U.S. industrial production unexpectedly dipped 0.6% in January, with across-the-board weakness raising alarms that the economy has hit a “soft patch.” The decline in output, which appears to reflect rising protectionism and decelerating economic growth around the world, was the first since May 2018. Economists had expected a gain of 1%.

Saudi Arabia has lifted a travel warning on Lebanon for its citizens. Gulf tourists used to be the biggest spenders in Lebanon, so it's hopeful news for the beautiful but geopolitically unlucky country.

President and CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) Chip Rogers issued the following statement in response to President Trump signing a deal to fund the government.

The Trumps can blame politics, but it's a bad business decision for any hotelier to flag under a controversial brand when there are dozens of others with more robust distribution networks and stronger consumer awareness available to choose from.

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE: PEB) (the “Company”) today announced that it has closed on the sale of the 343-room, Liaison Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. for $111.0 million.

Businesses are frequently valued using one or more established approaches across industries and sectors. Their replacement cost, income generation ability and/or comparable sales of similar businesses usually form the basis of such valuations. However, in most cases, a business value using the approaches mentioned herein is largely determined for tangible assets, as they have been regarded as the main source of value creation.

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has reported its fourth quarter and full year 2018 results. Earnings increased for the brand while the pipeline slowed a bit in Q4.

MGM Resorts International has reported results for the quarter and year ended Dec. 31, 2018. On Jan. 1, 2018, the company adopted the new revenue recognition accounting standard (ASC 606). As such, certain previously reported 2017 numbers have been retrospectively adjusted under the new standard to assist with comparability to the prior period.

Although several sources reported late Friday that Expedia and United have agreed to temporarily suspend their court battle, Expedia’s willingness to pursue claims against United in the midst of contract negotiations is nonetheless interesting and, perhaps even, telling.

Expedia is an opportunistic company, and mergers and acquisitions are part of its DNA. The company has been quiet on this front for the past three years. It is sort of due to make another big splash.

Restaurant365, an all-in-one, cloud-based, restaurant-specific accounting, operations and reporting solution, has added two new modules: Bank Direct Connect and Fixed Assets.

Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian to investors on earnings day: Trust us, the plan is working.

JPMorgan Chase on Thursday announced a move to speed up the settlement of business-to-business transactions by using digital coins. The largest U.S. bank by assets said its JPM Coin is designed to make instantaneous payments using blockchain technology. The coins will be redeemable for the equivalent amount in U.S. dollars.

Hyatt Hotels Corp. released its fourth-quarter financial results, which reflected some ups and downs that were triggered by the company's acquisition and divestment moves. The quarterly report showed that net income was $44 million, or 40 cents per diluted share, compared to $213 million, or $1.75 per diluted share, in Q4 2017.

U.S. retail sales fell 1.2% month-over-month in December, according to the latest figures from the Commerce Department. It was the largest decline in more than nine years and warned of a sharp drop in economic activity at the end of 2018.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’ fourth quarter earnings revealed revenues increased 69% compared with fourth quarter 2017, to $527 million. Net income was $43 million for the quarter and adjusted net income was $57 million—a 50% increase over the prior-year quarter.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation reported that its net income increased 97.5% to $769 million for 2018. Its net income was $44 million, or $0.40 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2018, compared to $213 million, or $1.75 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Global hotel transaction volume reached $68 billion in 2018, but JLL’s 2019 Hotel Investment Outlook predicts that growth will slow in the upcoming year due to uncertainty in trade relations, politics, and economic growth projections. The outlook also predicts that the industry will continue to see the investment strategies of 2018 in the year ahead—including mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures. Below are six findings from this year’s outlook.

KDG Capital, a Florida-based real estate private equity firm, has purchased the Snow King Resort Hotelin Jackson, Wyoming. BENCHMARK®, a global hospitality company, will continue to operate and market the 230-room property, located at the foot of Snow King Mountain in the Grand Teton mountains, just minutes from the center of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. KDG plans to invest $5 million in capital improvements to the property. Snow King Resort Hotel is part of Benchmark’s signature Benchmark Resorts & Hotels brand.

Automation is a top priority of finance and accounting professionals in 2019. And the reasons are clear: Highly automated accounting—particularly accounts payable (AP)— departments process invoices faster, more accurately, with better control, and at a lower cost than their peers that have little or no automation—a completely manual, paper-laden workflow. It becomes even more useful for multi-unit franchises with a central accounting office.

Hilton Worldwide Holdings released its fourth quarter and full-year 2018 results with some solid numbers: Net income was $225 million for the fourth quarter and $769 million for the full year.

Sixty-six percent of companies said employee retention is a major concern, but a large majority of them don’t plan to raise compensation in a meaningful amount amid concerns the economy might be headed toward a recession, according to a survey from PayScale. Sixty-nine percent of companies said they plan to increase base pay by 3% or less this year, just keeping pace with inflation. Nineteen percent said they planned no base-pay increase at all.

Many companies expect in the near future to derive substantial benefits from adopting artificial intelligence-powered technologies. However, they must first overcome some significant obstacles. In a global survey of 300 C-level executives and their direct reports by consulting firm Protiviti, 16% of the respondents say their companies are getting “high” or “very high” value from their investments in AI. But more than three times that many (52%) say they anticipate they will be doing so in two years.

AWH Partners, a privately held real estate investment, development, and management firm, has acquired Topnotch Resort and Spa, a ski lodge at the foot of Mount Mansfield in Stowe, Vermont. Spire Hospitality, AWH’s full-service hospitality management company, is now managing the resort and will immediately implement its repositioning strategy, leveraging Spire’s experience at AWH’s similarly-situated High Peaks Resort in Lake Placid, New York, to drive stronger operating revenues and profit margins.

With a brand-new year stretched out ahead of us, the hospitality industry continues its forward momentum towards a more streamlined, personalised and more importantly — optimised — group business landscape for planners and hoteliers alike.

According to the latest data tracking full-service hotels from HotStats, profit per room at hotels in the Middle East and North Africa fell 10.6 percent year-over-year in December and contributed to a 6-percent decline for full-year 2018 as revenues declined and costs grew.