THERE are a few villages in the UK that give an insight into old England, let alone destinations from across the pond.
There’s a city in North Carolina that has a hint of British about it as they speak “Elizabethan English”.
Ocracoke Island has a huge island and is home to around 700 peopleCredit: AlamyThere are no chain shops, restaurants or bars in the areaCredit: Alamy
Ocracoke is a village on Ocracoke Island, part of North Carolina’s coastal Outer Banks region.
It’s a 16-mile long barrier island – which is a long long sand ridge parallel to the mainland coast, separated by a shallow body of water like a bay or lagoon.
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The island, considered the ‘Pearl of the Outer Banks’ is home to around 800 people of whom who have their own unique way of speaking.
One visitor described the locals’ accent as being “Elizabethan English”.
Brian Carlton told the BBC: “People here just have their own way of speaking: it’s like someone took Elizabethan English, sprinkled in some Irish tones and 1700s Scottish accents, then mixed it all up with pirate slang.”
He even made a remark about being called a “dingbatter”.
The dialect is called ‘Hoi Toider’, which is a rare mix of English, Irish, and Scottish accents mixed with early maritime slang.
It’s almost only spoken on the Outer Banks islands in North Carolina.
Residents all live in the central Ocracoke Village which is also where visitors will find shops, restaurants and bars – but none that you would have seen before.
It has strict regulations about preserving its small town charm, so only independent, regional brands are allowed.
The 16-mile long island has lots of beach which is considered the ‘Pearl of the Outer Banks’Credit: Getty
Every shop, hotel, and restaurant on the island is locally owned and operated.
Standing high in the town is its 75ft tall lighthouse which is the oldest operating light station in North Carolina.
Being an island, there are lots of beaches along a 16-mile stretch – one called Ocracoke Village Beach is one is just beyond the main town.
On Tripadvisor, one visitor called it the “Best Beach on the Outer Banks”
Another said: “Beautiful beaches on Ocracoke and always special. When you look around you on the beaches, you see and feel peace.”
Along the shore, a second beach is South Point which is a popular fishing spot and where visitors are likely to find a a Scotch Bonnet which is the rare state shell of North Carolina.
The island has rich history too as it was once a popular hideout spot for notorious pirate, Blackbeard.
The shallow waters around the island provided ideal cover and Ocracoke Inlet allowed him to trap merchant ships.
Another beach is where you can find the rare North Carolina shellCredit: GettyThe best way to reach the island is by ferry or private planeCredit: Getty
Ocracoke Island was actually the site of Blackbeard’s final battle in the 1700s.
The best way to get to the island now is also by ship, but luckily, it’s much safer.
The most frequent is the Hatteras Ferry which takes around two hours and it’s completely free.
Others involve getting a ferry from Cedar Island of the Swan Quarter.
For those wanting to fly, the airport is so small there aren’t any commercial flights.
Instead travellers will have to charter a flight, or arrive in their own plane.
I recently travelled to Sorowako, South Sulawesi, for a corporate social responsibility programme supported by Vale Indonesia. I helped local journalists use artificial intelligence ethically and responsibly in investigative reporting: reading documents, identifying inconsistencies and preparing interviews while keeping verification and editorial judgement in human hands.
Yet Sorowako made it difficult to see AI merely as a newsroom tool. The town sits within the industrial landscape powering Indonesia’s nickel ambitions. Materials processed across Sulawesi are entering global battery supply chains, while AI is moving beyond screens into machines, factories, ports and mines. Here, both transformations occupy the same geography.
Indonesia produced roughly three-fifths of the world’s mined nickel in 2024. The boom has attracted smelters, battery-material plants and billions in foreign investment. Yet how much Indonesian technological capability is emerging around it—and how much is taking root in the regions carrying the industrial and ecological burden? US Geological Survey
Responsible AI skills expand local journalists’ agency. The same principle should reach the industrial value chain. Mining regions should participate as producers of knowledge, technology and services, beyond extraction and social compensation.
Stay ahead of the geopolitical week.
MD Briefing delivers expert analysis across five global fronts — the Indo-Pacific, energy, geoeconomics, European security, and the Middle East — every Monday morning. Free.
The Physical-AI Window
Autonomous equipment, machine vision and robots able to act in the real world are bringing AI into factories, warehouses and difficult industrial environments.
