Read all of the highlights from the 2021 Hotel Data Conference, held August 11-13 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Click on each headline below to read more.

While leisure travel demand is already exceeding 2019 levels, projected to end 2021 17% higher, business transient and group bookings have a longer road to a full recovery, according to the latest STR forecasts.

Hotel industry leaders at the Hotel Data Conference discussed labor concerns, the impact of the COVID-19 Delta variant and more.

Hotel company chief financial officers at the 2021 Hotel Data Conference shared predictions for distressed assets, transaction activity and key takeaways going forward.

Relationships are tested during a crisis, and hoteliers have learned that the better the communication and collaboration is among all parties, the better the outcome is.

Through successes and failures, hoteliers identified the necessities, such as tracking available rooms to sell and cancellation and postponement of city events, as demand ramped back up.

Uncertainty over a labor shortage and hotel demand patterns are requiring hotel operators to be creative.

As events business slowly returns to hotels, hoteliers are re-examining contract clauses, attrition and cancellation, and budgeting for hybrid events.

A survey conducted by STR in July shows improving confidence among travelers in the U.S., North America and the United Kingdom, but growing concerns about the travel behaviors of others.

Hoteliers who work in the resort space say they're seeing a strong and sustained rebound in demand that seemingly extends through the end of the year.

STR's Ali Hoyt and Isaac Collazo said the hotel industry will only be able to declare a full recovery from the COVID pandemic when all temporarily closed hotel rooms are open and the industry is fully staffed.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there were a handful of hotels in the U.S. that grew occupancy, rate or both, most of which were small, economy properties.

Amid rolled-back hotel services and amenities, many guests who have earned loyalty status with hotel brands are no longer satisfied with the perks. Executives at the Hotel Data Conference discussed how loyalty programs can be improved.

Pent-up leisure travel demand has driven hotel room revenues to nearly pre-pandemic levels.

Population and employment growth, and the development of multifamily units and office space correlate to a rise in hotel supply in U.S. markets.

In the worst months of the pandemic when travelers weren't booking hotel rooms, hoteliers were forced to either close their properties or drive revenue in other ways. Panelists at the Hotel Data Conference shared how they drove revenue to the bottom-line in innovative ways.

Highgate Ventures Principal Kurien Jacob said the adoption rate of new technology has increased in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and hotels that do a better job incorporating automation on property will be better poised for success.

The process of booking group events at hotels has become much more complex, requiring more on-property team members to be aligned and customers to spend more.

A boom in leisure travel is expected to drop off significantly in the latter portion of the year, but hoteliers believe being open to new demand streams — like construction crews — can blunt the impact of losing leisure.

Marshall Hotels and Resorts' President and CEO Mike Marshall said his company's near-term growth strategy will prioritize adding third-party contracts and opening under construction hotels.

Large cities such as Los Angeles are still struggling to regain economic ground lost when citywide events dropped off the calendar for 2020 and 2021.

The ongoing labor shortage in the U.S. hotel industry continues to frustrate employers as hotel teams are burning out and guests are losing patience for less service.

Hotel revenue managers have had to adopt new strategies and work with sales and operations teams to better capture sources of revenue during the pandemic.

Many hotels closed their doors temporarily at the start of 2020’s COVID-19 lockdowns, and data shows how hotels recovered after reopening their doors depended heavily on location.

The U.S. hotel industry lost 1 million jobs during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, and while that number now is around 400,000, those seeking work are always looking in the industry’s direction due to historical problems such as unfavorable work hours and new problems such as not wanting to be client-facing.

2020's COVID-19 lockdowns sent university students home, but the developers behind the Graduate Hotels brand remained confident in the strength of its business plan, which is reliant on demand in college towns.

The pandemic’s affect on staffing and demand has placed greater emphasis on revenue management skills as hoteliers bank on a rise in corporate and group spending.

Alex Cisneros, senior vice president of revenue generation for Red Roof, believes the economy segment will continue to outperform the broader hotel industry in 2022, but the loss of government stimulus could stymie some demand.

Peachtree Hospitality Management President Patrick Short said his company has leaned on its lending business and existing relationships to get deals done, announcing $1 billion in stressed and distressed hotel acquisitions.

While mask requirements and other restrictions are rolling out again at some events and hotels in some markets, hoteliers attending the Hotel Data Conference were upbeat and and said they believe the industry is on the right track to recovery from the pandemic.

Cost-cutting is a must during a downturn for hoteliers, but the outperformance of resorts versus urban hotels during the pandemic illustrates the importance of not letting service offerings die on the vine.