Complete recovery for US hotel demand is unlikely to come before 2023, according to a new analysis by STR and Tourism Economics. Thursday's forecast from the metrics firms estimates average occupancy of 40% this year and 52% in 2021, compared to 66% in 2019.

The need to lobby government on a wide range of fronts, including financial relief and liability protection from the pandemic, highlighted a discussion by US travel organization leaders at the 20th convention of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association. The virtual convention also featured a panel of second-generation AAHOA members, whose consensus was guarded optimism.

Much of the hotel industry is in a day-to-day struggle to stay afloat while talk of long-term recovery plans swirls around it, a hospitality leader noted at the Asian American Hotel Owners Association conference. American Hotel & Lodging Association CEO Chip Rogers called on Washington to extend help to many hotels that have lost 35% or more of their revenues and face loan delinquency.

The city of Memphis, Tenn., has unveiled plans to add new attractions, including a 120-room hotel, to the Mid-South Fairgrounds and has renamed the area Liberty Park. The site, which currently houses the Memphis Children's Museum, the Liberty Bowl and others, will soon get a youth sports facility. The city is also negotiating to have a family entertainment center open in the space.

Hotelier Rod Bradley is enjoying heavy bookings and declares that good cheer prevails in the South Dakota city that's hosting motorcycle enthusiasts despite coronavirus fears. "It could be a catalyst for America as far as being able to hold events again," the owner of the Sturgis Hotel says of the 80th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

The 12 Paris palaces with a better-than-5-star status are struggling to survive the pandemic just like all the city's other lodgings. The 40-room La Reserve -- the smallest of the group -- is the only one that's been open since May, but even it is expecting a significantly worse season.

The Pavilions Hotels & Resorts, based in Hong Kong, will open its first Philippine hotel in early 2022 on Palawan Island. The El Nido Beach & Spa Resort will feature 96 plunge-pool villas with ocean views, a spa, restaurants and curated tour itineraries.

Bend, Ore., is home to the universe's last remaining Blockbuster video store, which for three nights in September will be offered as an Airbnb with an unlimited movie package. The price for the night's stay is just a penny more than the regular $3.99 rental rate for a single video.

Political scientist Dr. Melanye Price outlines how the selection of Kamala Harris as Joe Biden's vice-presidential running mate was made possible by the political labor of Black women who came before her and the grassroots movement of women in the Black community. "Ms. Harris' selection represents a major step forward in Black women's political ascendance and not a single victory," Dr. Price writes.

The pandemic has been less harsh to mid-market, nationally focused hotel chains than to their global luxury counterparts, as the chill on corporate business travel brings the latter's business model into question. Stock market analysis shows Hilton Worldwide faring better than Marriott International and, in Europe, InterContinental Hotels Group besting Accor.