Weddings in the Sky & Video Game Hotels (#65)

#nerdbirds Jeremy and Kai have your latest episode of the Weekly News Roundup, diving into the latest changes across the travel spectrum! Residents of Key West overwhelmingly vote to boot big cruise ships from Key West AND preference socially/environmentally responsible cruise lines that do come, and we chat about some parallels with access in the airline industry. Private jet charters are pivoting to offering small “weddings in the sky” but there’s a catch. Always a catch… and we finish off Part One discussing the pilot & flight attendant unions at Cathay Pacific teaming up to work together in the face of difficulty negotiating with Cathay Pacific over unilaterally-imposed, pandemic-induced work contract changes.

In Part Two, we check out both current and future happenings in the hotel industry. The leisure-driven recovery to travel is especially apparent in convention powerhouse Las Vegas, where some hotels are taking the dramatic step of closing during the week. On the other hand, lifestyle hotel brands take a step into nostalgic video game land with plans for Atari Hotels launching within the next couple years.

Story Links:

• Key West votes to ban large cruise ships from docking, limit cruise visitors to 1,500 per day
  (USA Today)
• A private jet company is offering $28,000 ‘weddings in the sky’ as charter firms try to offset the loss of business travel
  (Business Insider)
• Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association and Cathay Pacific Airways Flight Attendants Union Demand Fairer Treatment from Cathay Pacific
  (PR Newswire Asia)
• Las Vegas Hotels Are Experimenting With Midweek Closures to Get Through the Pandemic
  (Travel + Leisure)
• Atari, Video Game Pioneer, Plans to Open 8 Hotels to ‘Eat, Sleep and Play’
  (New York Times)