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APPROXIMATELY 35 PERCENT of U.S. travelers have concerns about potential airport delays and flight cancellations for the upcoming 2023 holiday travel season, according to a recent survey by exchange services firm IPX103. Despite 23 percent experiencing flight disruptions this year, a substantial 62 percent of Americans are planning to travel this season. The IPX103 survey found that of the Americans intending to travel, 42 percent are opting for air travel and 54 percent are choosing to drive. Moreover, if gas prices decrease during the holiday season, two in three individuals express a higher likelihood of choosing to drive. Specifically, 44 percent plan to travel for Thanksgiving, while 84 percent have plans for December travel. Regarding holiday destinations, 38 percent are venturing to a neighboring state, 25 percent are embarking on cross-country journeys, 25 percent are remaining within their own state, and 12 percent are venturing abroad.

EVERGREEN HOSPITALITY DEVELOPMENT Group has selected the third-party management company Resolute Road Hospitality to oversee two of its Oregon hotel properties. These are the Hampton Inn & Suites Portland Tigard in Tigard and the Hampton Inn & Suites Sherwood Portland in Sherwood. The Hampton Inn & Suites Portland Tigard offers 152 rooms between Beaverton, Lake Oswego and downtown Portland. This property is close to downtown Portland, the Oregon Zoo and Washington Square shopping mall. The 73-room Hampton Inn & Suites Sherwood Portland provides lodging in Oregon's wine country. It's close to Sherwood Market Center, Stella Olsen Memorial Park, and various wineries including Ponzi Vineyards, Tualatin River and the National Wildlife Refuge.

THE DEPARTMENT OF Homeland Security will issue more than 64,000 additional H-2B visas for fiscal year 2024, surpassing a congressionally authorized discretionary cap for the second consecutive year. The American Hotel & Lodging Association, AAHOA and others have been lobbying for the increase as a step to relieving the labor shortage challenge in the hotel industry. A forthcoming interim final rule, which was announced on Friday, will additionally approve temporary work visas, bringing the total to over 130,000 including those issued under the regular annual cap of 66,000. Chip Rogers, AHLA president and CEO, commended the federal government's action. "The H-2B Workforce Coalition, which AHLA co-chairs, worked hard to convince the Biden administration to offer this considerable expansion, which nearly doubles the yearly allocation of H-2B visas," said Rogers. "These extra visas will be crucial to helping hotels and resorts in remote vacation destinations fill seasonal roles, and we thank Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas for making them available. But we still need help from Congress to get hoteliers across the country all the employees they need. That includes establishing an H-2B returning worker exemption, passing the Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act, and passing the H-2 Improvements to Relieve Employers (HIRE) Act."

HILTON AND HILTON Global Foundation recently introduced Hilton Cares. The program providing $500,000 in scholarships and financial aid for employees and community members interested in pursuing careers in hospitality. Applications for the program open in early 2024, Hilton said in a statement. Hilton also was named the World's Best Workplace by Fortune magazine and Great Place to Work's latest rankings. The company also was named the Best Workplace for Women in the U.S. and maintained its No. 1 Best Workplace status in various countries in 2023, including Argentina, Austria, China, Dominican Republic, France, India, Italy, Peru, Portugal, Switzerland and Uruguay. "At Hilton, we are building a fully human experience at work, where our team members feel like they are seen, they are welcome, and they are part of something greater than themselves," said Laura Fuentes, Hilton's chief human resources officer. "This recognition reinforces what employees are looking for - a workplace culture that helps them reach their full potential."

Sameer Nair is the new senior vice president of equity asset management at Peachtree Group. In this role, he will manage and implement asset oversight for Peachtree's real estate portfolio and preferred equity investments. Previously, Nair held the position of senior vice president of acquisitions and development at Hospitality Ventures Management Group, focusing on sourcing equity, debt, and third-party management opportunities, Peachtree said in a statement. Nair is an experienced asset manager with development and transactional expertise, Peachtree said. "Over the past decade, Sameer has been instrumental in the growth of some of the most respected companies in the hospitality industry," said Brian Waldman, Peachtree Group's CIO. "He has led multiple acquisition, development and investment efforts throughout the country, which gives him a deeper perspective of the industry and market."

