Ed Brock is an award-winning journalist who has worked for various U.S. newspapers and magazines, including with American City & County magazine, a national publication based in Atlanta focused on city and county government issues. He is currently senior editor at Asian Hospitality magazine, the top U.S. publication for Asian American hoteliers. Originally from Mobile, Alabama, Ed began his career in journalism in the early 1990s as a reporter for a chain of weekly newspapers in Baldwin County, Alabama. After a stint teaching English in Japan, Ed returned to the U.S. and moved to the Atlanta area where he returned to journalism, coming to work at Asian Hospitality in 2016.
THE U.S. HOTEL industry is “beginning to get back to getting back to it,” according to a speaker at The Lodging Conference 2022, held Sept. 19-22 in Phoenix. More than 2,500 people attended the event at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort, continuing the industry’s return to normalcy after more than two years of pandemic.
Talk of the economy during the conference was mostly positive, though concerns about the labor shortage remained high as well as some apprehension about overall economic stability. Women were strongly represented on the stage with the awarding of the annual Castell Award. AAHOA’s leadership team also contributed to the conference conversation.
What the experts said
On the second day of the conference came reports from several different market research firms probing the state of the industry. They included Bruce Ford, senior vice president and director of global business development at Lodging Econometrics.
“Welcome to Phoenix. Welcome to the Lodging Conference and welcome to the beginning of the recovery for the hotel business,” Ford told the audience during his panel, Speed Stats Part II. “And when I say the beginning of the recovery, we've seen lots of different stats so far, and we're talking about maybe, and somehow, and this might go. But, the most important thing that you should feel in the industry right now is we're beginning to get back to getting back to it.”
Ford said the pipeline is currently bloated as developers announce more hotels than they open. People are trying to pick up the pieces, he said, but the rising number of hotel transactions tell him some are still selling and buying assets.
“We're also still renovating assets, we're converting assets and we are seeking third party management,” Ford said. “So, the tools are really all in play right now.”
Research firm HotStats has collected profit and loss data from more than 10,000 hotels and found some positive trends, said Michael Grove, the company’s chief operating officer.
“Looking at, for instance, at revenues, I never thought we would be where we are right now,” Grove said. “Overall, we are back where we were in 2019 at the same time, and that has been for the last few months.”
The industry continues to recover, albeit in unexpected ways, said Mark Lomanno, partner and senior advisor at Kalibri Labs
“This has been a very unusual recovery in that it's the first time in the history of the industry where ADR has led to recovery as opposed to demand and occupancy,” Lomanno said. “What we think is going to happen is going forward the rest of 2022 and into 2023 is that it will turn into a more normal looking recovery with demand getting stronger and ADR plateauing.”
The hotel owners and operators on the conference’s panels also shared mostly positive feelings. However, the celebration was muted by certain realities.
The professionals’ opinions
So far, 2022 has gone well for Noble Investment Group, including several hotel acquisitions and a recent expansion of its leadership team. The company’s leader, Mit Shah as CEO, on Sept. 9 was named 2023 Hospitality Executive of the Year by Penn State School of Hospitality Management in the College of Health and Human Development and the Penn State Hotel & Restaurant Society.
“If we go back to just what everybody thought about the economy coming out of the second quarter earnings report, some of you saw company after company, from Amex to Hilton, Marriott and REITs in our space, all beat guidance,” Shah said during the conference’s “A View from the Top panel.” “I believe that we're all feeling the impacts of dollars coming into the system and trying to get soaked back up. And so, the real question is, can we move rate pricing power faster than the other kinds of spending slow down and interest rates go up? I think we feel a lot differently about it than we did six months ago.”
Shah had mixed expectations for hotel transactions in 2023.
Mit Shah, CEO of Noble Investment Group, said during the conference that he expects to see greater emphasis on cash deals resulting in “a lot of interesting dynamics” in the second half of this year.
“There's going to be this place where budgets will come in, they'll look positive, but with less growth than I think a lot of people expect and you'll have maturities that are coming due,” Shah said. “There was $236 billion in lodging loans originated in 2017, ’18 and ’19, and you've got CAPEX that hasn't been spent in hotels for the better part of three years. All of those things combined are going to put a number of different stresses on the marketplace.”
He expects to see greater emphasis on cash deals resulting in “a lot of interesting dynamics” in the second half of this year.
