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The inadvertent carbon monoxide poisoning of hotel guests in the U.S. over the past several years has led to several lawsuits and a renewed push for hotel companies to add carbon monoxide detectors to their properties, including inside guestrooms, the New York Times reports. Over the past 20 years, carbon monoxide leaks in hotels have hurt at least 1,090 people and killed 32, though these numbers may be higher if incidents have gone unreported.

“Many states and brands do require carbon monoxide detectors in rooms with fireplaces and near fuel-burning appliances, such as hot water heaters, in compliance with the current International Fire Code and other building codes,” the newspaper reports. “But in more than a dozen states, this only applies to newer hotels. At least six states do not require detectors in hotels at all.”

An emailed statement from the American Hotel & Lodging Association said few hotel guestrooms have fireplaces or fuel-fired appliances that could produce carbon monoxide, so detectors would be a secondary defense. Proper maintenance of fuel-fired appliances precludes the chances of an accidental carbon monoxide exposure, it added.

A survey by Nikkei and NTT TownPage found that about 1 in 10 hotels and travel agencies have closed permanently because of the pandemic, Nikkei Asia reports. The closures raise concerns over the recovery of the country’s tourism industry.

The number of registered facilities by the end of May fell to 53,000, a drop of 5,000 from 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic, the news agency reports. That figure was already down 3,600 compared to May 2018.

The Hotel Grand Palace in Tokyo, for example, opened in 1972 and closed at the end of June 2021 shortly before the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics, according to the article. Throughout its history, the hotel accommodated government officials and other high-profile guests, but its occupancy levels dropped to about 30% of what it saw before the pandemic began.

The U.S. hotel industry’s recovery and the many well-funded buyers looking to take advantage of that improving performance drove up hotel deal pricing through the first half of 2022, reports HNN’s Bryan Wroten. However, there are concerns now that inflationary pressures and the rising cost of debt could cause buyers to pull back somewhat.

“The bottom line is that the transaction activity is still extremely robust. Value rebounded dramatically,” said Daniel Lesser, president and CEO at LWHA. “But there’s a little bit of a pause that’s starting to take place in the market right now, obviously, because of the change in interest rates and debt parameters.”

A new study from McKinsey & Co. found that although many companies have increased their diversity efforts in recruiting employees and appointing executives, many continue to leave their Black and Hispanic frontline workers stuck in the same positions, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Federal data shows about 75% of all Black and Hispanic employees work in hourly frontline jobs, but they’re less likely than their white coworkers to get promoted to higher-paying jobs on the front line, the newspaper reports.

“Only a fraction of diversity programs reach the front line. For the few that do reach the front line, workers aren’t buying them,” said Lareina Yee, a senior partner at McKinsey.

The latest data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics shows the country’s manufacturing activity contracted unexpectedly in July compared to June, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Chinese government’s strict COVID-19 restrictions and overall weak demand have cut into hopes for a stronger recovery.

In the country’s manufacturing sector, 10 of the 21 industries surveyed showed expansion from June to July, the newspaper reports. Its purchasing managers index subindex tracking export orders contracted for the 15th consecutive month.

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