Latest Hospitality and leisure industry News
Massachusetts will phase out use of hotels and motels to shelter homeless families, governor says
BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts' reliance on hotels and motels to shelter homeless people will be phased out in the next couple of years, Gov. Maura Healey said Friday, outlining changes to the state's emergency family shelter system. The Democratic governor said the changes would help...
Atlantic City casino earnings fall nearly 14% in 3rd quarter
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Atlantic City's casinos saw their operating profits decline by nearly 14% in the third quarter of this year, figures released Friday by New Jersey gambling regulators show. The state Division of Gaming Enforcement issued statistics showing that the nine...
China is expanding visa-free entry to more countries in bid to boost economy
BEIJING (AP) — China announced Friday that it would expand visa-free entry to nine more countries as it seeks to boost tourism and business travel to help revive a sluggish economy. Starting Nov. 30, travelers from Bulgaria, Romania, Malta, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia,...
6 tourists died in Laos after apparently drinking methanol. What is it and why was it in drinks?
BANGKOK (AP) — Two Australian teenagers and a British woman died from suspected methanol poisoning after drinking tainted alcohol in Laos. An American man and two Danes also died, though their exact causes of death have not been released. A New Zealander also has been sickened. The U.S. State...
A Georgia city will blow up an old hotel to greet 2025
MACON, Ga. (AP) — One Georgia city will welcome 2025 with a larger-than-average bang. The Macon-Bibb County Commission on Tuesday approved a plan to implode a vacant 16-story hotel at midnight on New Year's Eve. Macon-Bibb County spent $4.5 million last year to buy...
Belem, host of next year's climate talks, is Amazonian city plagued with pollution and violence
BELEM, Brazil (AP) — For the last few years, climate scientists, environmentalists and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva have been talking up the first U.N. climate conference to be held in the Amazon. The largest tropical forest in the world stores huge amounts of planet-warming...
The Poarch Band of Creek Indians is buying a racecourse in Alabama
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — The Poarch Band of Creek Indians, which operates casinos in multiple states, has reached an agreement to purchase the Birmingham Racecourse. The McGregor family, which owns both the Birmingham Racecourse and VictoryLand, a former dog racing track in Macon...
Jersey Mike's sandwich chain is acquired by private equity firm Blackstone for $8 billion
NEW YORK (AP) — Jersey Mike's, the quickly expanding sandwich chain, is being acquired by asset management giant Blackstone. In the transaction announced Tuesday, private equity funds managed by Blackstone will be used to acquire majority ownership of Jersey Mike's. The deal is...
Arthur Frommer, travel guide innovator, has died at 95
NEW YORK (AP) — Arthur Frommer, whose "Europe on 5 Dollars a Day" guidebooks revolutionized leisure travel by convincing average Americans to take budget vacations abroad, has died. He was 95. Frommer died from complications of pneumonia, his daughter Pauline Frommer said Monday. ...
Olav Thon, billionaire Norwegian real estate developer, dead at 101
OSLO, Norway (AP) — Olav Thon, a billionaire entrepreneur recognizable for his bright red cap who went from selling leather and fox hides in his youth to build one of Norway's biggest real estate empires, has died, his company said Saturday. He was 101. “It is with great sadness...
