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1. US consumer confidence falls in fourth consecutive month
The latest survey from The Conference Board shows Americans' mood about the economy has soured. Consumer confidence dropped 7.2 points this month to 92.9, which is the lowest its been since January 2021.
“Consumer confidence declined for a fourth consecutive month in March, falling below the relatively narrow range that had prevailed since 2022,” Stephanie Guichard, senior economist, Global Indicators at The Conference Board, said in a news release. “Of the Index’s five components, only consumers’ assessment of present labor market conditions improved, albeit slightly."
According to the board, consumers are pessimistic about future business conditions and confidence in employment prospects has dropped to a 12-year low.
"Meanwhile, consumers’ optimism about future income — which had held up quite strongly in the past few months — largely vanished, suggesting worries about the economy and labor market have started to spread into consumers’ assessments of their personal situations,” Guichard said.
2. AccorInvest reports positive updates in latest earnings call
In its latest earnings call, AccorInvest turned over a new leaf in 2024. The hotel giant reduced debt through €720 million ($777.1 million) in property sales, and CEO Gilles Clavié told AFP that the company is in discussions to sell its F1 super-economy hotel brand.
AccorInvest, an investor and operator, has 576 hotels in 24 countries in its current portfolio. Last year, 160 hotels left the portfolio, including the 89-hotel sale for €720 million, two hotel swaps representing 61 hotels and 10 lease terminations, the group said in an earnings release issued on Tuesday.
"The fact that we're in the economy and mid-range segments rather than the super-economy or luxury segments is that these are the most resilient segments in times of crisis, they are less impacted and, above all, they recover more quickly," Clavié said.
According to Hotel News Now's Terence Baker, Accor is thinking about exiting the rest of its 30% stake in AccorInvest, which spun off from the French hotel company in 2017.
3. Main Street investors see opportunities in current economic conditions
In panel discussions at the Hunter Hotel Investment Conference, two separate sets of investors had different takes on the hospitality deal environment, HNN's Stephanie Ricca reports. While Wall Street is weary of making deals, Main Street investors see big rewards for taking big risks.
"Growth is a necessary positive," Neil Amin, CEO of Shamin Hotels, said on the "Main Street Talks" panel. "If you're too cautious, you miss out on the best opportunities."
In general, the sentiment on the panel was that despite current economic uncertainty, 2025 might not be a wash for deals after all with some investors buying, just buying more carefully.
4. Phishing scammers target hotels with fake Booking.com emails
Hotel operators are the targets of a new phishing campaign in which scammers send fake Booking.com confirmation emails, MalwareBytes Labs reports based off research from ThreatDown.
When the recipient follows the instructions to confirm the false reservation, they allow a malware program to run on their computer, providing the scammers access to their system and information.
The campaign relies on a sense of urgency for the hotels receiving it, since the fake reservation date isn't far into the future. While the article states that the intent of the data breaches is unknown, the culprits are likely after hotels' consumer information.
5. Thousands evacuate to escape wildfires in South Korea
The wildfires in South Korea that began last weekend continue to decimate the country this week. The death toll climbed to 24 people — most of whom were in their 60s and 70s, the BBC reports. Twelve victims are in critical condition with a total of 26 people injured so far. Among those dead include emergency responders who were in a firefighting helicopter that crashed Wednesday.
About 23,000 people have evacuated the affected regions, which include Sancheong and Uiseong counties. The fires are headed toward Andong, Cheongsong, Yeongyang and Yeongdeok counties.
A 1,300-year-old Gounsa temple in Uiseong city was destroyed by the fires. However many of the site's cultural relics were removed and protected, per the BBC.