WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) released a survey that found 71 percent of hotels won’t survive the next six months without government assistance. AHLA conducted the survey of hotel industry owners, operators and employees from Nov. 10 to 13, yielding more than 1,200 respondents. Thirty four percent of owners say they may have to close in the next three months due to low vacancy rates, and 77 percent of survey respondents said they would need to lay off more employees without financial relief. Due to a resurgence in coronavirus cases nationwide, public health officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are urging Americans to not travel for the upcoming holiday season. According to a separate AHLA survey, 72 percent of respondents don’t plan to travel over Thanksgiving week. “With a significant drop in travel demand and seven in 10 Americans not expected to travel over the holidays, hotels will face a difficult winter,” says Chip Rogers, president and CEO of AHLA. “We need Congress to prioritize the industries and employees most affected by the crisis. A relief bill would be a critical lifeline for our industry to help us retain and rehire …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Initial weekly jobless claims ticked back up during the week ending Nov. 14, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday. Total claims totaled 742,000, up from 709,000 the prior week — the lowest since the beginning of the pandemic. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected this week’s total to be 710,000. The initial claims have been historically high throughout the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic that began in the United States in mid-March. Claims hovered around 200,000 per week in January and February. The four-week moving average for the week ending Nov. 14 was 742,000, a decrease of 13,750 from the previous week. Continuing claims, for which data is a week behind, totaled nearly 6.4 million for the week ending Nov. 7, a decrease of 429,000 from the previous week.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Berkadia has provided a $250 million Freddie Mac loan for the refinancing of Meridian at Mt. Vernon Triangle, a 783-unit apartment complex in Washington, D.C. The loan features 10 years of interest-only payments. The property offers studio, one- and two-bedroom floor plans, which feature full-size washers and dryers. Communal amenities include underground parking, a fitness center, rooftop pool with sundeck, outdoor lounge and a grilling area. The 14-story community is located at 425 L St. NW, one mile east of downtown D.C. J. Tyler Blue and Paul Wallace of Berkadia originated the loan on behalf of the undisclosed borrower.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Office users across the United States added 42 million square feet of office space to the sublease market during the second and third quarters, according to a new report from CoStar Group. As of the end of September, the country’s inventory of office sublease space stood at approximately 157 million square feet, a 44 percent increase from third-quarter 2019. While office users added about 14 million square feet of office space to the sublease supply during the second quarter, growth was even more pronounced during the third quarter, when tenants put some 28.5 million square feet up for sublease. According to a Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas survey, 24 percent of employed Americans were working from home in August due to COVID-19 shutdowns. An additional 18 percent of workers went into the office some days. According to the survey, 8 percent of Americans worked from home full-time prior to the pandemic. CoStar reports that among the biggest users to put sublease space on the market were pharmaceutical giant Sanofi (415,000 square feet in Northern New Jersey); retailer Macy’s (309,660 square feet in New York); insurance company USAA (305,110 square feet in San Antonio); Ebay (212,110 square feet …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) has urged the U.S. Congress to pass another COVID-19 relief bill, citing a lack of holiday travel plans by most Americans surveyed and a continuation of stymied business travel. Morning Consult conducted a survey of 2,200 adults from Nov. 2 to 4 on behalf of AHLA. The results found 69 percent of adults have no travel plans for Thanksgiving and 72 percent of adults don’t plan to travel over Christmas. According to research from STR, the national hotel occupancy for the week ending Oct. 31 was 44.4 percent, down from 62.6 percent a year ago. On the business travel side, 8 percent of survey respondents said they have stayed in a hotel overnight for work since March. Sixty-two percent of employed respondents said they have no plans to stay in a hotel for work in the next six months. “This holiday season will be an especially difficult time for all Americans, and our industry is no exception,” says Chip Rogers, president and CEO of the AHLA. “Fewer people will be traveling, and business travel remains nearly non-existent. That’s why it’s so important for Congress to pass a relief bill now. …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Initial weekly job claims fell by 28,000 claims to 709,000 for the week ending Nov. 7, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday. The most recent figure marks the lowest weekly claims since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in mid-March. Additionally, the number of claims beat expectations from economists surveyed by Dow Jones, who expected the weekly claims to come in at 740,000. The four-week moving average also decreased, falling by 33,250 to 755,250. Continuing claims dipped by 436,000 to nearly 6.8 million for the week ending Oct. 31. (Data for continuing claims is a week behind.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) found that 80.4 percent of apartment households made a full or partial rent payment by Nov. 6. NMHC surveyed its network of 11.4 million professionally managed units as part of its Rent Payment Tracker metric. The most recent figure is a 110-basis point drop from November 2019, or a decrease of 131,712 households. November fared 100 basis points better compared to October 2020 when 79.4 percent of households made partial or full payment at Oct. 6. “November’s opening rent payment figures show that the additional support apartment residents received over the summer, coupled with generous, innovative approaches put into place by property owners and managers, continue to provide renters with some degree of security against the economic distress facing communities throughout the country,” says Doug Bibby, NMHC’s president. NMHC releases the survey in partnership with apartment management platforms RealPage, ResMan, Yardi, Entrata and MRI Software.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 638,000 in October, and the unemployment rate declined to 6.9 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. The monthly gain exceeded expectations from economists surveyed by Dow Jones, who predicted employers to add 600,000 jobs. The U.S. economy has added 12.1 million jobs since April, more than half of the 22.2 million jobs lost this spring. In October, job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality (271,000), professional and business services (208,000), retail trade (104,000) and construction (84,000). Employment in government contracted by 268,000, which The Wall Street Journal reports is tied to the release of temporary Census workers. The unemployment rate dropped 100 basis points from 7.9 percent in September, and the number of unemployed persons fell by 1.5 million to 11.1 million. The unemployment rate and total number of unemployed have dropped for six consecutive months but are nearly twice their February levels, which was 3.5 percent and 5.8 million, respectively. Additionally, the BLS found that 21.2 percent of employed persons teleworked because of the coronavirus pandemic in October, down from 22.7 percent in September. This data pertains to employed persons who teleworked or worked at home …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — First-time claims for unemployment insurance totaled 751,000 for the week ending Oct. 31, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week. This is the third straight week the number of jobless claims was below 800,000. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones anticipated the number of workers filing for benefits to total 741,000 for the latest week. The four-week moving average decreased by 4,000 to 787,000. Continuing claims, for which data is a week behind, fell by 538,000 to approximately 7.3 million for the week ending Oct. 24.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Retail sales have been increasing month-over-month and year-over-year for every month since June, according to the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) Monthly Economic Review. Retail sales in October were up 1.9 percent over September, which beat expectations from economists surveyed by Dow Jones. Additionally, October retail sales were up 8.6 percent since January 2020, according to research from Harvard University’s Opportunity Insights Economic Tracker. NRF’s chief economist Jack Kleinhenz notes in the monthly report that the rebounding sales were a positive indicator for retailers that are hoping for a robust sales performance this holiday season. “Strong growth in retail sales during the last few months points to the resiliency of consumers even in this disruptive pandemic environment,” says Kleinhenz. The economist also pointed to additional stimulus money could help keep the U.S. economy on track. NRF’s report pointed to increasing retail sales stemming from an uptick in disposal personal income, which was up 5.4 percent year-over-year as of August, and a savings rate of 14.4 percent that has remained in double digits for six straight months. Clothes and accessories sales jumped by 11 percent, while sales of sporting goods, music and books grew 5.7 percent. Also in the …