“The other thing just keep in mind, my last point, is that there's no permanent capital market right now,” Shah said. “There's no place for these loans in which to go. These large banks that have historically led can't make a whole lot of new loans unless they get paid off.”
Overall, the market is in a better position, said Mark Purcell senior vice president for development in North and Central America for Accor, during the “Deals, Development, M&A” panel on the first day of the conference.
“Some of the really tough supply chain issues have gotten a lot better,” Purcell said. “The biggest issues we have right now are higher energy costs, higher insurance costs, higher wage rates, double digit increases in wages over the last 12 to 18 months. But fortunately, you can combat that by raising your rate every day.”
The supply chain disruption from earlier in the year had forced many hotel operators to get creative with finding material from multiple sources, said Brian Quinn, chief development officer for Sonesta Hotels & Resorts. That’s no longer necessary.
“I think the blessing of inflation is they're finally raising rates, so we're able to right now outpace additional operating costs,” Quinn said. “For right now, we continue to outpace our expenses for the most part. But be careful, because there's a cap to that, we can’t do that forever.”
Chip Ohlsson, executive vice president and chief development officer for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, also advised cautious optimism about improvements in the hotel industry.
“If you'd asked me six months a year ago, it would have been something else. But right now, there’s uncertainty in the marketplace of where the growth is going to come from,” Ohlsson said. “Is it conversion? Is it new construction? What segment is it going to come in? And trying to predict the future is almost an impossibility. So being prepared and making sure that we as a company, continue to innovate, and look at things differently and not fall back on our laurels, I think that's to make sure they're always looking for the next great thing for customers.”
Speaking from the chair
Neal Patel, chairman of AAHOA, took to the stage on the last full day of the conference for the “Leaders in Hospitality” panel. The labor shortage was one of the first subjects he addressed, saying it was a major issue for the association’s members.
“In 2019, AAHOA did a survey of the membership when it came to labor challenges because that is our number one challenge and continues to be our number one challenge,” Patel said. “In the survey, 91 percent of the hotels had job openings. And COVID definitely did not help. Right now, if you were to ask the same question, it'd be 100 percent.”
Patel said new technology that surged in the pandemic has helped. In his own company, Blue Chip Hotels, they were having a hard time finding labor despite paying competitive wages.
“At night, we had to shut down our offices because of a lack and shortage of labor,” he said. “Now we have a kiosk, which connects to you and someone who's sitting in India, and it's costing me $8 an hour at the same time. It can accept cash, it will give you change, and at the same time also prints your key for the room.”
Technology may not be a final solution to the problem, but it is likely to remain helpful.
“Once the labor does come back, hopefully soon, then the kiosk will remain there. But now my guest service will now be more of a concierge, helping guest out with the people who actually want to chat,” Patel said.
Later, however, Patel said the technology that should be developed may not include one of the most common solutions offered today, cloud-based apps.
“Technology, I think that is the future, but the cloud is not the future,” Patel said. “We need to decentralize our servers so it's not that easy to hack them. And when you decentralize things, you're splitting everything up in different fragments, and you're making it so much safer.”
Another subject Patel addressed was the ongoing threat posed by unregulated short-term rentals to traditional motels.
“Going back to 2004, my family and I moved from India, we had a 20-room hotel. Every weekend, we went to Blockbusters and rented a movie for family time,” Neal said. “And then Netflix and other streaming services took over the market share. I think that is exactly what's happening with our industry right now and regulation has a lot to do with it.”
Recently the AAHOA board unanimously decided to launch a short-term rental bill which will take the power to regulate the rival business away from the states and give it to the local authorities, Patel said. Just in Nashville, short-term rentals bring in about $30 million a month.
“That's the market share going away from our industry into these unregulated homes or hotels in different neighborhoods, and we're trying to avoid that,” he said. “I think we have the membership on the ground, they'll continue to push this at the local and the state level. And that is our goal is how can we make all 50 states adopt this bill which we'll be launching.”
A study in leadership
In July, the Castell Project and the American Hotel & Lodging Association Foundation named Leslie Hale, president and CEO of RLJ Lodging Trust and vice chair of the AHLA board of directors, as winner of the third annual Castell Award. During the conference, Hale accepted the award, which honors a female trailblazer in the hospitality investment arena who paves the way for more women to rise to the top.
Peggy Berg, founder of the Castell Project, introduced Hale.
