Things To Do In SW Florida

Walgreens Boots Alliance announced Thursday that it is suspending its practice of paying cash dividends to stockholders — the first time it won’t pay a quarterly dividend in 92 years.

The change comes amid struggles for the Deerfield-based retail pharmacy giant. Walgreens announced plans in October to shutter 1,200 stores over the next three years, including in Chicago. Walgreens has been cutting costs for years, including through layoffs.

Walgreens said in a news release Thursday that it was suspending quarterly dividends “as management continues to evaluate and refine its capital allocation policy consistent with the company’s broader long-term turnaround efforts.”

Before now, Walgreens Boots Alliance and its predecessor company, Walgreen Co., had paid quarterly dividends to stockholders for 368 consecutive quarters, or 92 years.

The change is aimed at improving Walgreens’ finances by reducing debt over time and improving cash flow, Walgreens said in the release. “The company’s cash needs over the next several years, including with respect to litigation and debt refinancing, were important considerations as part of the decision to suspend the dividend,” Walgreens said in the release. read more

Orlando’s hotel occupancy was down for the bulk of 2024, as it added more hotel rooms and attracted fewer visitors.

But the area’s 130,000 rooms saw a surge in bookings in the final three months of the year, so the annual occupancy rate was down only 1.1% from 2023 and at 71.6 % still considered good.

The factors behind the decreases and the rebound are multifold, hospitality experts say. Among them are the pandemic, “revenge travel,” inflation, strength of the U.S. dollar and basic math.

Also playing a role in last year’s figures is this year’s opening of Epic Universe theme park — which may have would-be travelers waiting until 2025 to visit Orlando, they say.

In early 2024, there were large additions to the hotel-room inventory in Orange County, said Chantal Wu, senior director, hospitality and market analytics at CoStar, which collects real-estate data.

Evermore Orlando, with more than 300 rooms, and Conrad Orlando, with 433 units, opened in January, Wu said.

“It takes some time for the market to absorb all of the new supply,” she said. read more

The shuttered Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser at Walt Disney World will be transformed into office space for Imagineers, a Disney World spokesperson confirmed Thursday.

No further details were provided. The Walt Disney Imagineering move was first reported by The Wrap.

Starcruiser, which opened in March 2022 and closed in 2023, was billed as a two-night immersive experience, although some people referred to it as the “Star Wars hotel.”  Starcruiser guests experienced themed meals, bars, entertainment, games and interactive storylines and stayed in one of 100 cabins with a (virtual) space view.

First look: Disney’s Starcruiser missions mesh with tech, ‘Star Wars’ fans

The experience also included an afternoon outing to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, a land within nearby Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park, where the storyline continued.

The stays also included lightsaber training and a climactic battle in the bright, white Starcruiser atrium. Only paying customers were allowed into the space, which was announced in 2017. read more