Can nature help fix our brains?
Dana Milbank: Technology broke our connection to nature. Here is a way back.
Dana Milbank: Nature's lesson for the politically worried: Spring will come again
Dana Milbank: My new tractor will either extend my life or end it quickly
Subscribe to The Washington Post here.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Wynn bucks Vegas trends with strong Q2 performance
This story was originally published on Hotel Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Hotel Dive newsletter. Dive Brief: Wynn Resorts posted operating revenues of $1.74 billion for the second quarter of 2025, an increase of $4.9 million from the same quarter last year. Las Vegas operating revenues, specifically, were up $10 million to $638.6 million, according to a second-quarter earnings report released Thursday. On an earnings call, CEO Craig Billings said Wynn was also planning to resume the remodel of its Encore Tower in Las Vegas, which the company previously halted due to tariff concerns. While Wynn appears to have outperformed some of its Las Vegas peers, which posted Q2 revenue declines, the resort operator did notice 'softer' midweek bookings, which led Wynn to prioritize 'midweek rate over occupancy,' Billings said. Dive Insight: When asked on the earnings call why Wynn appeared to outperform peers like MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment in Q2, Billings said, 'being at the luxury end of the market helps.' 'We sit in a unique position,' Billings said on the call. 'We're not the best barometer of Las Vegas writ large. We're the best barometer, I think, of a very particular portion of Las Vegas.' He then noted that the 'average check on in our fine-dining restaurants … has been pretty stable.' Following its first-quarter earnings call — in which Wynn announced it was halting $375 million in capital expenditures, inclusive of its Encore Tower remodel, citing tariff concerts — the company revised its sourcing and procurement plans, Billings shared. 'I now expect we will kick off that renovation in spring 2026 with minor disruptions during the renovation period,' he said. Wynn is 'bullish' on the coming quarters, he added, noting that it saw its forward booking pace accelerate as July progressed. 'Our group and convention business looks strong heading into the fourth quarter, and 2026 is shaping up to be a record year for both group room nights and revenue,' Billings said. MGM also pointed to future bookings in its Q2 earnings call last week, with CFO Jonathan Halkyard saying the operator plans to 'restore a growth trajectory' following recent Las Vegas declines. Caesars, meanwhile, posted a 3.7% year-over-year decline in Las Vegas net revenues in the quarter. Recommended Reading US hotel GOPPAR exceeds pre-pandemic levels Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Southwest Didn't See More Profit After Ending Free Bags
Earlier this year, Southwest Airlines made the controversial decision to end its longstanding "bags fly free" policy as the airline began charging customers for each checked bag in an attempt to boost slumping profits. However, it doesn't sound like the move boosted profits the way the airline had hoped. In May, Southwest Airlines officially began charging for checked baggage, with the first bag costing travelers $35 and an additional bag costing $45. While the airline rolled out the new fees in an attempt to boost profits, it doesn't sound like it's actually worked out that way. On a Q2 2025 earnings call last week, Southwest Airlines Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson had a rather telling admission about the new bag fees as he admitted that the airline 'did not see a measurable customer impact in the period between the announcement of these changes back in March and the implementation in late May.' Southwest Airlines posted second-quarter earnings that were not exactly optimistic. According to CNBC, Southwest Airlines posted net income of $213 million, which is down 42 percent over last year. In fact, if anything, it sounds like the new bag fees led to more problems for Southwest, with Watterson admitting 'a temporary decline in bookings, primarily in basic economy' in the days following the rollout of basic economy on May 28, according to Customer Experience Dive. Watterson said that Southwest has made efforts to combat this decline. 'There has been an ongoing effort to optimize the product descriptions and the basic economy booking flow, which initially included barriers to booking basic economy that resulted in reductions in overall website conversion,' Watterson said last week. While many customers quickly expressed their displeasure at the decision to end free bags and it does not seem to have made the financial impact the airline would have hoped, Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan has consistently defended the move. "I know that we have some that are not happy - and we have many, many, many that are happy," he said last month. "You have to keep talking because sometimes people don't understand what you're doing. What I find is that once folks know where we're headed, they're very excited. I think you just have to play through this period of change because change is hard." Despite the outrage, it sounds like Southwest is committed to charging for checked bags. Southwest Didn't See More Profit After Ending Free Bags first appeared on Men's Journal on Aug 3, 2025
