WASHINGTON, D.C. — The outbreak of the novel coronavirus has continued to clobber the hotel sector as industry experts say 70 percent of workers have been furloughed and eight in 10 rooms are vacant, according to a survey conducted by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA). The data from the survey also leads the AHLA to project that vacancy rates in 2020 will be the lowest (38 percent) since the Great Depression. The vacancy rate was 66 percent from 2017 to 2019. “Hotels were one of the first industries affected by the pandemic and will be one of the last to recover,” said Chip Rogers, president and CEO of AHLA. The survey also reports that the full-service hotels that are remaining open are operating on average with a 14-person staff, a fraction of the average 50-person staff pre-crisis. Resort hotels, which often operate seasonally based on peak tourism months and averaged about 90 employees per location as recently as March 13, are down to an average of five employees per resort today. As of this writing, there were 49,963 deaths and 869,172 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
WASHINGTON, D.C. — An estimated 4.4 million Americans filed for first-time unemployment claims during the week ending April 18, the Department of Labor reports. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect millions of Americans as business and public spaces are closed. Over the past five weeks, the total number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims is 26 million, all but wiping out the 24.4 million jobs created in the 11 years since the Great Recession. The latest figure shows a declining trend in weekly jobless claims, with the number of initial jobless claims having decreased for three straight weeks, according to the Department of Labor. As of this writing, there were 46,859 deaths and 843,614 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Retail Federation (NRF) has praised the $300 billion legislation the U.S. Senate passed to financially aid small businesses that are struggling during the COVID-19 crisis. The Small Business Administration (SBA) ran out of its originally allotted $376 billion Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fund, which had 200,000 small businesses partaking in the program. The PPP is a product of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Securities Act (CARES Act), which was signed into law March 27. “Retailers continue to deal with catastrophic hardships from COVID-19, and small retailers are the hardest hit,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “The CARES Act was an important first step, but funding for the PPP has already been exhausted and additional relief is essential to keeping employees of small retailers on the payroll and contributing to the economy until we can get through this challenge.” The total allotment of the new legislation is $484 billion, with additional funding going to hospitals and COVID-19 testing. The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on the bill Thursday. Washington, D.C.-based NRF has advocated for retailers and policies for more than 100 years.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Freddie Mac has changed its previously announced Multifamily COVID-19 forbearance program in three ways to better align with the federally enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The program allows Freddie Mac’s multifamily borrowers to defer their loan payments for 90 days if they can show hardship as a consequence of the COVID-19 outbreak and if they receive approval from their lenders, which are part of Freddie Mac’s Optigo network. The first change to the program is an extended deadline for multifamily owners to enter forbearance due to COVID-related hardships. The new deadline is until the end of the year or the end of the federally declared emergency period, whichever occurs first. The previous end of the program was set for Aug. 1. The agency also revised its eviction policy pertaining to borrowers that enter forbearance, saying none of the borrowers’ residents can be evicted, whether or not they can prove their nonpayment stems from COVID-19-related hardships. The third change is participating owners are required to waive late fees, penalties or other charges related to tenant nonpayment of rent during the forbearance period. “The program has already proved to be an important source of relief …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — An estimated 5.2 million people filed for first-time unemployment in the week ending April 11, the U.S. Department of Labor reports. COVID-19 has continued to take a toll on the daily lives of almost every American and those around the world as local, state and federal governments issue stay-at-home orders and urge non-essential businesses to close to the public. Over the past four weeks, the total number of Americans filing for unemployment has exceeded 22 million, according to the Department of Labor. To put the pandemic’s swift movement through the economy into perspective, there were 24.4 million jobs created over the past 11 years since the Great Recession, according to the Department of Labor. The latest weekly unemployment claims figure is down from 6.6 million the prior week. As of this writing, there were 31,015 deaths and 640,291 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Hines, Urban Atlantic and Triden Development Group, along with joint venture partner Bridge Investment Group, have purchased 1.5 acres at The