Providence, RI – August 2026 / NewsmakerAlert:
hotelAVE 2Q26 Hospitality Dashboard
1. Everybody rasied their 2026 YE RevPAR guidance. REIT’s and brands raised their year-end RevPAR guidance ranging from 1% to 9%. CoStar raised their year-end guidance to 4.4%.
2. REIT’s and brands reported strong corporate transient and group demand, particularly in luxury assets, propelling upward revisions in year-end topline and EBITDA estimates. The rebound in leisure demand is particularly evident in the growth in transient wholesale and tour/wholesale and SMERF group segments.
3. GOP flow through remains challenged despite strong RevPAR growth. Y/Y GOP margin expansion is only 34 bps as growth in labor costs exceeded 4% and hotels have increased their non-labor operating expenses significantly Y/Y.
4. Strong price appreciation drove REIT implied cap rates lower in 2Q26. Greater than expected topline growth and positive margin expansion helped fuel outperformance in earnings. REIT’s are back “looking” at acquisitions.
5. Lending spreads have remained largely unchanged since last quarter. However, mortgage brokers indicated diminishing interest in refinancing transactions with debt yields below 9%.
6. Rooms under construction in Top 25 markets grew to 2.5% of existing inventory since last quarter. Hotels under construction are heavily concentrated in upscale and upper midscale chains although luxury has the largest percentage growth.
About hotelAVE
Hotel Asset Value Enhancement, Inc. (hotelAVE) is the industry’s leading international hotel owner, advisor and asset management firm, with a legacy of unrivaled performance for our partners, owners and lenders of 2,000+ hotels with more than 510,000 rooms, representing over $170 billion of hotel real estate value. The company’s current asset management portfolio comprises over 85 hotels and $12.5 billion in assets under management. The firm advises on an additional $10 billion of hotel real estate annually. Advisory services include: lender collateral strategic business plans, strategic plans, receivership, acquisition underwriting and due diligence, new manager and franchise selection, development planning and litigation support services. The firm’s operational effectiveness division implements projects that increased GOP margins by an average of 500 bps without impact to guest service as measured one year after installation. hotelAVE uses a highly data driven and comprehensive approach, which is supported by a proprietary business intelligence & analytics platform.
Founded in 2003 by Michelle Russo, the 2021 Jack A. Shaffer Financial Advisor of the Year and the 2025 Isenberg HTM Distinguished Industry Leader, hotelAVE’s more than 50 diverse professionals possess over 700+ combined years of hotel ownership, consulting and hospitality operations experience. hotelAVE is headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island with offices and professionals also located in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Raleigh, Seattle, and Washington, DC. For more information on hotelAVE, please visit www.hotelAVE.com.