Leslie Hale, president and CEO of RLJ Lodging Trust and vice chair of the AHLA board of directors, accepted the third annual Castell Award from the Castell Project and the American Hotel & Lodging Association Foundation during the Lodging Conference.
“We established the Castell award because we wanted the very male world of hotel ownership and development to see women in leadership, and for women in the industry to see women in leadership so that all of you know that there's an opportunity out there in this industry,” Berg said. “And it's had such an impact. You look around this room, we are more diverse than we've ever been before. We're making progress from the men and the women in this room, and the effort you're putting into this.”
Hale said she was honored to accept the award, not just for herself but for other women in the industry.
“These efforts are really important because they have the ability to change the way that women see our industry, but also and more importantly, change the way they see themselves in the industry,” Hale said. “I believe this is important because on my very best day, I'm just simply emulating the women who inspired me, who mentored me and who coached me along the way.”
She went on to say her mission to help others would continue.
“There are many women in the hospitality industry who are equally as talented as I am, who just need access to opportunities that can lead to executive level roles, sponsorship and encouragement,” she said. “Knowing this, I feel a deep sense of responsibility to help women lean in elevate and excel extend to leadership roles.”
Peachtree adds six hotels to third-party platform.
Five are owned by La Posada Group, one by Decatur Properties.
Third-party portfolio totals 42 hotels.
PEACHTREE GROUP’S HOSPITALITY management division added six hotels to its third-party management platform. Five are owned by La Posada Group LLC and one by Decatur Properties Holdings.
La Posada’s hotels include Fairfield Inn Evansville East in Evansville, Indiana; Fairfield Inn Las Cruces and TownePlace Suites Las Cruces in Las Cruces, New Mexico; and SpringHill Suites Lawrence Downtown and TownePlace Suites Kansas City Overland Park in Kansas, Peachtree said in a statement.
It also assumed management of Decatur Properties’ Hampton Inn in Monahans, Texas.
“Our third-party management business is experiencing growth and these six hotels demonstrate the trust owners are placing in our team,” said Vickie Callahan, president of Peachtree’s hospitality management division. “We have experience managing hotels and managing operations for partners who have entrusted us with their assets. We are committed to protecting asset value, driving results for partners and delivering a strong guest experience.”
The division manages hotels across brands and markets nationwide, the statement said. It operates 115 hotels across 29 brands with 14,212 rooms in 27 states and Washington, D.C. The additions bring its total third-party operations to 42 hotels.
Callahan said the team uses scale, operating systems and brand relationships to optimize revenue, control costs and improve guest satisfaction.
Atlanta-based Peachtree is led by Greg Friedman, managing principal and CEO; Jatin Desai, managing principal and CFO and Mitul Patel, principal.
In July, Peachtree launched a $250 million fund to invest in hotel and commercial real estate assets mispriced due to capital market illiquidity.
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The Highland Group: Extended-stay occupancy, RevPAR and ADR declined in August.
Room revenue rose 0.4 percent, while demand increased 2.2 percent.
August marked the second time in 47 months that supply growth exceeded 4 percent.
U.S. EXTENDED-STAY OCCUPANCY fell 2.1 percent in August, its eighth consecutive monthly decline, while ADR declined 1.8 percent and RevPAR dropped 3.9 percent for the fifth consecutive month, according to The Highland Group. However, total extended-stay room revenue rose 0.4 percent year over year.
The Highland Group’s “US Extended-Stay Hotels Bulletin: August 2025” noted that summer leisure travel has a greater impact on the overall hotel industry than on extended-stay hotels.
“August’s performance metrics further indicated that economy extended-stay hotels are weathering the hotel industry downturn better than most hotel classes, especially at lower price points,” said Mark Skinner, The Highland Group partner.
The 2.1 percent drop in extended-stay hotel occupancy in August was the eighth straight month of decline, the report said. Occupancy declined more than the 1.3 percent drop STR/CoStar reported for all hotels. However, extended-stay occupancy was 11.3 percentage points higher than the overall hotel industry, consistent with long-term late-summer trends.
The 1.8 percent decline in extended-stay ADR was partly due to a larger share of economy supply in August 2025 versus August 2024, the report said. Economy extended-stay ADR fell for the first time since May 2024 but outperformed the 3.4 percent drop for all economy hotels reported by STR/CoStar. Mid-price extended-stay ADR also declined, while upscale extended-stay ADR fell more than upscale hotels overall.
