Family Vacation Ends With Tourist Biting Off Father-In-Law’s Thumb At Hotel

News and notes from around the interweb:

• British tourist arrested for biting off father-in-law’s thumb in Mallorca hotel injuries “included a head wound and a deep cut to his nose” – some in-laws shouldn’t vacation together.

  As a result of the assault, the victim suffered an open head wound, a deep cut to the nose, and the traumatic amputation of the distal phalanx of the left thumb after it was bitten off during the altercation.

  During the intervention, officers carried out an initial inspection of the room where the incident allegedly took place. They found substantial amounts of blood in the corridor and inside the room, as well as displaced furniture, a broken lamp, and other evidence consistent with a violent confrontation.

• I went on The Loyalty Podcast Iain Pringle (managing partner of New World Loyalty and ex-Virgin and ex-Head of Stratgey for IAG Loyalty) talking about the inherent tension between brands and owners in hotel loyalty.

  [W]ho captures that value: The brand, its partners—or the customer? In Newscast 29, I’m joined by: • Gary Leff on Marriott Bonvoy and hotel-owner tensions • Rob Burgess on TUI’s first loyalty programme • Roger Williams, CLMP™ on the loyalty-tech acquisition boom We also cover Alaska Airlines new earning choices, DICK’S Sporting Goods paid tier, Avios growth and the economics driving loyalty investment.

• Waymo Is Racking Up Thousands of Dollars of Parking Fines in Austin (HT: @crucker) sounds bad, right? But rideshares break traffic laws all the time, stopping in the middle of the road to let passengers in and out, most of the time it’s just allowed to pass. And dig into the numbers it’s less than $10,000 total in two years, across a fleet of 300 cars… for a company that’s accumulated $42 billion capital for investment.

  We seem to be focusing on the wrong things. While we’re talking parking enforcement,

  The last technological transformation on this scale came between roughly 1880 and 1920. Electricity, the telephone, railroads, the automobile and movies overturned entire industries and ways of life. Millions left farms for cities. …New fortunes appeared overnight, while old occupations disappeared. …What followed were new mass movements, cultural upheavals and world war.

  

• Thirsty balcony burglar hits Miami Beach hotel rooms, manages to only steal apple juice

  Bryant, 37, of northwest Miami-Dade, had gained access to the fourth-floor balconies “by climbing toward guest rooms,” an MBPD arrest report states.

  In the first room, he stole and drank the two apple juices, worth $10, police said. They said he was unsuccessful trying to get into the second, managed to get into the third but stole nothing, and was again foiled by a locked door on the fourth balcony.

  Police said officers encountered Bryant at the top of the hotel’s pool terrace and took him into custody after a brief foot chase in which he resisted arrest.

• Ted Cruz lands at Washington’s National airport.

  Would @tedcruz personally try to prevent a Trump 2028 run? pic.twitter.com/2qhIeIAuVJ

  — CHARLIE COTTON (@hicharliecotton) July 27, 2026