Grumpy Editor

ANOTHER HOTEL FEE LOOMS FOR TRAVELERS

Will there be another hotel fee soon to greet travelers, asks Grumpy Editor.

It could be in the works.

The hotel industry is poised to start charging additional fees, according to an industry observer who points out, "We are in the middle of two major events:  COVID and the inflationary environment.”

"Hoteliers had to cut average daily rates by up to 60 percent during the pandemic,” he adds.

In trying to make up for lost revenue, the focus will be on hotel guests…and their wallets.

One area that may see a fee increase:  Daily housekeeping. 

Hotels cut back on daily housekeeping during the pandemic and that’s an area being eyed for new charges.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

REGAL CINEMAS OWNER FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY.  Movie chain Cineworld Group LLOC, owner of Regal Cinemas, files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. as it deals with several billions of dollars in debt and lower attendance in theaters.

BURGER KING PLANS MAJOR INVESTMENT.  Over the next two years Burger King plans to invest $400 million in its 7,058 U.S. restaurants.  That includes $250 million for updates  nd $120 million in advertising. 

UPS PLANS TO ADD 100,000+ WORKERS.  United Parcel Service plans to hire more than 100,000 workers to help handle the holiday season rush.  UPS’s job openings are for package handlers, drivers and driver helpers.

WOMAN FIGHTS OFF TIGER.  In India a woman is hospitalized with serious injuries after fighting off a tiger that was trying to grab her 15-month-old son.  The attack occurs on the outskirts of the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in the northeast part of the country.

F-35 FIGHTER JETS DELIVERIES PAUSE.  The Pentagon temporarily halts delivery of F-35 fighter jets to the military branches and international customers after Lockheed Martin discovers a metal component used in the jet’s engine is produced in China. 

STOLEN ART RETURNS TO ITALY.  New York’s district attorney returns $19 million worth of stolen art to Italy. The 58 pieces include a marble head of the goddess Athena dated 200 BC, worth an estimated $3 million. The stolen items were sold to museums and private dealers by convicted looters.

RUSSIA SEEKS NORTH KOREA ROCKETS, ARTILLERY SHELLS.  Affected by its six-month-old invasion of Ukraine, Russia approaches North Korea for rockets and artillery shells for its military forces, according to U.S. intelligence officials. 

HOTEL RESORT FEES FINALLY FACE LEGAL ACTION

A resort fee --- a trick charge hotels have been using in recent years to extract additional money from guests --- are finally facing legal action, notes Grumpy Editor.

The fee nicks overnight guests to pay for additional services such as wi-fi, pool and gym access even when not used.

It’s a practice that most Las Vegas Strip casinos, for example, employ, sending unsuspecting guests home grumbling.

Nebraska Atty. Gen. Doug Peterson filed a lawsuit against Hilton Hotels Corp. for its use of resort fees which he terms can “deceive and mislead consumers.”

The lawsuit accused Hilton of hiding the “true price” of hotel rooms to boost profits and seeks to force Hilton to advertise “true prices of its hotel rooms,” pay civil penalties and provide monetary relief to consumers who have been charged.

Peterson pointed out at least 78 Hilton properties in the U.S. charge resort fees ranging from $15 to $45 per room per night.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

QUIET PERIOD IN WASHINGTON.  Look for fewer Washington, D.C. datelines over the next few weeks.  House and Senate members are on vacation until Sept. 9.

HOME OWNERSHIP ACTIVITY DIPS.  Home ownership in the U.S. fell for the second straight quarter — to 64.1 percent in the April-June period, from 64.2 percent in the first quarter, down from 64.3 percent in the 2018 second quarter.

HEAT WAVE PUTS EUROPE IN A SWEAT.  A heat wave in Europe late last week set records with 101 degrees in Cambridge, England; 109 degrees in Paris, 107 degrees in Lingen, Germany and 104 degrees in Eindhoven, Netherlands, as examples.

