The party is over for bargain-hunting travelers. The cost of hotel and motel accommodations in the U.S. surged 7.9% in June from a month earlier, the second-largest gain on record, according to the Labor Department’s consumer price index data. That marked the fourth straight monthly advance and pushed the price index back above where it was before the pandemic.

While demand from vacationers is expected to remain strong, the hotel industry will have to wait for corporate travelers to return to the road before it sees a full recovery. That’s unlikely to happen before September. Read more.