Parks at Walter Reed in Washington, D.C. to develop The Hartley. Whole Foods Market will anchor the luxury apartment project. Of The Hartley’s 323 units, 32 will be designated as affordable. The Hartley will also include 58,000 square feet of retail space. It is considered the focal point of Town Center, which will feature 100,000 square feet of dining, shopping and entertainment around an active plaza fronting Georgia Avenue. The project is part of the master plan for the redevelopment of the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Once complete, The Parks at Walter Reed will include more than 3.1 million square feet of new construction and adaptive reuse of existing structures. The 66-acre project will include a mix of green space, 130,000 square feet of retail, approximately 2,100 residential units, office space, ambulatory care by Howard University and two foreign language charter schools. The Hartley will be the third phase of construction at The Parks at Walter Reed. Previous projects were The Brooks, an 89-unit condo development, and The Vale, a 301-unit apartment project currently …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is expected to grant extensions to the 45-day identification period and 180-day purchase period that applies to commercial real estate investors seeking to transact via 1031 exchanges. The expectation that an extension will be granted is supported by Legal 1031 Exchange Services, a New York-based law firm specializing in this type of transaction. The firm is one of several trade groups that has pushed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to make an official announcement on the subject. Historically, extensions for both periods have been 120 days in length. The IRS has already extended the deadline for filing federal income taxes for 2019 to July 15, 2020 in response to the pandemic.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A recent report from the U.S. Travel Association found that travel spending is down 85 percent from this time last year due to the worldwide coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The week ending April 4 saw $3.3 billion in spending, down from $21.9 billion the same week a year ago. The U.S. Travel Association says that with now five weeks of evident COVID-19 impact, the U.S. travel economy has lost $60.8 billion. More than $36 billion (60 percent) of these losses have been realized in the past two weeks. With the shared decrease in spending, the organization expects that 5.9 million travel-related jobs will be lost by the end of April. Southwest Airlines says it will cut flights by up to 50 percent in June. Furthermore, American Airlines has said it will cut 80 percent of its flights in May and cut its international summer flights by 60 percent. As of this writing, there were 547,627 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU). The U.S. Travel Association is a nonprofit organization representing the travel industry, such as airlines, cruise lines, buses, rail transportation, museums, amusement parks and state tourism offices, which generates …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — National Retail Federation (NRF) CEO and president Matthew Shay issued a statement saying the organization is pleased with the measures the Federal Reserve Bank and Treasury Department have taken to help businesses that are short on liquidity due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. On Thursday, the Federal Reserve, along with Secretary of Treasury Steve Mnuchin, said it will finance up to $2.3 trillion to aid small- and mid-size businesses that are struggling due to the pandemic. The Fed said $600 billion will go toward buying the loans of the businesses and $500 billion will buy state municipal bonds. “As part of the next round of liquidity support for U.S. businesses, (Thursday’s) release by the Federal Reserve Bank of new term sheets is a welcome development,” said Shay. “By strengthening the efficiency of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and clarifying terms to speed relief to small- and mid-market businesses through the Mainstreet Lending Program, the government is making great progress toward quick action with both clarity and guidance.” While Shay commends the government for its timely response to the pandemic, he says there is still work to be done to continue helping retailers, mainly when it comes to …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Census Bureau has reported that four of the 10 fastest growing metropolitan areas in the United States from 2010-2019 are in the Southeast. Atlanta is No. 4 with 733,646 new residents since 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s July 1, 2019 population estimates, which were released in late March. Washington, D.C., is right behind the Georgia capital at No. 5, with 630,799 new residents, and Miami comes in at No. 6 with an increase of 600,214 people. Orlando claimed the ninth spot with 473,748 people added since the turn of the decade. Dallas and Houston are the fastest growing metros with 1.2 million and 1.1 million people added, respectively. Phoenix rounds out the top three with 755,074 people added. As far as percentage growth by metro, the Southeast claimed four of the top 10 spots again, with The Villages, Fla., growing by 41.7 percent since 2010. Myrtle Beach, S.C., is No. 2 with 32 percent growth; Fort Myers, Fla., is No. 8 with 24.5 percent growth; and Raleigh, N.C., rounds out the top 10 with 23 percent growth.