The International Federation of Robotics recorded 542,000 industrial robot installations in 2024. Asia absorbed 74 percent; China installed 295,000 units and now operates more than two million. Goldman Sachs estimates the more speculative humanoid segment could reach US$38 billion by 2035. The projection is uncertain, but the physical-AI market is already widening. International Federation of Robotics, Goldman Sachs
China treats this frontier as industrial policy. Indonesia’s credible entry point is more practical. Mines need robotic inspection and safer hauling; their environmental monitoring also needs improvement. These are difficult operating problems—and domestic companies already need them solved. State Council Information Office of China
Nickel is a launching pad, not a guarantee of robotics demand. Many robots use none. Indonesia’s advantage lies in combining its mineral and battery base with industrial sites where new systems can be tested.
Its downstreaming strategy, however, remains highly linear: ore becomes processed nickel, then battery material, batteries and eventually electric vehicles. Horizontal downstreaming would build capabilities that spread sideways from this chain. Industrial AI developed for nickel could later serve copper or geothermal operations. Low-carbon processing and environmental technology could travel even further.
The objective is to convert temporary geological power into capability that outlives the commodity. Progress can be read through a downstreaming capability ladder: enforcement, processing, supplier formation and technological ownership. Indonesia has climbed the first two stages more decisively than many peers. The last two remain unfinished.
Different Positions on the Ladder
Canada illustrates the mature destination. In July 2026, its government backed mining projects using AI, robotics and subsurface imaging, alongside work on ecological restoration. Its mines function as testing grounds for domestic technology and exportable expertise. Government of Canada
Chile offers a more achievable Global South pathway. CORFO and the National Piloting Center help suppliers test technology under real conditions. Expande translates operational problems into industry challenges; its network has involved more than 2,500 suppliers and generated over 180 contracts. Chile has not completed the journey into higher-value manufacturing, which makes its lessons more useful for Indonesia. Expande
The Philippines shows the cost of stopping earlier. The world’s second-largest nickel producer exported 44.97 million wet metric tonnes of ore in 2024 while operating only two processing plants. Its Senate approved a phased ban on unprocessed ore exports in February 2025, but the provision was removed four months later amid concerns over mine closures, financing and insufficient domestic capacity. Argus, Reuters
Thailand shows another route onto the ladder. Without Indonesia’s nickel leverage, it used subsidies and tax incentives tied to local-production obligations. Those policies have attracted more than US$4 billion in EV investment, while Chinese brands now account for over 70 percent of EV sales. Reuters BYD’s Rayong plant—its first in Southeast Asia, opened in July 2024—anchors the emerging production cluster. Reuters Thai suppliers are entering the chain, but the transfer of deeper engineering and intellectual property is less visible. Thailand has shown that scale and supplier participation can be built quickly; technological ownership remains the harder rung.
Indonesia enforced its ore-export ban and built processing scale, although much technology and capital came from abroad. Its next test is whether enforcement produces Indonesian suppliers—and whether those suppliers eventually own technology.
MIND ID and Vale as Ecosystem Builders
MIND ID, Indonesia’s state-owned mining holding and Vale Indonesia’s largest shareholder, could orchestrate the next stage by pooling operational problems across its portfolio and financing the pilots that address them. It could then route proven solutions into procurement, allowing technology tested in nickel to travel into copper or tin. Sorowako is the natural lighthouse site. Vale Indonesia could open bounded challenges in worker safety or land rehabilitation, provide controlled access for testing and give successful suppliers a path into procurement. Vale Indonesia
The investment network is already multi-aligned. The Pomalaa project brings together Vale Indonesia, China’s Huayou and Ford from the United States. Separately, the nearly US$6 billion CATL–Antam–Indonesia Battery Corporation project links North Maluku with battery manufacturing in West Java. Indonesia is hosting production relationships that cross geopolitical blocs. Vale Indonesia, CATL
These relationships can extend from batteries towards battery-powered industrial intelligence. Indonesia’s return should be measured by whether local engineers gain ownership and the ability to sell abroad.
Connecting Sorowako to Rebana—and the World
This transition needs a spatial architecture connecting Indonesia’s nickel-producing east with Java’s manufacturing and logistics base. Sorowako is not starting from zero. Politeknik Sorowako grew from a technical academy into a vocational institution oriented towards local industrial needs. It offers a base for building capability close to the mines. Vale Indonesia
The polytechnic could anchor field engineering and testing. ITB’s Cirebon campus, within West Java’s Rebana corridor, could add advanced research and systems integration. Joint laboratories and supplier incubation would allow knowledge to move in both directions. Institut Teknologi Bandung
Patimban International Port gives Rebana an external gateway. Its container terminal currently has annual capacity of 250,000 twenty-foot equivalent units and is being expanded to 1.65 million. The port’s long-term design targets 7.5 million TEU per year; this is planned capacity, not present throughput. A regular international service launched in July 2026 now connects West Java with Singapore, Thailand and major Chinese ports. ANTARA
The emerging chain is tangible. Field capability developed in Sorowako could be refined in Cirebon, manufactured across Rebana and exported through Patimban.
