News

Texas Hilton cancels conference hosted by Palestinian rights group, citing ‘escalating security concerns’

A Hilton hotel in Houston has canceled a conference scheduled for next week hosted by the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, amid mounting violence between Israel and Hamas. The hotel cited “escalating security concerns” as the reason for the cancellation. The event was set to take place from October 27 through October 29 and counted Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and American political activist Linda Sarsour as speakers.

Greta Thunberg is CHARGED with public order offence after climate change protest outside London hotel (as police charge sheet reveals Swedish activist 'lives in seaside holiday hotspot Dorset')

Greta Thunberg has been charged with a public order offence after a protest outside a central London hotel, the Metropolitan Police said. The 20-year-old was one of 26 people charged following Tuesday's rally outside the InterContinental Hotel in Park Lane which was hosting a major meeting of oil executives. Scotland Yard said protesters were asked to move from the road onto the pavement to avoid breaching the conditions.

25 Hyatt Regency Long Beach workers to split $4.8 million fine - The $4,799,564 citation will be paid to the 25 affected workers. Specific amounts per worker were not provided by the commissioner’s office

A state probe found the hotel failed to rehire workers who were laid off during the pandemic, a requirement under SB 93. State regulators fined the Hyatt Regency Long Beach hotel $4.8 million for failing to provide timely job offers to 25 workers who were laid off during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic but not rehired when business picked up again.

Racist Hotel Owner Assaulted Demonstrators With Cleaning Spray, Cops Say - A South Dakota hotel owner was arrested Friday and charged with three counts of assault

Connie Uhre faces three counts of simple assault for allegedly spraying a protester with a cleaning product. KOTA/KEVN received video of Friday’s clash at the Grand Gateway Hotel in North Rapid. In video from today’s protest, Connie Uhre seems to approach the picketers before spraying Sunny Red Bear, director of racial equity at NDN Collective, with what appears to be a cleaning product. According to a release from the NDN Collective, the indigenous activist group was leading a picket line event in response to a controversial Facebook comment made by Connie Uhre back in March, saying that the hotel would ban Native Americans from the property. She made the comment following the shooting death of 19-year-old Myron Pourier at a party being held in the hotel.

CBI raids over 50 locations in West Bengal and Sikkim in fake passport scandal - a hotel agent with Rs 1,90,000 in his hands were detained by the criminal investigation agency

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided more than 50 locations in West Bengal and Sikkim on Saturday, including Kolkata, Siliguri, Darjeeling, and Gangtok, in connection with the fake passport scandal. Gautam Kumar Saha, a senior superintendent at the Gangtok Passport Seva Kendra, and a hotel agent with Rs 1,90,000 in his hands were detained by the criminal investigation agency for fraudulently providing passports with forged and phoney documentation for intermediaries.

Trump hotel hosting Holocaust denier amid uproar over ex-president’s Israel reaction - Fitness guru Ian Smith has written multiple posts on X in which he has taken a critical stance against Israel since the outbreak of the conflict on Saturday

A Trump owned hotel in Florida is set to host an evangelical Christian event featuring a Holocaust denier, amid outrage over the former president’s reaction to the conflict in Israel. The ReAwaken America event will take place at the Trump Miami Doral on Friday and Saturday and feature speakers including fitness guru Ian Smith – who has previously made antisemitic and Holocaust denial comments online.

Chicago Bets on Big Events and Hotel Revenue to Plug Deficit - Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is counting on tourists and residents spending more to have fun, take ride shares and stay in hotels to plug a half-billion-dollar deficit in next year’s budget

Johnson’s $16.6 billion spending plan, unveiled earlier this week, includes $187 million more in revenue than projected as recently as last month thanks largely to rising tourism and recreation dollars that include hotels, boating, liquor and cannabis. “A lot of economic data has come in since that time that gives us a lot of confidence in those particular key taxes,” Annette Guzman, the city’s budget director, said after Johnson released the spending plan. “There’s a lot of stuff that’s going to be happening next year, so we have a lot of large events coming.”

Unnamed Premier League star hosted secret s*x party at a five star hotel for other top-flight players and made women sign gag orders, as per The Sun

A Premier League star reportedly hosted a secret sex party for several top-flight footballers, according to The Sun. As per the report, the footballer got a lot of women to sign gag orders at the party which was held at a five-star hotel. Video footage where an organiser can be heard explaining to guests how to deal with security has become the main source of the allegations.

