While high inflation garnered headlines in 2023, higher prices didn't keep travelers from taking trips during the year; they just took their dollars elsewhere.
After years of pandemic travel restrictions, Americans spent big to travel abroad, including to Europe. Domestically, the biggest demand came from major events such as Taylor Swift's "Eras Tour."
The number of hotel transactions wasn't as high as in past years, and part of that is due to sellers holding on to assets and buyers waiting for interest rates to fall first before signing a contract.
Here are a list of articles that compile the biggest hotel industry news, trends, data analysis of 2023, followed by hoteliers' outlook for 2024.
Reflecting on 2023
article3 Min ReadDecember 26, 2023 08:29 AMThis roundup highlights Hotel News Now's coverage of U.S. hotel companies buying, or trying to buy, other hotel companies throughout the year.
article8 Min ReadDecember 26, 2023 08:27 AMThe poster children for distressed U.S. hotels in 2023 were those that belonged to two major hotel REITs, but those cases were not representative of the industry at large.
article8 Min ReadDecember 26, 2023 09:07 AMU.S. hotel deals this year were down compared to 2022 because of the higher cost of debt and differing valuation expectations. The expectation is that transaction volume will increase in 2024.
article5 Min ReadDecember 28, 2023 09:11 AMAcross Europe, hotels sold in 2023, but mostly in single-asset transactions rather than big-ticket portfolio deals.
article3 Min ReadJanuary 03, 2024 08:34 AMThe Federal Reserve's war against inflation, and the consistent interest rate increase they used to wage that battle, made 2023 a difficult year to be a hotel borrower.
article2 Min ReadDecember 27, 2023 08:27 AMCoStar data shows U.S. hotel markets outside of the top 25 did not grow revenues enough to cover the growth in expenses in 2023.
article3 Min ReadDecember 20, 2023 08:39 AMThe 2023 Rugby World Cup in France was a success for hoteliers who saw excellent metrics for a sporting event that bodes well for 2024’s upcoming Olympic Games.
article5 Min ReadDecember 29, 2023 08:43 AMConcert tours, sporting competitions and Chinese holidays are among the events that drove strong hotel performance around the world in 2023.
article2 Min ReadDecember 29, 2023 08:30 AMSTR's Kelsey Fenerty and HNN's Stephanie Ricca joined Trevor Simpson to discuss the events that drove hotel performance in 2023.
article7 Min ReadDecember 27, 2023 09:13 AMAlthough hotel revenue strategists will take some of the best practices they learned in 2023 with them into 2024, not all risks they took this year will end up in the 2024 playbook.
article5 Min ReadDecember 19, 2023 10:27 AMHotel revenue strategists adjusted game plans as leisure travel fatigue set in.
article6 Min ReadDecember 21, 2023 09:36 AMHotel companies shook up their executive teams as heads of businesses stepped down.
article2 Min ReadDecember 19, 2023 09:08 AMIn the latest episode of "Tell Me More: A Hospitality Data Podcast," CoStar's Jan Freitag and STR's Isaac Collazo discuss November hotel performance and take a broader look back at the year.
article6 Min ReadJanuary 05, 2024 08:39 AMMost of the new hotel brands launched in 2023 fall into the midscale and/or extended-stay segments, which are exactly the types of hotels that developers are interested in building.
Expectations for 2024
article4 Min ReadJanuary 03, 2024 09:34 AMWhile borrowing costs remain elevated due to two years of interest rate increases, experts say there is still money available in the market.
article1 Min ReadJanuary 03, 2024 08:31 AMHotel financing options are expected to be "more robust" than in 2023.
article6 Min ReadJanuary 02, 2024 09:07 AMHoteliers say group demand and revenue continue to build year over year.
article5 Min ReadJanuary 02, 2024 09:12 AMHotel executives say the high demand for group business in city-center hotels is leading to a spillover of demand in secondary and tertiary markets.
article2 Min ReadJanuary 02, 2024 10:17 AMData from Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo shows travelers are keen to plan trips around TV shows and movies such as "The White Lotus" and "Squid Game."
article4 Min ReadDecember 28, 2023 08:37 AMHoteliers and investors in the sector have to toy with a new set of weights and measurements, including aging demographics, AI and the reduced stature of nations.
article4 Min ReadDecember 27, 2023 08:33 AMHotel leaders at various companies share whether they think the industry will enter an era of normalization in 2024.
article3 Min ReadJanuary 04, 2024 09:14 AMSaudi Arabian giga-projects are spurring real estate development at enormous scale, including hotels, which the government hopes will propel the country to the heights of international tourism.
article1 Min ReadJanuary 05, 2024 08:37 AMIn this bonus episode of Tell Me More, Jan Freitag and Isaac Collazo lay out what they expect for U.S. hotel industry in 2024 and why.
article1 Min ReadDecember 21, 2023 08:40 AMIn the latest episode of the Next Gen in Lodging podcast, on the Hotel News Now Podcast Network, hosts Davonne Reaves, Omari Head and Chris Henry reflect on the past year and share their expectations for what's to come.