RevPAR fell 3.9 percent in August, the fifth straight monthly decline and the largest in 2025. The overall drop was greater than individual segment decreases because economy supply made up a larger share than in August 2024. STR/CoStar reported RevPAR declines of 5.7 percent for economy, 2.6 percent for mid-price and 2 percent for upscale hotels.
Revenue, demand and supply trends
Extended-stay room revenue rose 0.4 percent in August from a year earlier, The Highland Group said. STR/CoStar reported overall hotel revenue fell 0.1 percent and excluding luxury and upper-upscale segments, revenue fell 2 percent. STR/CoStar also reported August room revenue declines of 6.4 percent for economy hotels, 1.4 percent for midscale and 0.7 percent for upscale compared to August 2024.
Extended-stay demand rose 2.2 percent in August, the second-largest monthly increase in seven months. STR/CoStar reported total hotel demand fell 0.4 percent. Adjusting for the extra day in February 2024, extended-stay demand has grown in 32 of the past 33 months.
August was the second time in 47 months that supply growth exceeded 4 percent, the report said. Supply has risen about 3 percent year to date. Annual supply growth ranged from 1.8 to 3.1 percent over the past three years, below the long-term 4.9 percent average.
The 8 percent rise in economy extended-stay supply, with minimal change in mid-price and upscale rooms, is mainly due to conversions, as new economy construction accounts for about 3–4 percent of rooms compared to a year ago.
The Highland Group reported that economy, mid-price and upscale extended-stay segments led first-quarter 2025 RevPAR growth over their class counterparts. The report noted 602,980 extended-stay rooms at quarter-end, a net gain of 17,588 rooms over the past year, the largest in three years.
AHLA Foundation distributed $710,000 in scholarships to 246 students.
Nearly 90 percent of recipients come from underrepresented communities.
The foundation funds students pursuing education and careers in the lodging sector.
AHLA FOUNDATION DISTRIBUTED $710,000 in academic scholarships to 246 students at 64 schools nationwide for the 2025–2026 academic year. Nearly 90 percent of recipients are from underrepresented communities, reflecting the foundation’s focus on expanding access to hospitality careers.
The foundation awards academic scholarships annually to students in hospitality management and related programs, it said in a statement.
“Our scholarship program is helping ensure the next generation of talent has the resources to pursue careers in the hospitality industry,” said Kevin Carey, AHLA Foundation's president and CEO. “We’ve invested millions of dollars over the last several decades to recruit and support future leaders who will strengthen our industry.”
It provides funding to help students pursue education and careers in the lodging sector, the statement said. Award decisions are based on applicants’ academic performance, extracurricular involvement, recommendations and financial need.
In September, AHLA Foundation, the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education and the Accreditation Commission for Programs in Hospitality Administration announced plans to expand education opportunities for hospitality students. The alliance aim to provide data, faculty development and student engagement opportunities.
The U.S. government shut down at midnight after Congress failed to agree on funding.
About 750,000 federal employees will be furloughed daily, costing $400 million.
Key immigration and labor programs are halted.
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT shut down at midnight after Republicans and Democrats failed to agree on funding. Disputes over healthcare subsidies and spending priorities left both sides unwilling to accept responsibility.
The shutdown could cost America’s travel economy $1 billion a week, the U.S. Travel Association said previously. It will disrupt federal agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration and hurt the travel economy, USTA CEO Geoff Freeman wrote in a Sept. 25 letter to Congress.
“A shutdown is a wholly preventable blow to America’s travel economy—costing $1 billion each week—and affecting millions of travelers and businesses while straining an already overextended federal travel workforce,” Freeman said. “While Congress recently provided a $12.5 billion down payment to modernize our nation’s air travel system and improve safety and efficiency, this modernization will stop in the event of a shutdown.”
USTA said that halting air traffic controller hiring and training would worsen a nationwide shortage of more than 2,800 controllers and further strain the air travel system.
About 750,000 federal workers are expected to be furloughed each day at a cost of about $400 million, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Essential services to protect life and property remain operational, CNN reported. The Department of Education said most of its staff will be furloughed, while the Department of Homeland Security will continue much of its work. Agencies released contingency plans before the deadline.
Immigration services are directly affected. Most U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services operations continue because they are fee funded, but programs relying on appropriations—such as E-Verify, the Conrad 30 J-1 physician program and the special immigrant religious worker program—are suspended. Houston law firm Reddy Neumann Brown said employers must manually verify I-9 documents if E-Verify goes offline, though USCIS has historically extended compliance deadlines.
