Market Trends

🏨 2025 saw hotel transactions rise as interest rates stabilized, especially in secondary and primary U.S. cities. Transaction volume increased in Q3 2025, with a focus on properties under $25 million. Interest rates, expected to fall below 7%, influenced buying strategies. In 2026, market optimism prevails, with a strategic shift towards fundamentals over volume. Branding and performance trends shape valuations, while renovation decisions impact sale prices. Sellers should carefully assess timing, pricing, and renovation strategies to align with market conditions.

🏨 Emily Johnson, founder of Elevate Wellness Collective, explains why hotels often misinterpret wellness, focusing beyond spas to include mental and emotional well-being. She argues for integrating wellness into design and operations strategies, not as a standalone amenity. This discussion is part of Hospitality Daily, supported by Mews, a hospitality operating system. For more on AI and hotel tech, listen to Richard Valtr's insights. Transform these ideas into actionable strategies for your team!

🛫 In 2026, agentic AI transforms travel: 39% of U.S. travelers use AI for trip planning, up from 28% last year. General search usage drops from 51% in 2024 to 36% in 2025, while ChatGPT use triples. 83% of travel businesses use generative AI, with 88% seeing benefits. 61% of executives are scaling agentic AI, shifting from exploration to execution. Major platforms race to capture agentic bookings, as AI becomes a core competitive driver.

🏨 Hotels, over 30 years, equated loyalty with transactions, using points and tiers rather than genuine recognition, leading to a transactional, not loyal, relationship. Independent hotels, like John Sutton's Journey, focus on genuine guest understanding, not just data collection. Loyalty should be about recognition and care, not just points. Sutton, previously from a $10B tech firm, promotes hospitality's original promise: making guests feel known. Points attract; care retains.

🗺 Hilton’s 2026 Trends Report surveyed 14,000 travelers across 14 countries. 27% of business travelers seek solitude during work trips. 74% of travelers prefer trusted hotel brands, 48% cook meals on the road, and 77% explore local grocery stores. 71% of Americans plan to drive on their next vacation. 33% plan group trips for shared passions, and 73% traveling with children involve them in planning. 66% are influenced by parents’ hotel choices, with 52% exploring family roots.

🏨 Europe, Q4 2025: The hotel construction pipeline includes 1,717 projects with 252,600 rooms. Under construction are 754 projects with 115,289 rooms, while 375 projects with 54,097 rooms will start within 12 months. The UK leads with 274 projects/39,515 rooms, followed by Germany and Turkey. Record highs noted in early planning and luxury development. In 2025, 255 hotels opened. Projections for 2026 and 2027 are 315 and 320 new hotels, respectively.

🛌 STR/Tourism Economics forecasts a 0.6% RevPAR growth for 2026, after a 0.3% decline in 2025. Demand dipped 0.5% in 2025, expected to rebound by 0.4% in 2026. The 2026 World Cup will boost U.S. RevPAR by 0.4%. U.S. inbound travel is expected to rise 3.7%, with outbound travel increasing 4.6%. Supply growth is reduced to 0.7% for 2026, and ADR growth remains below inflation. Group demand fell 1.8% in 2025, offset by 4.0% ADR growth.