Japan stares at 1 million canceled bookings: Japan’s decision to bar spectators from the main athletics events at the Olympics, along with a fourth COVID emergency in Tokyo, have sparked a wave of hotel room cancellations. Barring spectators from the games could result in more than a million canceled reservations. This setback puts additional pressure on the hotel industry that had pinned hopes on the summer games to revive the sector for Japan’s wider economic goal of attracting 40 million overseas visitor per year. This also tests smaller hotel operators’ stamina as the pandemic has triggered bankruptcies in the sector.
MGM’s Osaka proposal: MGM Resorts International and financial services group partner Orix Corp. have submitted a proposal to build a US$9.08 billion casino resort in Osaka, Japan. Japan legalized gambling in 2018 and is planning to approve several integrated resorts that include casinos, shopping arcades and conference centers.
DC hotel auctioned: The former Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, D.C., reportedly has been auctioned off for US$152 million to Carmel Partners. The fate of the property remains uncertain as there have been calls from local groups to convert the 1,153-room hotel into affordable housing units. Eastdil secured managed the auction with a pool of 175 prospective buyers. The hotel closed during the pandemic amid a legal dispute over management between Pacific Life and Marriott International.
Marriott on The Strip: Marriott International reportedly will now open the JW Marriott Las Vegas Blvd. at the site of the long-stalled Fontainebleau development in October 2023, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The property has more than 3,700 rooms and will include a pedestrian skybridge to the newly built section of the Las Vegas Convention Center.
American at American Bar: For the first time, an American will run the iconic American Bar at the Savoy Hotel in London. Shannon Tebay, who was the lead bartender at Death & Co., the celebrated cocktail bar in Manhattan, has been chosen to be head bartender on the American Bar, long ranked as one of the crucial outstanding cocktail locations on the planet. Tebay is also the first woman to run the bar since Ada Coleman in the early 20th century, who created the Hanky Panky cocktail, a mix of gin, candy vermouth and Fernet-Branca.
Sydney hotels only 2% full: In the absence of leisure, international and corporate bookings because of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, hotels in Sydney are running at less than 2% occupancy. Sydney’s finest luxury hotels with 600 rooms now have only five to 10 guests staying each night, said Tourism Accommodation Australia NSW boss Michael Johnson. Staff have been stood down with little support, while many have begun leaving the industry. The only hotels doing any kind of business are the those operating as quarantine centers, but after the federal government cut international flight caps by 50%, even that cash support has been cut off. Johnson fears that Australia might not open its borders to international travelers in the first quarter of 2022, making the hotel industry bleed for eight more months.
U.S. Travel reacts to Canada, Mexico border closure extension: Hours after the U.S. announced the extension of the closure of land borders with Mexico and Canada to non-essential travel through August 21, the U.S. Travel Association said it was a further blow to the travel industry’s chances of a revival and to those whose livelihoods depend on travel. “The continued closure of the Canadian border alone costs the U.S. economy US$1.5 billion in potential travel exports each month. Given the strong vaccination rates on both sides of the border, it is possible to safely reopen to our No. 1 source market for international visitors. Land travel accounted for more than half of all overnight visits to the U.S. by Canadians pre-pandemic, generating significant travel exports that support vital American jobs,” U.S. Travel Association executive Tori Emerson Barnes said in a statement.
Preferred’s buyout experiences: Preferred Hotels & Resorts has launched the WHERE NEXT? buyout offer to meet the growing demand for private and secluded holidays. The scheme will allow travelers to select buyout options inclusive of floors, wings or the full property takeovers at more than 135 member properties worldwide and is available for stays through December 31, 2022. The buyout offer follows the May launch of WHERE NEXT? Experiences, a custom offer for a two-night accommodation or longer at the best available rate. This is valid at more than 200 participating hotels for stays through December 31, 2021.