Why, yes, it's Friday!

☀️ Today's weather: Sunny, pleasant, with highs in the mid 80s.

Today’s newsletter is 974 words — a 3.5-minute read.

October is Austin's biggest tourism month, and a packed calendar of major events could push it to new highs this year.

Why it matters: Formula One, a University of Texas football game and NBA basketball will converge this weekend, capping a packed month of major events that included two weekends of Austin City Limits Music Festival.

The big picture: October generates more hotel revenue and hotel occupancy tax collections than any other month of the year, according to Visit Austin.

• The tourism bureau expects this October could be record breaking, with hotel partners reporting occupancy rates above 90% and many properties fully booked weeks in advance.

What they're saying: "Over the last decade, October's footprint has grown significantly," Wesley Lucas, director of communications at Visit Austin, tells Axios.

• "Ten years ago, the month was primarily anchored by ACL and college football," Lucas says.
• Since then, F1's popularity has exploded in the U.S., he said, fueled in part by Netflix's "Drive to Survive."

By the numbers: F1 creates a more concentrated surge in hotel demand than ACL, which draws visitors over two weekends.

• During race weekend, mid- to upscale hotel rooms average $700-$800 a night, while citywide occupancy tops 95%, according to Visit Austin.
• Plus, 90% of short term rentals are booked this weekend, compared with 46% on a normal fall weekend, according to data from Deckard Technologies, which tracks rental data for properties across Airbnb and VRBO.

Zoom in: The influx of high-spending travelers is especially lucrative for luxury hotels.

• October is W Austin's busiest and most profitable month of the year, general manager Joanna McCreary tells Axios. Average room rates at the downtown hotel are approximately $200 higher in October than any other month.
• "Overall, W Austin is having the best October on record ever since we opened in 2010," McCreary says.

What's next: Austin airport officials have issued traveler advisories, encouraging passengers to arrive early because they anticipate possible record-breaking busy days at the airport.

• Monday is expected to be the busiest travel day.

Read the rest

The flu is getting an earlier start in Texas and nationwide this year.

Why it matters: Health experts say it's time to get your flu shot if you haven't already.

Zoom in: State hospital laboratories reported more than 800 flu cases from Oct. 4-10, up from about 15 during roughly the same period in 2025, per the Texas Health and Human Services department.

Flashback: The U.S. saw its worst flu season in 25 years last season.

Between the lines: Doctors nationwide urge Americans to get their flu shots now. It takes up to two weeks for the vaccine to provide maximum protection.

• This season, the new U.S.-approved mRNA flu vaccine is available to adults 50 and older.
• Children make up the highest percentage of medical visits in the U.S. for flu-like illness.

What they're saying: "Every fall we begin to see a rise in respiratory virus cases here in Austin, especially with the flu," Austin-Travis County Health Authority Dr. Desmar Walkes said in a statement.

• "This can pose a serious risk as kids are back in school and will be visiting relatives, some of whom may be at risk for severe complications."

Other reminders: Wash your hands often and avoid touching your face.

• Stay home when you're sick to avoid spreading germs.

The bottom line: Trish Perl, an infectious diseases and epidemiology professor at UT Southwestern, tells Axios the early uptick in flu positivity is worth watching, but it's too soon to gauge how severe this "reliably unreliable" flu season will be.

🤖 Austin-based autonomous trucking company Einride is facing a $61.7 million lawsuit tied to a dispute involving electric truck maker BYD. (KVUE)

🥗 Butcher's Daughter, a vegetable forward all-day restaurant, is opening in the old South Congress Café space on Nov. 15. (Austin Monthly)

👻 Ghoul Coffee Company, a horror-themed coffee trailer in East Austin, has signed a lease for its first brick-and-mortar location, on South Congress Avenue, just north of St. Elmo Road. (Community Impact)

Quote du jour

""ICE is NOT slowing down."

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We stopped by the Gertrude Stein exhibit, a celebration of the modernist writer and saloniste, at the Harry Ransom Center and one object in particular caught our eye.

Zoom in: We loved this vest 👆 embroidered circa 1927 for Stein by her partner, Alice B. Toklas.

• Made of cotton, with metallic thread, it features Persian patterns and some Farsi on the back — and feels like a material window into a heady, bohemian Parisian studio life.

What they're saying: "Alice is making tapestry in our leisure moments, I am making sentences in our leisure moments," Stein wrote to a friend in the late 1920s.

📍 If you go: The exhibit runs until Jan. 10. The center is open daily except Mondays.

• Admission is free.

Thanks to Bob Gee for editing this newsletter.

👃 Asher is headed to a dermatological surgeon this morning to have a bit of Basal cell skin cancer removed from his nose. Fun times.

🤞 Nicole is headed to the UT game this weekend and really hopes Texas can pull it off.

Have a good weekend, folks.