Three Major Shifts Reshaping Hospitality: Construction Trends, Corporate Strategy, and Portfolio Movements
The hospitality industry is transitioning into a new phase defined by recalibration rather than disruption. Three significant themes are emerging from this week’s data: Choice Hotels’ evolving path toward 2026, the cooling but increasingly strategic construction pipeline, and two notable portfolio transactions that signal how capital is repositioning across the hotel landscape. Taken together, these […]
Five Signals Shaping the Hospitality & Real Estate Outlook Heading Into 2026
The hospitality and real estate sectors are heading into 2026 with a mix of recalibration and early signs of stabilization. Hotel stocks, apartment REITs, transaction markets, and consumer financial health collectively point toward an industry digesting a difficult year but setting the stage for improved performance ahead. Based solely on the information provided, here are […]
Hotel Earnings Week: Credit-Card Upside, Low-Gear RevPAR, and a Lesson in Sonder
The hotel industry wrapped up another earnings week with cautious optimism—and a dose of reality. Most operators reported results ahead of expectations, but the tone from management teams remained measured. RevPAR is growing, but at a pace that barely outpaces inflation, and operating expenses continue to put pressure on margins. Two themes stood out clearly: […]
Hotel Transactions, Travel Momentum, and the Fed: What This Week’s Reports Reveal About Hospitality’s Outlook
This past week provided one of the clearest snapshots yet of where the hospitality industry stands—and where it’s headed. From Sotherly Hotels’ $425 million take-private transaction to Booking Holdings’ strong quarterly earnings, the sector continues to show solid fundamentals despite persistent headwinds from capital markets. At the same time, the Federal Reserve’s cautious policy stance […]
Hotel Industry Faces a Split Market as Inflation Cools and Luxury Brands Shine
The hotel sector is closing out in 2025 with a story of two markets—one defined by resilience at the luxury end and another constrained by sluggish growth in the midscale and economic tiers. This divergence, underscored by recent earnings results, cooling inflation, and evolving investor sentiment, is setting the stage for a transformative 2026. Core […]
Two-Speed Recovery: What September’s Hotel Data Says About the State of the Industry
September’s hotel data shows a clear shift in momentum. RevPAR declined roughly 2% year-over-year, marking the fourth consecutive month of negative growth since April. The pattern signals that the U.S. hotel industry recovery is no longer moving in unison — luxury and upper-upscale properties continue to hold firm, while midscale and economy hotels are losing […]
Fragile Optimism: How Global Economies and REIT Trends Are Shaping the Hospitality Outlook
The global hospitality and real estate sectors enter the final quarter of 2025 with an unmistakable theme — fragile optimism. While markets push toward new highs and capital costs begin to ease, sentiment across hotels, REITs, and foreign economies remains cautious. The story of 2025 isn’t one of collapse or exuberance, but recalibration — a […]
Signs of a Secular Slowdown: How Hotel Investors Are Navigating a Select-Service Reset
The U.S. economy continues to expand, but hotel investors are facing a very different story. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) and average daily rate (ADR) growth remain stubbornly low despite stable GDP gains. That divergence has many asking: Is the hotel industry entering its own recession? Recent data from STR and CoStar reveal just how […]
Hotel Sales and Market Pressures: What the Latest Quarter Tells Us About the State of Hospitality
The U.S. hotel sector continues to send mixed signals. Roughly 1,000 hotels changed hands in Q3 2025, representing over 82,000 rooms sold, yet the underlying performance metrics reveal a market still wrestling with uneven demand and pricing pressures. Transaction activity remains strong, with independent and extended-stay properties leading the charge, but national RevPAR and occupancy […]
Hotel Investment Trends 2025: REIT Sales, STR Growth, & Market Shifts
The U.S. hotel industry has entered a pivotal year. Investor dissatisfaction is mounting, short-term rentals continue to chip away at specific market segments, and hotel transaction activity is beginning to stir after a prolonged lull. At the same time, performance varies dramatically by region, with some markets showing strength while others struggle under supply pressure. […]
Hotel Real Estate in Transition: Labor, Conversions, & Capital Markets in 2025
Hotel real estate continues to send mixed signals in 2025. While easing inflation and lower rates are fueling optimism across the broader REIT market, hotels remain stuck in transition. Investor sentiment has been cautious, as sector fundamentals like jobs and valuations have lagged peers. The thesis is clear: hotel REITs may be the last to […]
From Boom to Balance: Real Estate Normalizes in 2025
The past five years have been marked by unprecedented extremes in the U.S. economy and real estate markets. The pandemic era (2020–2022) brought massive stimulus, pent-up consumer demand, record job openings, ultra-low bankruptcies, and historically cheap financing. Real estate rode those waves—hotels boomed, labor shortages persisted, and CRE values surged on easy money. But by […]
Distorted Comps in Real Estate: When Low Sales Skew Values
In real estate, “comps” (short for comparables) are one of the most widely used tools to determine a property’s value. A comp is essentially a recent sale of a similar asset in a similar market, used as a benchmark. Real estate brokers, investors, lenders, and appraisers rely heavily on comps because they provide a quick […]
Why Extended Stay is Surging as Traditional Development Slows
The U.S. hotel industry stands at a crossroads. On one hand, operators like Choice Hotels are posting strong financial performance, with Q2 EBITDA beating expectations. On the other hand, their 2025 outlook remains muted, projecting revenue per available room (RevPAR) growth between -3% and 0%. For hotel investors and hotel brokers, that guidance is a […]
Hotels at the Crossroads: Navigating the 2025 Inflection Point
After a robust post-pandemic rebound, the hotel industry has hit an inflection point in 2025. Growth in key metrics is slowing or reversing, macroeconomic clouds are gathering, and investors and hotel brokers are recalibrating strategies—marking a pivotal moment between continued recovery and a potential downturn. Introduction: The Market Turns The U.S. hotel sector has entered […]
Margins Thin, Lenders Picky – How Hotel Owners Can Navigate Late 2025
“It’s the third time this year your lender has ‘updated’ their DSCR requirement – and the new number turns your refinance from green light to yellow.” That scenario feels all too familiar for many hotel owners heading into the back half of 2025. Demand is steady enough, but profits are being squeezed, and lenders are […]
3 Keys to a Successful Hotel Conversion in Today’s Market
As new hotel construction slows to its lowest pace since 2016, hotel conversion projects have emerged as one of the most practical, cost-effective paths to growth for owners and investors. Major brands like Hilton and Wyndham are actively courting conversions—especially in secondary and tertiary markets—making this a pivotal moment to act. Whether you’re repositioning an […]
Last-Minute Bookings & Price Wars: How Traveler Behavior Is Reshaping Hotels in 2025
As we move deeper into 2025, a dramatic shift in traveler behavior is transforming the hospitality landscape. Predictable booking patterns and brand loyalty are giving way to a new normal of spontaneity, price sensitivity, and a strong demand for flexibility. These trends are prompting hoteliers to rethink their approach to pricing, marketing, operations, and guest […]
Wall Street’s Caution, Main Street’s Opportunity: 7 Powerful Moves for Hoteliers in 2025
As Wall Street’s caution becomes Main Street’s opportunity, hoteliers need to think strategically. With revenue growth faltering and costs staying stubbornly high, now is the time to act. Protecting every basis point of Gross Operating Profit (GOP) today could pay off twofold when RevPAR levels out in the coming months. Let’s break down what the […]