Hotel executives are excited to start welcoming back more travelers, but one big hurdle the industry must overcome is hiring and retaining employees.

Speaking during the "ALIS 6x8: Recovery Top of Mind" session of the BHN Group's online webinar series, Tony Capuano, CEO of Marriott International, said "measured optimism" is another thing that's important to him right now.

That optimism comes from a few different sources, including the efficacy and efficiency of COVID-19 vaccines as well as week-over-week improvement in demand.

"Lastly, I hear from our customers every day, they are really anxious to get on the road," he said. "They're thoughtful, they're cautious, but the pent-up demand is pretty extraordinary."

While hoteliers are excited for more people to start traveling again, they are also concerned about the labor pressures the industry is currently facing, said Julie Richter, chief financial officer at Concord Hospitality Enterprises.

• Click here to read about how hoteliers around the globe are dealing with labor challenges as demand shifts

"I think the biggest issue on the road to recovery right now is the labor pressures where our operators are having to make revenue decisions not only based on a given night's demand, but also based on an analysis of how long it will take to turn the rooms based on staffing shortfalls," she said.

Escalating wages are becoming more prevalent at the property level, which is another labor challenge, said Jim Chu, global head of development at Hyatt Hotels Corp.

"Our cost of operating is being very impacted right now [and] will continue to be impacted, margins are going to feel pressured by it. We need to find new ways to operate ... because it's not sustainable to operate in the old form that we were in pre-COVID," he said.

Lenders have been "flexible and accommodating" with owners during the pandemic, but those owners have "a long climb out of the hole that's been created by the pandemic," Marriott's Capuano said.

To help owners and franchisees manage challenges, he said Marriott and other brands have had to come up with creative solutions.

"[Owners] look for leadership on things like operating and cleaning protocols, and they look for flexibility, whether that be on use of [furniture, fixtures and equipment] reserves, timing of renovation requirements and flexibility on [project improvement plans] that drives investment capital into the market," he said.

Capuano added that the brands will have a multifaceted role in the recovery to provide guidance on cleaning and other COVID-19 protocols and to be an "enabler of transactions."

"Transactions drive really important capital into the markets, and that's a role the brands should and can continue to serve as we work our way through the end of the pandemic," he said.

The pandemic hasn't brought as much transaction volume as some had hoped, and that's because "nobody wants to sell at the bottom of a crisis," Capuano said.

There's still a "fairly significant gap between the bid and the ask, and we won't see a flood of transaction volume until that gap begins to narrow," he said.

That gap has led to less distressed asset sales than many had hoped for, but that should change as the gap narrows, Hyatt's Chu said.

Forbearance and Paycheck Protection Program loans have definitely helped owners, but hotels that were struggling pre-pandemic will likely struggle coming out of the pandemic, he said.

"There wasn't a real changing of the model in many cases," he said. "In that effort, it did kick the can down the road and it did buy some time. There was a lot of capital out there but not a lot of assets."

Chu added that the lack of debt in the market has also had an impact on asset sales. As that continues to return, he anticipates to see more distressed asset sales.

The development pace of new-construction hotels is "meaningfully lower" than it was before the pandemic, but Marriott's number of rooms under construction globally has stayed consistent, Capuano said.

As a company, Concord has always liked to build during a downturn to be ready when things are good again, which the company has continued during the pandemic, Richter said. In the last four months, the company has closed four hotel construction loans and plans to close two more in the next 30 days, she said.

Richter said hotel lending has been tight, but her company is starting to gain momentum. While debt is returning, costs are rising, she said.

As a developer, Concord also has to make decisions on when to buy or sell hotels, she added.

"It's an interesting time in the market right now," she said. "And the expected dislocation of assets not matching the capital that was raised to take advantage of the distress and to think about what that's going to mean for asset trades over the next 12 to 18 months."

To prepare for the next pandemic or drastic downturn, the industry needs to stay focused on guests' needs and wants, said Jeanette Clarke, senior vice president and chief capital investments officer at Apple Hospitality REIT.

"Every situation we're faced with, we need to be pausing and listening and continuing to thoroughly analyze all of the information we have, while at the same time, really being nimble as an organization and as an industry to adjust and make good decisions quickly," she said.

Capuano said the industry needs to remain vigilant.

"I hope and pray there will never be another pandemic, but when you listen to scientists, we may live in a world for the rest of our lives where there are flare-ups of different types of viruses, and the learnings we've had about how to keep our guests and our associates safe — and maintaining that vigilance — will be critical," he said.