NEWCRESTIMAGE HAS OPENED its first Canopy by Hilton upscale hotel in north Dallas. The Canopy is part of Frisco Station, a four-brand, 600-room "lifestyle hotel campus" developed by the company. The 150-room, seven-floor Canopy joins the first two hotels, an AC Hotel and Residence Inn dual-brand with 150 rooms each that opened in 2019. The fourth hotel, a 150-room Hyatt Place, currently has no scheduled date for start of construction. "The opening of this Canopy symbolizes the story of hospitality's comeback around the country and around the world," said Mehul Patel, chairman and CEO of NewcrestImage. "Our company's commitment to serve travelers is not a victim of coronavirus, and we have many hygiene procedures in place so guests can feel safe, comfortable, and special." Some of those procedures include disinfecting guest luggage on arrival; using technology to reduce physical interaction between guests and staff during check-in and check-out; and improving the hotel's HVAC system to prevent spread of microbes and virus.

The Staybridge Suites in Duluth, Georgia, is now open. The hotel, owned and operated by Duluth Capital Investments led by Sonial Patel as principal, is the first Staybridge Suites in the country using the brand's new "Next Generation 7.0" design that incorporates elements to protect against COVID-19. The 99-room, 5-story hotel has more open room in its public spaces for social distancing, which is strictly enforced. It features no contact check in / check out, as well as extensive disinfecting as part of InterContinental Hotel Group's "Clean Promise" program, including completely cleaning each suite with an electrostatic sprayer. Guests select their housekeeping schedule to further avoid contact.

THE U.S. TRAVEL Association led a delegation of 11 travel industry leaders to U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves on March 8 to discuss promoting safe business and professional travel to help recovery post COVID-19. Travel leaders also demanded additional H-2B, J-1 and other temporary work visas available to meet seasonal workforce During the roundtable, Graves voiced his support for the travel industry, saying the Commerce Department will bring "all tools to the table" to help overcome obstacles that remain to the normal resumption of business travel, a statement said. They discussed the reentry of urban office workers and its correlation to the restart of business travel as well as opportunities to attract global meetings, conventions and exhibitions to the country.

THE U.S. TOPS the global hotel construction pipeline in terms of project count, according to Lodging Econometrics. Overall, the pipeline increased 5 percent by projects and 4 percent by rooms over the same time last year with several stages of the pipeline hitting peaks by project and rooms counts. LE's most recent Global Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report released Thursday found the pipeline contains 14,779 projects with 2,412,736 rooms. There were 1,230,572 rooms in 6,896 projects under construction, all-time high. Another peak is in projects scheduled to start in the next 12 months with 4,599 projects and 651,133 rooms at the end the second quarter. There are an additional 3,283 projects and 531,031 rooms in the early planning stage of the pipeline. U.S. projects made up 38 percent of the pipeline with 5,582 projects and 687,801 rooms. China was second with 3,574 projects and 647,704 rooms, or 24 percent of the pipeline, meaning both countries make up 62 percent of the total pipeline.

The SpringHill Suites Austin West/Lakeway in Lakeway, Texas, is scheduled to open Aug. 28. It is owned by Lakeway Joint Venture, managed by Sunil Patel, and managed by Esperanto Developments of El Paso, Texas, led by Madhi Nair, president and CEO. The 88-suite hotel is on the campus of the Baylor Scott & White Medical Center.Nearby attractions include Lake Travis, the Hill Country Galleria, The Oasis on Lake Travis and Pace Bend State Park. Hotel amenities include a meeting room, an outdoor patio with a fire pit, an indoor swimming pool and a fitness center.

DRIVE-TO DESTINATIONS, such as beach towns, have seen steadily rising occupancy this summer as people seek to escape the restrictions of life in the COVID-19 pandemic. That is driving a wave of developments of Choice Hotels International's upscale Cambria brand around the country, including Cambria Hotel Ocean City - Bayfront in Ocean City, Maryland, developed by Mihir Wankawala of The Wankawala Organization. The eight-story, 137-room Cambria Ocean City - Bayfront, the fourth Cambria in the state, is near the city's Boardwalk and the Inlet event forums as well as other attractions like the Outlets Ocean City shopping center, Splash Mountain Water Park and Northside Park. Wankawala, who partnered with Tauhid Islam of PiNNacle Hospitality Group on the hotel, said he has confidence in the market despite the current pandemic related downturn. Work on the hotel had just been completed when the pandemic hit.