This is the spatial expression of a multiplex industrial-digital ecosystem. Yet it carries an internal risk. If ecological burdens remain in Sulawesi while intellectual property and high-value firms accumulate in Java, Indonesia will reproduce a double asymmetry within its own borders. Rebana should become a scaling node without monopolising knowledge. Contracts and technical capacity must circulate back towards producing regions.
Vale’s support for Politeknik Sorowako could therefore evolve from conventional CSR into a long-term capability strategy. Skilled work and local suppliers can give communities a stake in the industry’s future, reducing resistance rooted in exclusion. None of this substitutes for environmental performance, land rights or meaningful participation.
Geopolitical Localisation
ASEAN adds a wider market. Its Economic Community Strategic Plan 2026–2030 calls for sustainable investment across the minerals value chain and stronger capacity in mining technology, research and innovation. ASEAN Economic Community Strategic Plan 2026–2030
Equipment proven under Sulawesi’s heat, dust and uneven connectivity could find buyers across the Global South. Indonesia can occupy the critical-mineral and industrial-intelligence layer of ASEAN’s AI economy.
Manufacturing in Indonesia could also help Chinese-linked firms diversify production. Factory location alone does not dissolve geopolitical concerns. US connected-vehicle rules show that governments may scrutinise who owns the software and retains remote access. Europe’s foreign-subsidy regime adds another layer of exposure. US Bureau of Industry and Security, European Commission
The defensible strategy is geopolitical localisation. Foreign production in Indonesia must create substantial domestic value and withstand scrutiny over ownership, supply chains and cybersecurity. Indonesian participation in engineering and intellectual property is central. This would make the country a bridge production node with capabilities of its own, rather than a passport factory for technology routed through its territory.
When I left Sorowako, what stayed with me was the proximity between a community learning to adapt to AI and industrial operations capable of becoming laboratories for it. The same region supplying global industries could help create safer mines and more credible environmental monitoring.
Nickel’s geopolitical leverage will not last. The durable test is what Indonesia can build before that advantage fades.
If firms and technical institutions take root in Sulawesi, then scale across Indonesia, Sorowako will have done more than supply the AI economy. It will have helped Indonesia learn how to compete within it.
With $1.7 trillion tied up in inefficient supply chains, CFOs are making liquidity a core strategy.
Gustavo Muller, Monkey
There’s $1.7 trillion of working capital sitting on the balance sheets of the largest U.S. companies: not locked in failed investments or delayed acquisitions, but trapped in slow receivables, excess inventory, and payment structures designed for a different economic environment.
That money hasn’t disappeared. It remains tied up in processes that no longer reflect how companies manage risk, liquidity, or supply chains.
For many CFOs, the largest untapped source of liquidity is the cash already embedded in operations. Yet organizations often struggle to unlock it because treasury, procurement, operations, and suppliers continue to pursue different objectives using disconnected systems and metrics.
The culprits include receivables that take too long to convert to cash, inventory accumulated as protection against uncertainty, supplier payment structures that fail to balance liquidity across the value chain, and cash reserves that remain underutilized because companies lack the visibility to deploy them effectively.
For years, these inefficiencies were manageable. Low interest rates, predictable supply chains, and abundant liquidity reduced the urgency to rethink working capital. Treasury managed liquidity, procurement negotiated payment terms, sales focused on collections, and financial institutions provided financing within established relationships.
Today’s environment demands a different approach.
Higher interest rates, geopolitical uncertainty, higher tariffs, supply chain disruptions, and persistent margin pressure have elevated working capital from a finance function to a strategic business priority. Yet many organizations continue to manage liquidity using operating models designed for a different era.
According to Deloitte’s Q1 2026 CFO Signals survey, siloed organizations and outdated technology remain among the largest internal barriers to cost management. Boston Consulting Group has noted that extending payment terms alone often merely shifts financing costs along the supply chain rather than improving overall efficiency.
The challenge is therefore broader than financing. It is about coordination.
Working capital decisions increasingly require treasury, procurement, operations, finance, and suppliers to operate from the same information and align around shared objectives. Without that alignment, companies often optimize individual functions while reducing efficiency across the broader organization.
