Gilbert Arredondo, senior vice president of revenue strategy at Remington Hospitality.
4. Blizzard Disrupts US Travel
Blizzard conditions over the Plains and Upper Midwest disrupted post-Christmas travel plans across the U.S., NPR reports.
A section of Interstate 70 in Colorado had to close due to the weather, according to the article. At Denver International Airport, there were more than 350 flights delayed Tuesday morning and at least 16 flights canceled. The Nebraska Department of Transportation closed portions of I-80 from Big Springs to North Platte because there was low visibility and hazardous driving conditions.
5. Many US Intercity Bus Stations Closed
At least eight U.S. cities have lost intercity bus stations in recent years as Greyhound Bus station owners look to sell off their properties, reports the Wall Street Journal. Chicago may be the next city to join that list.
With fewer people taking the bus to travel between major U.S. cities, several owners of these stations have sold them to raise cash, the newspaper reports. The stations' locations within their cities often have a higher value as another type of real estate, such as apartments.
A study by DePaul University in 2016 estimated there are about 62 million people who travel by bus a year, the newspaper reports. Greyhound serves about one-third of them.
“This whole network that serves a whole lot of people, many of whom don’t have any alternative, is essentially invisible to our state and federal policymakers,” said Fred Fravel, vice president of KFH Group, a transportation consulting firm.