The number of workers returning to traditional office space has been edging higher since the week of Labor Day, when an average of 31% of the workforce was back in 10 major cities. The average hit 36% during the week that ended Oct. 8, a new high during the pandemic period.

Hotel data and analytics firm STR is projecting that about 1 billion U.S. hotel rooms will be booked this year, up from 829 million in 2020, but still below the record year of 2019, when guests booked 1.3 billion rooms.

The U.S. trade deficit widened to a record in August as the trade gap in goods and services expanded to $73.3 billion from $70.3 billion in July. The August deficit was slightly larger than the prior record of $73.2 billion in June as imports rose 1.4% in August to $287 billion, also a record high.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, which measures average home prices in major metropolitan areas across the U.S., rose 19.7% in the year that ended in July, the highest annual rate of price growth since the index began in 1987.

Big hotel companies are adding more all-inclusive resorts, betting that the pandemic will boost a business model that encourages guests to stay in one place. These resorts, where customers pay a flat fee that covers their room, food, drinks and other services, have recovered from the shock of the pandemic faster than other types of hotels.

Third-party hotel management companies Benchmark Global Hospitality and Pyramid Hotel Group announced they are merging to create Benchmark Pyramid.

A national survey AHLA commissioned this summer found 67% of U.S. business travelers are likely to take fewer trips, and 68% plan shorter trips. The survey of 2,200 adults, a group that included 414 regular business travelers, found that just over half of the business travelers planned to cancel their existing travel plans and not reschedule.

Gun maker Smith & Wesson Brands Inc. is moving its corporate headquarters from Massachusetts to Tennessee, joining other firearms manufacturers that have moved from the mid-Atlantic and Northeast to Southern states with less restrictive gun laws. The company will invest more than $125 million to relocate its headquarters.

Banks have announced more than $54 billion in deals through late September. That puts industry mergers and acquisitions on pace for their biggest year since 2008, when some big banks had to sell themselves to stave off collapse.

Overall, publicly traded U.S. companies own land and buildings valued at $1.64 trillion. That is up 38% from 10 years ago, and the highest for at least the past 10 years.