Reflecting these realities, investors have changed their expectations. Following several years of tighter capital markets, boards increasingly emphasize cash-flow resilience, capital discipline, and operational efficiency alongside growth. Liquidity has become a competitive advantage rather than simply a financial metric.
Rethinking Working Capital
Companies are responding in different ways. Many are investing in better forecasting and real-time cash visibility. Others are modernizing treasury infrastructure, digitizing receivables and payables, expanding supply chain finance programs, or adopting data-driven tools that improve coordination across functions. Financial institutions are evolving their offerings through broader funding networks, automation, and digital onboarding capabilities.
No single approach will solve the challenge for every organization. What appears increasingly clear, however, is that fragmented processes and limited transparency are becoming more expensive. As supply chains grow more complex and financing conditions remain uncertain, organizations require greater visibility into where liquidity resides, how quickly it can move, and how financing decisions affect every participant across the value chain.
The International Finance Corporation and the World Bank have consistently highlighted digital infrastructure as a key enabler for expanding access to supply chain finance, particularly among smaller suppliers that have historically remained outside traditional financing programs. The objective is not technology for its own sake, but the creation of more efficient, scalable financial ecosystems.
The U.S. has one of the world’s deepest capital markets. Yet many companies continue to face unnecessary constraints in moving liquidity through their supply chains.
The next phase of working capital management, then, will likely depend less on access to capital — which remains abundant — and more on the ability to connect information, participants, and decision-making across increasingly complex commercial networks.
Organizations that succeed will be those that treat working capital not as a quarterly reporting metric but as an enterprise-wide capability that strengthens resilience, improves capital allocation, and creates flexibility in periods of uncertainty.
***
Gustavo Muller is CEO and co-founder of Monkey, a financial solutions marketplace. He has more than two decades of experience in financial markets, having held senior positions at Citibank, XP Investimentos, and as co-founder of Fisher Venture Builder.
This town’s market is over 900 years old and has a breath-taking high street filled with historic buildings, family-run businesses and lots of independent shops you cannot get anywhere else.
13:44, 06 Jul 2026Updated 13:48, 06 Jul 2026
Ludlow is known for having lots of quirky independent shops(Image: Getty)
While many people splash out on pricey holidays this summer, you can have an equally magical experience right here in the UK. With a wealth of stunning destinations to discover, there are countless charming towns ideal for a short break but this gem, nestled in the West Midlands, deserves to be at the very top of your list.
This historic market town is brimming with character and as you stroll through its centre you’ll uncover a breath-taking blend of medieval, Tudor and Georgian architecture. It has been named by The Guardian among Britain’s 10 “best independent high streets”, not for its looks alone, but for being “full of cool independents rather than the usual chains”.
They said: “Ludlow has long been known as a gastro-hub, with specialist producers dotted along the high street and market place. Visit the Mousetrap Cheese Shop, Harp Lane Deli and the Chocolate Gourmet for festive eats, or browse around Bodenhams, which sells clothes in a quirky, 600-year-old building.”
Why visit Ludlow?
There are so many one-of-a-kind businesses to explore when you arrive in Ludlow, but your first port of call should be the traditional marketplace sitting right at the heart of the town square.
Having been trading for over 900 years, it boasts all manner of stalls ranging from flea markets to artisan crafts, ensuring there is something to suit every pocket.
Ludlow Market is a treasure trove of finds, and is also well regarded for its monthly specialist events, including the Food and Craft Market, the Local to Ludlow Producers’ Market, and an Antique Market.
Once you’ve had a good rummage through the local shops, your suitcase will be packed to the brim with gifts to take home, thanks to a wealth of family-run businesses such as Bensons, which stocks jewellery, and Florabunda, a florist.
If you work up an appetite, head to the Ludlow Farmshop, selling locally sourced meats, cheeses, baked goods and other regional delicacies you won’t find anywhere else.
What else is there to do in Ludlow?
Ludlow has built a reputation for championing independent businesses, but should you tire of shopping and eating, there is plenty more to discover. Perhaps the most unmissable attraction is Ludlow Castle, a stunning 11th-century ruin built by the Normans that boasts breathtaking views across the surrounding countryside.
It is also well worth taking a leisurely stroll along the River Teme to admire Ludford Bridge, which not only looks spectacular but also dates back to medieval times.
Just a short drive away lies Mortimer Forest, offering miles of gorgeous scenery, whether you fancy a gentle woodland walk or fancy tackling the climb up to High Vinnalls, the loftiest point within the forest.