CHOICE HOTELS INTERNATIONAL has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the franchise business, operations and intellectual property of Radisson Hotel Group Americas for approximately $675 million. The addition of Radisson's nine brands to Choice will bring with it 624 hotels with more than 68,000 rooms. As part of the transaction, which covers properties in Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean as well as the U.S., Choice will independently own and control the brands in the Americas and will work with Radisson to drive the growth, continuity and success of the brands, according to a joint press release from the companies. It will be funded by cash on hand and revolver borrowings and includes 10 Radisson Blu hotels, 130 Radisson hotels, 9 Radisson Individuals, 1 Park Plaza hotel, 4 Radisson RED hotels, 453 Country Inn & Suites by Radisson and 17 Park Inn by Radisson hotels, as well as the recently launched Radisson Inn & Suites and Radisson Collection brands. Choice's board of directors unanimously approved the transaction and is expected to close in the second half of 2022, pending regulatory approvals and customary closing requirements. The transaction is not anticipated to change Choice's current capital allocation strategy related to dividend payment policy and planned share repurchases.

THE U.S. ADDED 428,000 jobs in April, keeping the unemployment rate at 3.6 percent, just above the level two years ago, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. However, the leisure and hospitality sector saw some of the slowest growth in job creation. After spiking to 14.7 percent in April 2020 following business closures across the country due to COVID-19, unemployment has declined steadily and is now just a hair above its 3.5 percent rate before the pandemic, the latest jobs report indicates. The number of unemployed people was at 5.9 million in April, not far from where it was in February 2020, new data showed.

On the whole, travelling as a vegan can be tricky. Some countries don't offer much in terms of plant-based options on a menu, while certain hotels don't have anything vegan-friendly whatsoever. Thankfully, though, as awareness spreads, the accommodation options for vegan travellers are beginning to increase with it. In fact, in recent times, vegan-friendly hotels have been popping up all over America. Whether you're in New York or California, a number of vegan-friendly hotels are providing fantastic experiences for vegans. Some venues offer animal-free bedding, furniture and cleaning products, while other hotels might not go to such lengths but at least appreciate that vegans need to eat and therefore tailor their menus accordingly. This new phenomenon is certainly encouraging for vegans who perhaps don't feel comfortable staying in a place that doesn't cater for them and their beliefs. Usually, vegans might have to use their powerful smartphone devices not only for entertainment purposes like having a YouTube binge or playing the Thai Paradise online slot game, but also to turn to apps like HappyCow for mealtimes as they venture out of the hotel to find suitable places to eat. It can certainly make a hotel stay feel like more of a hassle than a relaxing break away.

SHAMIN HOTELS, ONE of the largest Asian American owned hotel development and management companies in the country, has a new home with a literary pedigree. It has purchased the Richmond Times-Dispatch newspaper building that it will renovate and share with the newspaper. Shamin bought the four-story, nearly century-old building for $14.462 million on Jan. 2 and is planning a $1 million renovation, according to the Times-Dispatch. Its previous assessed value is $20.293 million. The newspaper will consolidate its offices on the building's fourth floor while Shamin's new offices will be on the third. The move is expected to be finished later this year.

THE AMERICAN HOTEL & Lodging Association is set to host the inaugural General Manager Summit at "The Hospitality Show" on June 28 at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas. The first-of-its kind event will be held annually and bring together hotel GMs from across the country to hear from expert speakers, share best practices and network. The event will also celebrate the industry's best GMs via an awards ceremony, AHLA said in a statement. "General Managers are the backbone of any hotel, and that's precisely why AHLA offers this important group of professionals a host of top-notch professional development, networking and event opportunities," said Chip Rogers, president and CEO of AHLA. "AHLA's General Manager Summit at The Hospitality Show is the can't-miss event of the year for GMs, and we're excited to see you there this June." AHLA said the event is free for all GMs attending The Hospitality Show, which takes place June 27-29 at The Venetian Las Vegas, but GM summit attendees must register for the event here.