$100 SANDWICH DEBUTS IN LAS VEGAS.  A restaurant on the Las Vegas Strip now offers a sandwich named for Howard Hughes — at $100.  It includes roast beef brisket and prime rib, topped with a truffle sauce.  This compares with earlier times when a casino offered a full dinner plus show for a modest $4.99.

NEWSPAPER BUILDING TO BECOME POLICE HEADQUARTERS.  The city of Reno, Nev. plans to buy the Reno Gazette Journal building on seven acres for $7 million for use as its police headquarters.  The newspaper will settle in a new location that Executive Editor Brian Duggan says "will better suit our news organization's digital future.” 

NEWSPAPER CIRCULATION HITS LOW.  U.S. newspaper circulation, in a 2018 tally, reached its lowest level since 1940.  Total daily print/digital circulation was an estimated 28.6 million with 30.8 million for Sunday, down 8 percent and 9 percent, respectively, from the previous year, according to Pew Research Center’s analysis of Alliance for Audited Media data. 

BBC SHORTENS CLIMATE DOOMSDAY COUNTDOWN.  British Broadcasting Corp., in a climate doomsday countdown, claimed there could be as little as 18 months remaining to “save the planet” from a “global heating crisis.”

TV NEWS AUDIENCE DECLINES.  A new survey finds local TV news audience last year dropped 10 percent for morning news and 14 percent for late night and evening news from the prior year. 

Do campus fees result in some students being homeless?

Hard to believe, but a study found one in 10 California State University students is homeless and one in five doesn’t have steady access to enough food --- yet students pay thousands of dollars in annual tuition fees, observed Grumpy Editor.

The study --- not widely reported --- was conducted by the CSU system, largest public university system in the country, with 460,000 students at 23 campuses.

University officials said students aren't required to report unstable housing conditions and many don't seek help “because of the shame associated with homelessness.”

So the homelessness figure could be higher.

CSU undergraduates pay the systemwide tuition fee of $5,472 per academic year for enrolling in more than six units per term and $3,174 for enrolling in six or fewer units.

Students enrolling in graduate programs and other post baccalaureate students pay a tuition fee of $6,738 for more than six units and $3,906 for six or fewer units.

In addition, students at each campus face mandatory fees, varying by location.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

Major overreaction?  It should be noted, following the British vote to leave the European Union, that the U.K. accounts for only about four percent of the world economy...Overlooked quotes on taxes in an election year:  "We have the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world --- 39 percent.  Other countries over the past 20 years have been steadily lowering their corporate tax rates.  Ours has stayed the same.  We also have very unpredictable regulations," said Diana Furchtgott-Roth, a senior fellow and director at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research and former U.S. Labor Department chief economist...Bank of America Corp. will pay $415 million to settle allegations that its Merrill Lynch unit misused billions of dollars in customer funds...Pacific Gas and Electric Co.will shutter its Diablo Canyon nuclear plant, last one in California, in 2025...Overlooked story:  The U.S. Senate voted down a Republican-backed proposal to expand the F.B.I.'s secretive surveillance powers following the mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub...Bloomberg reported the U.S. commercial real estate market could be headed for a slump...Behind Californians leaving for other states: High home prices, worsening traffic, high taxes and a generally more expensive cost of  living.  In the past year, the number of people departing the Golden State exceeded by 61,100 the number who moved to California from elsewhere in the U.S., according to state Finance Department statistics. The "net outward migration" was the largest since 2011, when 63,300 more people fled California than entered...The Council of Economic Advisers reported the proportion of working-age men dropping out of the labor force in the U.S. is higher than in any other advanced economy in the world except Italy...The Japanese government said it is aiming to double the number of tourists visiting Japan to 40 million within four years...A Harvard survey reported by the Washington Examiner:  Home ownership hit a 48-year low, driven in part by foreclosures that put 9.4 million out of their homes...Weather blamed --- again:  Jane Harman, president and CEO of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, said women are disproportionately affected by climate change in developing countries.

 

A half century on TV.

KTRK-TV news anchor Dave Ward was honored last week as the person with the longest career as a television news broadcaster.

He started at the Houston station Nov. 6, 1966.