Ludlow ticks every box for those seeking a quintessential English town getaway, boasting historic streets, charming independent shops, mouth-watering local cuisine and stunning countryside right on its doorstep — making it an ideal destination for anyone in search of a laid-back summer staycation.
‘We are over 100 businesses strong’
Jodie Deakin, who owns local independent business, Eclectica, and is chair of Ludlow Chamber of Trade and Commerce, which members pay £50 a year to join, told a visiting journalist earlier this year: “We are over 100 businesses strong and have everything from retail businesses like mine to professional services like solicitors.”
Of the market, she said: “These are permanent market stores, so they’re here seven days a week. It’s owned by our town council, so it’s the revenue stream for them and they run the market most days, but also lease it. Ludlow Local Produce Market is one of the leased markets. To be a vendor, you have to produce everything within a 30-mile radius.”
Manager Tish Dockerty said of Ludlow Local Produce Market at the same time: “Everything that’s sold is either made by the person on the stall or the person that’s selling it, so they can tell you how it’s made.”
Dine-in movie theater chain Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is launching a new initiative to show unreleased independent films that had successful festival runs, a move that comes as specialty films have struggled to gain distribution.
The Alamo Exclusives program, announced Wednesday, will give limited theatrical runs to films that showed at festivals including Sundance, the Toronto International Film Festival, Tribeca Festival and South by Southwest festival, as well as Alamo’s own Fantastic Fest.
The idea is to help showcase films that received critical acclaim, but did not secure distribution or acquisition deals. The chain will not acquire these films, but instead will enter into agreements with filmmakers to exhibit their films on Alamo Drafthouse screens. By showing these films to audiences on the big screen, these films could get the momentum they need for further opportunities.
The program’s first film will be the documentary “Butthole Surfers: The Hole Truth and Nothing Butt,” which debuted last year at South by Southwest and chronicles the history of the punk rock band.
The film will be shown in Alamo Drafthouse theaters for a limited time later this summer.
The Austin-based chain, which is owned by Sony Pictures, has a long history of curating indie films for its audiences, giving Alamo Drafthouse confidence that its viewers want to see these kinds of movies, company chief executive Michael Kustermann said in a statement.
“Time and again, they’ve shown they’ll come out to support bold, original films when given the opportunity,” he said. The new Alamo Exclusives “gives us another way to champion filmmaker-driven films that deserve to be discovered and connect them with the wider Alamo Drafthouse audience.”
The initiative comes at a difficult time for indie films. Since the pandemic upended the movie business, traditional studios and distributors have had less appetite for risk, including betting on smaller indie films out of festivals.
And as the 2023 dual writers’ and actors’ strikes thinned out theatrical lineups, that aversion to uncertainty became a push for reliable and profitable hits.
“Too many incredible films premiere at festivals and then never receive the theatrical life they deserve,” Lisa Dreyer, director of Fantastic Fest and film innovation at Alamo, said in a statement. “We are actively searching for films across all genres, from horror to comedy, to everything in-between, to champion in this new, exciting way.”
A Southern California music festival featuring only women musicians and created by Olivia Rodrigo? That’s not such a bad idea.
Rodrigo, fresh off the release of her junior album, on Monday unveiled her Daisy Chain Fields music festival and the roster of all-women artists set to take over Irvine’s Great Park on Aug. 29. The lineup will include Rodrigo, Chappell Roan, Katseye, Mitski, Doechii and special guests Karen O, Sarah McLachlan and Stevie Nicks.
The 23-year-old Grammy winner and vocal advocate for women’s rights said in her post that her dream festival has finally become a reality and that earnings from the spectacular will go to charities benefiting women and girls.
“The lineup is truly insane and full of my heroes and friends,” Rodrigo said in her announcement. “I firmly believe that joy, community, and music can be the drivers of meaningful change and I’m hopeful this festival will be just that.”
Artists Bikini Kill, Die Spitz, Eli, Garbage, Not for Radio, Quiet Light, Rachel Chinouriri, Santigold and the Breeders are also set to perform. Fans hoping to snag tickets can sign up for pre-sale access on the festival’s website.
Rodrigo’s Daisy Chain Fields comes to Irvine a month before the former Disney Channel star kicks off her massive Unraveled tour, promoting her latest release “You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love.” She will take over Inglewood’s Intuit Dome for four nights in 2027: Jan. 12, 13, 16 and 17.