THE U.S. LED the global hotel construction pipeline in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to Lodging Econometrics. The global pipeline decreased 1 percent by projects during the period. The U.S. accounted for 35 percent of global construction pipeline with 4,814 hotels containing 581,953 rooms out of 13,770 projects containing 2,304,386 rooms in the global pipeline. The U.S. was followed by China at 27 percent of the global pipeline, and the two countries together account for 62 percent of all global projects, LE said in its latest trend report. During the fourth quarter, China's construction pipeline reached a new all-time high with 3,693 projects containing 700,567 rooms. This is followed by the UK with 313 hotels containing 48,770 rooms, Indonesia with 304 projects with 48,175 rooms, and Germany with 277 hotel projects with 48,827 rooms, the report said.

AAHOA MEMBERS IN the U.S. will now have access to more workforce training opportunities and products from India under the new "Made in India" agreement made with that country. The agreement came about as a result of meetings between a delegation of AAHOA board members and Indian officials. Bharat Patel AAHOA chairman, Treasurer Kamalesh "KP" Patel and others met with the Chief Minister of Gujarat Shri Bhupendrabhai Patel to discuss the partnership, AAHOA said in a statement. It includes: Partnering with India-based educational institutions to implement training programs and skill-development initiatives that will equip young individuals to pursue successful and global careers in hospitality. Actively promoting, prioritizing and providing support for the sourcing of "Made in India" products, including textiles, furniture, and plumbing fixtures, for U.S.-based hospitality businesses. "With strong family ties and a significant footprint in the United States encompassing more than 36,000 properties, the AAHOA community is uniquely positioned to showcase the best of India to the world," said Bharat, who mentioned the program in June when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the U.S. "Our new initiatives aim to not only fuel economic and workforce development and progress, but to create a stronger platform for the exchange of ideas and innovation between the world's leading democracies."

NEARLY HALF OF travelers, or 49 percent, have already taken an international trip, according to a survey by travel risk and crisis response provider Global Rescue. That indicates an 88 percent jump in travel abroad since summer of 2021. The Winter 2022 Global Rescue Travel Safety and Sentiment survey has also revealed that domestically, 85 percent of respondents have already traveled, signaling an 18 percent increase during the period. The survey of more than 1,400 respondents between Jan. 25 to 29 found that nine out of 10 travelers are "much less or less" concerned about travel since the pandemic, showing a 22 percent increase in travel confidence. "All signals are pointing to the beginning of the end of international travel restrictions due to the pandemic. Countries like New Zealand, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and others are opening their borders as severe COVID-19 illnesses and hospitalizations decline, vaccinations increase and testing is more convenient. Domestic travel continues to increase but the big news is that travel abroad is surging," said Dan Richards, CEO of Global Rescue. "When people feel safe, they travel and we are seeing tremendous, positive change in the traveler confidence about their well-being."

NEARLY 80 PERCENT of travelers said that the latest COVID-19 variant, BA5, is unlikely to make them cancel or postpone international travel this year, according to a survey from travel risk assessment firm Global Rescue. At the same time, Global Rescue said relaxed COVID-19 recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could encourage travelers' confidence. The floodgates are opening The Summer 2022 Global Rescue Traveler Safety and Sentiment Survey found that 68 percent of respondents have already traveled internationally since the pandemic. Another 16 percent expects to travel abroad by the end of the year and 9 percent plan to do so in the first quarter of 2023. "Whether it's revenge travel or responsible travel following vaccination, or a combination of both, 7-out-of-10 travelers are much less concerned about travel compared to the beginning of the pandemic," said Dan Richards, CEO of Global Rescue and a member of the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board at the U.S. Department of Commerce. "They feel safe enough to plan trips and vacations because they're vaccinated, borders are open, and they have confidence they'll be able to get home if the worst happens." The U.S. ending its requirement for a negative COVID test to enter the country in June also went far in increasing confidence and encouraging visits from international travelers, Richards said. Nearly half of travelers, 49 percent, said that they are more likely to travel internationally in the next 12 months as COVID related restrictions are relaxed.