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Southwest Airlines Receives a Warning After Major Changes
Southwest Airlines is in the process of making some significant changes to its identity, ending its longstanding "bags fly free" policy as well as its open seating policy. But as the airline transitions into its new identity, one travel expert has a pretty clear warning. Earlier this year, Southwest Airlines announced plans to begin charging for checked bags and move to an assigned seating model that allows customers to pay extra to select their seats, which could include premium seats with extra legroom. The drastic policy changes came as the airline searched for ways to boost its profits, which have been slumping in recent years. But there's no guarantee it will work. New Checked Bag Fees Southwest Airlines began charging for checked bags back in May, charging customers $35 for the first checked bag and $45 for an additional checked bag. The move ended Southwest's iconic "bags fly free" policy, which it had stuck to for decades. The early results from the changes were not great. Customers were not happy, the airline saw an immediate decline in bookings, and the move did not provide an immediate, obvious boost to profits. Still, Southwest is committed to moving forward with the plan, and it sounds like CEO Bob Jordan is pleased with the early results. 'The revenue contribution from bag fees has exceeded our expectations so far, and we've experienced no negative impact to the operation,' Jordan said. Assigned Seating Model For decades, Southwest Airlines had a democratic, open seating policy on all of its flights, allowing passengers to simply choose any seat on the aircraft after boarding in the order in which they checked in, though the airline eventually allowed some guests to pay to board sooner than others. Beginning in January of 2026, that's changing. Earlier this year, Southwest Airlines officially announced that it would be ending its open-seating policy, moving to an assigned seating model. Now, guests will have to choose between four fare bundles: Basic, Choice, Choice Preferred, and Choice Extra. Basic passengers will either receive an automatically assigned seat a day before departure or pay extra to select a seat. All other fare types will include seat selection at no extra cost. The assigned seating model will officially go into effect beginning January 27, 2026. More Changes on the Horizon While Southwest has already made some rather significant changes, the airline is not done evolving yet. Back in June, CEO Bob Jordan made it clear that Southwest was keeping its options open for future changes. While he did not specifically indicate what the airline had planned for the future, he mentioned things like international flights and airport lounges – things Southwest's competitors currently offer, but it has never pursued. "Whatever customers need in 2025, 2030, we won't take any of that off the table," Jordan said back in June. "We know we send customers to other airlines because there's some things you might want that you can't get on us. That includes things like lounges, like true premium, like flying long-haul international. I want to send fewer and fewer customers to another airline." We'll have to see what's next for the airline. A Warning About the Future While Southwest has undergone some extensive changes already and appears to have even more changes on the horizon, there's no guarantee that this transformation will actually yield the desired results. As Prachi Patel of Simple Flying warned the airline, it's still not clear how customers will respond to the changes or how the changes will ultimately impact the company's bottom line. "The Dallas-based carrier's transformation is far from over. Assigned seating is still months away from appearing on flights, and cabin retrofits to accommodate new seat types are scheduled to run into early 2026. The airline has committed to completing those updates across its fleet, but much of what comes next depends on how passengers respond to the changes already underway," Patel wrote in a post for Simple Flying this week. "Internally, the company is working to deliver the financial results its investors now expect while trying to avoid further backlash from its customer base and workforce. Fare bundles, revised loyalty benefits, and new seating products are all part of that strategy, but none of it guarantees long-term stability. The pressure to show progress, both operationally and financially, will only increase in the months ahead," Patel added. The transformation is well underway. But as Patel warns, there's always a chance it could backfire. Southwest Airlines Receives a Warning After Major Changes first appeared on Men's Journal on Aug 7, 2025 Sign in to access your portfolio