In his album review, Times pop music critic Mikael Wood writes that Rodrigo’s latest release sees the singer-songwriter approach romance and heartbreak with “new wisdom, drawing sophisticated conclusions about why people in love do the things they do (and don’t do the things they don’t).”
The chain confirmed information exposed in the breach includes ‘certain guests names, email addresses, telephone numbers, and/or home addresses, along with other reservation details’
Hotel guests have been warned they might be targeted(Image: Getty)
Hotel guests have been warned to watch out for convincing scam messages after a data breach at a major hotel chain. Data including personal details of people booked to stay at one of the chain hotels was exposed over a six month period.
BWH Hotels, the parent company for WorldHotels, Best Western Hotels & Resorts, and Sure Hotels notified customers of the breach in an email when it said “certain guests’ names, email addresses, telephone numbers, and/or home addresses, along with other reservation details” had been accessed between October 14, 2025 and April 22. It added: “Importantly, payment and other financial information was not stored in the affected system and therefore was not accessed.”
It confirmed the firm had taken action to stop the unauthorised access and that it was also taking steps to strengthen safeguards to stop any further breaches. And they urged any affected customers to take steps to ensure any scammers did not take advantage of them, warning them to be extra vigilant about unexpected emails, texts, WhatsApp messages or calls referencing hotel stays.
Now privacy experts have warned the concern is not only what was stolen, but how that information could be used next. Hotel booking data can make follow-up scams look far more believable because criminals may be able to reference real stays, dates, locations or reservation numbers.
Peter Nguyen, a privacy expert from Protect My Data, says travellers should not dismiss this kind of breach just because payment details were not exposed. “A hotel reservation contains more useful information than people realise.
“A scammer does not always need your card number to target you. If they know your name, phone number, hotel, stay dates and booking reference, they can make a fake message look extremely convincing.
“That is the risk with travel data. It gives criminals context. Instead of sending a vague scam, they can contact you with details that feel personal and accurate.”
Nguyen says guests should be especially careful with any unexpected message claiming there is a problem with a booking, payment, refund or reservation. He warned a scammer could pretend to be from the hotel, a booking platform, customer support team or payment department.
The message may claim a card needs to be reverified, a stay could be cancelled, a refund is waiting, or extra information is needed before arrival. He said: “The most dangerous message is one that sounds helpful. It might say your booking needs confirming, your payment failed, or your refund is ready. Because it references a real hotel stay, people are more likely to click.
“If the message asks for payment, codes, logins or verification, do not engage through that message. Go directly to the hotel or booking platform yourself.”
Nguyen says WhatsApp and SMS messages are particularly risky because they feel more direct. “A text or WhatsApp message creates urgency. It feels like someone is dealing with your booking right now. That pressure makes people act faster than they would with an email.”
BWH Hotels’ own warning urged customers not to engage with suspicious communications asking for payment, codes, logins or verification, even if they reference a BWH Hotels property or an upcoming reservation.
Why reservation data is so valuable
Many people worry most about card details in a breach, but Nguyen says contact and booking information can still create serious risk. He explained: “Names, phone numbers and email addresses are the starting point for phishing. Add reservation details and the scam becomes much more targeted.”
“A criminal could send a message saying, ‘Your stay at this property on this date needs confirmation.’ That feels completely different from a generic scam email because it contains something real.”
He said postal addresses can also make scams more credible. He explained: “If a scammer has your address, they can make a fake message feel more official. They might use it in a fake invoice, refund notice, complaint response or identity check.”
Special requests may also reveal details guests did not expect to become part of a security issue. “People sometimes include personal information in hotel requests, such as accessibility needs, arrival times, family arrangements or reasons for travel. Even small details can help scammers tailor their approach.”
What guests should do now
Nguyen says anyone who has stayed with, or booked through, a BWH Hotels property during the affected period should be alert, but not panic. He added: “The first step is awareness. If you receive a message about a Best Western, WorldHotels or SureStay booking, slow down and verify it independently.”
He advised guests to avoid clicking links in unexpected messages. “Open the official hotel website yourself, use the original booking confirmation, or contact the property through a trusted number,” he said. “Do not use a number or link sent in a suspicious message.”
Guests should also be careful if they are asked to confirm personal information, he said. “A genuine hotel may need basic details to find your booking, but they should not ask for banking codes, account passwords or card security codes through an unexpected message.”
If someone has clicked a suspicious link or shared card details, Nguyen says they should contact their bank immediately. He warned: “Speed matters. If you entered payment details, call your bank straight away. If you entered a password, change it immediately, especially if you use it anywhere else.”