An Imperfect Union: AHLA Fights Unite Here Homeless Policy That Would Endanger Workers, Guests - A story so unbelievable no scriptwriter ever could have dreamed it up

Los Angeles is home to Hollywood, where so many of the movies we know and love were born. The City of Angels is also home to a story so unbelievable no scriptwriter ever could have dreamed it up: A labor union that claims to represent hotel workers is fighting for a policy that would make its members’ working conditions less safe and ultimately eliminate their jobs. Unite Here Local 11 represents hotel and hospitality workers in Southern California and Arizona. For more than a year, the union has been fighting to pass a new ballot measure that would require all Los Angeles hotels to house homeless people next to paying guests.

Pebblebrook unloads Hotel Zoe Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco for $69M REIT sells for $310K per room, resulting in a $54M loss in eight years

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust has jettisoned the Hotel Zoe Fisherman’s Wharf for $68.5 million, one of two hotels it planned to sell in San Francisco. The Maryland-based real estate investment trust sold the 221-room hotel at 425 North Point Street, the San Francisco Business Times reported. The buyer was undisclosed. Pebblebrook bought the 33-year-old Hotel Zoe in 2015 for $122 million, or $552,000 per room. The sale, priced at $309,955 per room, is expected to close by year’s end — for a $53.5 million loss.

Pimco Fund Walks Away From 20 Hotels With $240 Million of Debt - A joint venture tied to a Pacific Investment Management Co. fund surrendered a portfolio of 20 hotels with a $240 million mortgage.

The properties, located in cities including San Antonio and Carmel, Indiana, were forfeited in a deal that closed in September, according to commentary filed this week by the loan’s servicer. The Pimco portfolio, valued at $326 million when the debt was originated in 2017, was cut 16% to $272.8 million in a December appraisal.

Florida man steals car with toddler in backseat, drops kid off at hotel: cops

Police in Florida are searching for a man who allegedly stole a car with a toddler in the backseat and later dropped the kid off at a hotel. The car was stolen from a Mobil gas station around 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday in Boynton Beach, about 60 miles north of Miami in Palm Beach County, local police said in a news release.

London school reports tour guide for slapping Black student on Iceland trip - The tour guide and student had been staying at the same hotel when the incident unfolded

A London secondary school has reported a tour guide to police after a video appears to show the woman slapping a Black student during a school trip to Iceland. The white woman had stayed as a guest at Hotel Ork in the Nordic country last week, at the same time as years 9, 10 and 11 geography students from Harris Girls’ Academy Bromley.

Hotel Manager Quizzed In Rourkela Assistant Collector’s Mystery Death - Where Rourkela assistant collector Sushmita Minz had stayed before being found dead in a pond

Rourkela: Police on Monday questioned the manger of the hotel, where Rourkela assistant collector Sushmita Minz had stayed before being found dead in a pond of newly-constructed Sensory Park here on September 19 evening. Sources identified the hotel manager as Dinesh Rai. He was quizzed by Deputy SP (DSP) of Investigative Unit on Crime Against Women (IUCAW) Banita Majhi, who is investing the case, and his statement was recorded under Section 161 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Radisson Blu Vancouver Airport hotel has admitted to engaging in multiple violations of labour laws during a protracted strike by its hotel workers

Workers have been on strike at the hotel, formerly Pacific Gateway, for over two years. They struck after the employer terminated 143 long-term workers – mostly women – during the pandemic and demanded drastic concessions from remaining workers. Strikers have picketed the hotel daily since May 3, 2021; a customer boycott is also in effect.

Israeli airstrikes target Gaza City striking near a hotel, a hotel commonly occupied by international aid organizations and media - LIVE Video

Israeli airstrikes targeted Gaza City on Wednesday, striking in close proximity to a hotel commonly occupied by international aid organizations and media. The strikes forced many to take refuge inside the building. Israel hammered neighborhood after neighborhood on Wednesday in the tiny coastal enclave in retaliation for the deadly mass incursion by Hamas militants.

Wyndham rejects $7.8B hostile bid from Choice Hotels - Choice said Wyndham raised concerns over regulatory approval in September

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts rejected a nearly $8 billion hostile takeover bid from rival Choice Hotels on Tuesday due to regulatory concerns. The company announced that its board of directors unanimously rejected the deal to acquire the company at $90 per share in cash and stock. "Choice's offer is underwhelming, highly conditional, and subject to significant business, regulatory and execution risk. Choice has been unwilling or unable to address our concerns," Wyndham Chairman Stephen Holmes said in a statement.

The enormous challenge to Israel’s hotels While Israel is facing its biggest crisis ever due to the war, tourism is again challenged by another major blow

The year 2023 was promising. Hotel occupancy was up and an expectation to serve 3.9 million tourists this year was encouraging. The reality of the last horrific week made those hopes evaporate. While missiles are being launched towards metropolitan Tel Aviv and airlines are canceling flights, the hospitality industry faces another crisis.