LOS ANGELES — While headwinds remain for the U.S. hotel industry as 2025 kicks off, many executives believe they have a better handle on the challenges they face — along with a renewed optimism that they can overcome them.
The second day of the Americas Lodging Investment Summit was defined largely by the expectation for a better year. Hoteliers said there is more certainty on the path forward both for the industry and the broader economy.
CEOs from hotel investment groups, management companies and brands alike expressed the sense 2025 will be a year of growth and positive change.
Russell Urban, CEO, principal and managing partner of Electra America Hospitality Group, said all of that should combine for a better deals environment.
"I do think there's going to be some more strategic acquisitions," he said during the "Boardroom Outlook: Hotel Real Estate" session. "In other words, those might not be based simply on the trailing number. So I think it will be a little bit more robust than '24."
Photo of the day
Quotes of the day
“I think, actually, fixed-salary positions are going to be intermediated faster than the unskilled, variable hourly positions just because of the way that large language models work. I've talked about the death of the concierge. Eventually it'll replace some sales jobs. It's already making revenue managers more efficient. Eventually, you're going to go to ChatGPT not Google for a hotel recommendation. So it's going to have huge [influence] on the consumer where they decide to book. But we're a decade away from replacing the housekeeper, at least.”
— Sloan Dean, president and CEO of Remington Hospitality, on the labor and hotel impacts of artificial intelligence.
"Being with a company that actually wants to see you grow in the industry makes you want to be part of that company."
— Eseosa Eregie, scholar at the Marriott Sorenson Center for Hospitality Leadership at Howard University, speaking during the Forward @ALIS panel about how hotel companies can attract and retain the next generation of hoteliers.
Editors’ takeaways
The general and accepted consensus at ALIS 2025 is there will be more deals activity in 2025 than 2024. What continues to vary based on who you talk to is whether that's because the bid-ask gap closes, private equity gets off the sidelines and the floodgates fully open or whether it's going to be an incremental improvement over a bad year for deals almost because it has to be.
I've heard some flavor of both from hotel investors and operators over the last two days, and I guess we should feel good that we're likely in for a better year, but the news that the Federal Reserve kept interest rates stable over some lingering concerns seems to provide more support to the latter point of view than the former.
— Sean McCracken, news editor
@HNN_Sean
The trajectory of the hotel industry is pretty positive overall. People still want to travel, rates are projected to grow and different demand segments are showing strength. The issue I kept hearing throughout the conference today is that despite all these positive factors, rising costs are cutting into profit margin at a higher rate than hoteliers would like to see.
It's nothing new. Wages continue to grow, and even though the pace has slowed, they're still up. Food costs are up. Insurance costs are way up. It's generally the same story everywhere: Everything costs more. Hoteliers are still making a profit, but they worry about how much thinner those margins are going to get.
— Bryan Wroten, senior reporter
@HNN_Bryan