He also recommends securing email accounts, as email is often the route scammers use to reset other accounts. “Your email account is the front door to much of your digital life,” he said. “Use a strong, unique password and switch on two-factor authentication.”
Why this warning matters for summer travel
The breach comes as many travellers are booking summer stays, weekend breaks and last-minute trips. Nguyen says that makes hotel-related scams especially dangerous.
“Travel season gives scammers a huge advantage. People are expecting hotel messages, payment reminders and booking updates. That makes fake messages easier to hide among real ones.”
He says guests should be particularly wary of messages close to their check-in date. “A message sent shortly before a stay can create panic. If it says your room will be cancelled unless you act now, that is exactly when you need to stop.”
The safest rule, Nguyen says, is to treat unexpected booking messages as suspicious until proven otherwise. He said: “If a message knows your hotel and dates, that does not automatically make it real. It may simply mean the scammer has booking data. Do not let accurate details rush you into clicking. Verify through the official route every time.”
In its email, signed by Bill Ryan Chief Technology Officer of the hotel chain and sent last month, it said: “BWH Hotels, the parent company for WorldHotels, Best Western Hotels & Resorts, and Sure Hotels, takes the privacy and security of our guests’ personal information very seriously. We are writing to let you know that on April 22, 2026, we identified unauthorised activity in one of our web applications that houses certain guest reservation data.
“We have learned that certain guests’ names, email addresses, telephone numbers, and/or home addresses, along with other reservation details (e.g., reservation numbers, dates of stay, and any special requests) for reservations in our system were accessed by an unauthorised third‑party between October 14, 2025 and April 22, 2026, including yours. Importantly, payment and other financial information was not stored in the affected system and therefore was not accessed.
“Upon discovering the incident, we immediately took the application offline and revoked the unauthorised access. We have engaged leading external cybersecurity experts to support our incident response efforts and to assist with the further strengthening of existing safeguards.
“We advise guests to be extra vigilant when viewing any unexpected or suspicious communications about hotel stays. If you receive a suspicious communication such as an unexpected email, text, WhatsApp message, or telephone call that asks for payment, codes, logins, or “verification,” even if they reference a BWH Hotels property or an upcoming reservation, do not engage. Navigate to sites directly rather than clicking links.
As part of protecting your personal information and to prevent payments to fraudulent parties, here are some precautions you can take:
Stay alert for suspicious sender addresses, urgent or unexpected unsolicited requests, and strange links, especially any unexpected request for payment or personal information. Treat any suspicious request with caution. If you have a question regarding a suspicious request, please contact our customer service team
Scammers may create webpages that closely resemble legitimate hotel booking pages. Always review the web address before entering payment details. If a page looks unexpected or unfamiliar, stop and verify it with our customer service team before proceeding. If you entered or shared any payment (credit card) information in response to a scam, please immediately report it to your financial institution and follow security steps they recommend. If you have any questions, please contact BWH Hotels’ data protection office at dpo@bwh.com
The Ellison family-controlled Harbor Lights Entertainment has sold its Showcase Cinemas theater chain to a major European cinema group in a $30-million deal.
Belgium-based Kinepolis will soon operate 13 cinemas across the United States. Seven are in Massachusetts, four in New York, one in Ohio and one in Rhode Island.
David Ellison, who is now in charge of Paramount Skydance, acquired National Amusements last year from the Redstone family. He renamed the company Harbor Lights. National Amusements was the start of Redstone’s media empire, which at one point included control of CBS, Paramount and Viacom.
The deal is awaiting regulatory approval, but officials in several state states recently announced plans to try to block the merger. The potential lawsuit would seek to challenge the proposed merger on antitrust grounds, arguing it would decrease competition, lower wages and lead to widespread job losses.
With the sale of the theaters, Kinepolis will add 164 screens to its portfolio. The company was formed in 1997 and currently operates 63 cinemas in Europe and nearly 60 theaters in the U.S. and Canada.
The newly acquired theaters welcomed about 4 million visitors and generated more than $90 million in revenue last year.
“This acquisition allows us to expand our market position in the U.S. from Michigan to the East Coast with an asset and a team that enable us to implement Kinepolis’ operational model and corporate strategy, ultimately enhancing the experience for moviegoers in these markets,” Eddy Duquenne, Kinepolis’s chief executive, said in a statement.
The company said Showcase Cinemas would retain its name. It expects the acquisition to be complete by the end of the summer.