The Department of Labor will halt its Office of Foreign Labor Certification, freezing labor condition applications for H-1B visas, PERM applications and prevailing wage determinations, India’s Business Standard reported. Its FLAG system and related websites will also go offline. Immigration lawyers warn of ripple effects, since USCIS depends on DOL data. The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals and administrative law dockets will also pause.
Visa and passport services at U.S. consulates generally continue because they are fee funded. If revenue falls short at a post, services may be limited to emergencies and diplomatic needs.
Reuters reported that the disruption could delay the September jobs report, slow air travel, suspend scientific research, withhold pay from active-duty U.S. troops and disrupt other government operations. The funding standoff involves $1.7 trillion in discretionary agency spending—about one-quarter of the $7 trillion federal budget, according to Reuters. Most of the rest goes to health programs, retirement benefits and interest on the $37.5 trillion national debt.
According to The New York Times, unlike previous shutdowns, Trump is threatening long-term changes to the government if Democrats do not concede to demands, including firing workers and permanently cutting programs they support.
The U.S. led global travel and tourism in 2024 with $2.6 trillion in GDP, WTTC reported.
India retained ninth place with $249.3 billion in GDP.
The sector supported 357 million jobs in 2024, rising to 371 million in 2025.
THE U.S. LED global travel and tourism in 2024, contributing $2.6 trillion to GDP, mainly from domestic demand, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council. Europe accounted for five of the top 10 destinations, while India ranked 9th.
WTTC opened its 25th Global Summit in Rome with research showing investment reached $1 trillion in 2024, led by the U.S., China, Saudi Arabia and France.
“These results tell a story of strength and opportunity,” said Gloria Guevara, WTTC interim CEO. “The U.S. remains the world’s largest travel and tourism market, China is surging back, Europe is powering ahead, and destinations across the Middle East, Asia and Africa are delivering record growth. This year, we are forecasting that our sector will contribute a historic $2.1 trillion in 2025, surpassing the previous high of $1.9 trillion in 2019. As Italy hosts this year’s Global Summit, its role as a G7 leader showcases the importance of tourism in driving economies, creating jobs and shaping our shared future.”
The U.S. kept its top position, but international visitor spending is expected to fall by $12.5 billion in 2025, limiting growth to 0.7 percent. China, the second-largest market, contributed $1.64 trillion in 2024 and is forecast to grow 22.7 percent this year. Japan, the fifth-largest market, is expected to rise from $310.5 billion to nearly $325 billion.
Italy, which hosted the summit and is a G7 member, contributed $248.3 billion in 2024, driven by international visitors and the meetings and events sector. Germany, the third-largest market, contributed $525 billion. The UK generated $367 billion despite a fall in international visitor spending, while France and Spain added $289 billion and $270 billion. Europe’s growth was supported by both cultural and modern sectors.
India contributed $249.3 billion in 2024. In June, WTTC reported international visitors spent $36.09 billion in India in last year, up 9 percent from 2019.
Jobs on the rise
Travel and tourism supported 357 million jobs in 2024 and is expected to reach 371 million in 2025, increasing its share of global employment, the WTTC report found. By 2035, the sector is projected to support one in eight jobs worldwide, adding 91 million positions—most in Asia-Pacific—and accounting for one in three new jobs globally.
Uncertainties over trade tariffs and geopolitical tensions could limit sector growth in 2025, the report said. Travel and tourism’s GDP contribution is forecast to rise 6.7 percent, returning toward pre-pandemic averages but still outpacing the 2.5 percent growth projected for the global economy.
The sector is expected to contribute $11.7 trillion, or 10.3 percent of global GDP and add 14.4 million jobs, bringing total employment to 371 million, or 10.9 percent of global jobs. International visitor spending is projected to fully recover, rising 8.6 percent above 2019 levels to nearly $2.1 trillion, while domestic visitor spending is expected to rise 13.6 percent to $5.6 trillion. Annual growth for 2025 is forecast at 10 percent for international and 5.1 percent for domestic spending.
In May, WTTC projected the U.S. stood to lose $12.5 billion in international travel spending this year, falling to under $169 billion from $181 billion in 2024. The council said U.S. needs to do more to welcome international visitors rather than “putting up the ‘closed’ sign.”