Times staff writer Wendy Lee contributed to this report.
HAVANA — Spanish hotel chain Meliá has joined a growing list of companies with a long-standing presence in Cuba that are withdrawing or limiting their operations on the island after the U.S. announced new sanctions while upholding an oil embargo.
Meliá will cease operations at 15 of the 34 hotels it manages on the island, according to state website Cubadebate, dealing a blow to Cuba’s vital tourism sector, which has plummeted since its 2018 peak.
The report on Wednesday stated that Meliá’s decision was based on “a sense of corporate responsibility and external factors that have significantly affected the operation, legality and security of these establishments.”
The decision was announced May 26, just weeks after President Trump signed an executive order expanding sanctions against the island. Most of the sanctions targeted Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A., a business conglomerate operated by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces, with the U.S. asserting it was a threat to its national security.
The executive order freezes the assets of foreign companies, seizes their accounts in the United States and prohibits travel by their shareholders, investors and employees— virtually eliminating their activity in the U.S. financial system.
GAESA, a Cuban conglomerate created in the 1990s, owns a wide range of businesses, from car rentals and retail stores to transportation companies. It is Meliá’s partner in hotel management through one of its subsidiaries, Gaviota.
Meliá deals new blow to Cuba’s crumbling tourism sector
Meliá is one of Cuba’s most important partners in its vital tourism sector. Until its partial withdrawal, it operated some 14,000 rooms.
Spanish and Canadian firms are the biggest investors in Cuba’s hotel sector, noted Lee Schlenker, a research associate at the Quincy Institute’s Global South program, a Washington think tank.
“With the lack of international tourism, the fuel shortages, and just the broader decline since COVID…I’m sure that these companies will be rethinking their operations in Cuba with major implications for the people of Cuba, not just GAESA,” he said. “There are thousands of Cubans who work in these hotels.”
Several of the hotels that Meliá abandoned in idyllic destinations like the resorts of Varadero, Cayo Santa María and Jardines del Rey “were already closed and inactive due to energy problems and the drop in demand in Cuba,” according to Cubadebate.
Cuba’s government has blamed the U.S. energy blockade for prolonged blackouts, water shortages, supply problems, deficiencies in the healthcare system and disruptions in all aspects of daily life.
Those who work in Cuba’s crumbling tourism sector lamented Meliá’s announcement.
“It’s going to affect us, our families, and everyone involved in tourism. Our pay and income depend on this,” said Erich López, a driver of a green 1950s Dodge who has been driving for two decades to support his family.
For Carlos Luis Carbonel, a 62-year-old parking attendant who works in front of the giant Meliá Cohiba hotel in Havana, the situation “is going to be a blow.”
“This is terrible for everyone: for tour guides, for parking attendants, for hotel workers, for everyone,” he said.
Other major hotel chains including Canadian-owned Royalton and Spain’s Iberostar have limited or suspended operations in Cuba in the past week.
Tourism in Cuba, which reached a peak of 4.3 million visitors in 2019, saw a significant drop in the number of tourists arriving in the first quarter of this year, 48% lower than in the same period in 2025.
Only 298,000 tourists arrived in Cuba in January, February and March, compared to 573,300 international visitors during the same period last year, according to government data.
Cuba struggles to breathe
On Wednesday, the enormous and iconic sign of the Royalton Paseo del Prado hotel at the entrance of Old Havana was removed, as confirmed by The Associated Press during a visit. Meanwhile, the 500-room Iberostar Selection — also known as Tower K — the most modern and luxurious of the hotels slated to open in 2025, standing over 490 feet tall, has remained closed for days.
Airlines including World2Fly, Air France and Iberia have canceled flights to and from Cuba.
Also on Wednesday, Cuba’s Central Bank announced that Visa and MasterCard operations on the island would be suspended following the termination of relationships between foreign entities and FINCIMEX S.A., a Cuba-based agency affiliated with GAESA.
Last month, Canadian miner Sherritt International Corp. signed a non-binding agreement with Gillon Capital LLC, a family office linked to a former Trump adviser, to sell its stake in a mining business in Cuba.
In late January, Trump threatened tariffs on any country that sells or supplies oil to Cuba, as his administration pressures for a change in its political system and government. The move has deepened a crisis caused by seven decades of U.S. sanctions.
While U.S. and Cuban officials held talks earlier this year, tensions have risen. In late May, former President Raúl Castro was charged in a U.S. indictment for his alleged role in the downing of two civilian aircraft operated by Miami-based exiles in 1996 in Cuban waters.
