Market Trends

🏈 Super Bowl LX, on 8 February, will take place at Levi’s Stadium, San Francisco Bay Area. In 2016, San Francisco's hotels saw a 30% RevPAR increase, ADR of $244.36, and 81% occupancy. The 2026 forecast predicts a 37% rise in ADR to $293.69, with RevPAR at $192.81. October year-to-date stats show occupancy up 4.9%, ADR up 5.9%, and RevPAR up 11.3%. San Francisco’s hotel supply is 20% larger than New Orleans, affecting demand concentration.

🏨 IHG's Holiday Inn celebrates its 50th anniversary in Greater China with a commemorative brand book and the launch of Holiday Inn’s next-generation evolution. Founded in 1975 with its first hotel in Hong Kong, Holiday Inn now boasts over 250 hotels open or in development in the region. The brand's transformation includes enhanced guest experiences, new design elements, and the appointment of actress Cecilia Yip as Brand Ambassador.

🏨 In 2026, the hotel industry is evolving. Two camps emerge: "Warehouses for Sleep" (price/location-focused) and true hoteliers (guest-focused). The "Marryattilton" model struggles with generic service. Key trends: "Whycation" (travels with purpose, e.g., Sleep Tourism), "Hidden Season" (off-peak travel), and "Invisible Concierge" (AI-driven personalization). Personalized hospitality demands understanding guest intent and using technology to enhance experiences. The future is in-depth guest research, not generic amenities.

🍽 Saladplate, part of Informa Markets' Hospitality, Food, and Beverage portfolio, offers insights and trends shaping the industry. It provides access to over 10,000 brands and products, a supplier directory, and updates from 35+ international trade events. Content includes weekly news, a monthly newsletter, and a bi-monthly e-magazine.

🏨 MacArthur Place in Sonoma provides an experience tailored for Northern California’s elite tech class, focusing on ecological sensitivity and low-gloss intimacy. DeBruce in upstate New York caters to a rural creative class with a back-to-the-land ethos and a James Beard-recognized food program. The shift in luxury targets subcultures, moving from mass-market chains to culturally specific boutique hotels, emphasizing hyper-personalization and unbranded exclusivity for a unique guest experience.

🏨 U.S. hotel industry data through December 6, 2025, reveals key declines. Occupancy was 57.2% (-3.2%), ADR was $160.11 (-0.5%), and RevPAR was $91.57 (-3.7%) compared to 2024. Tampa showed the biggest drops: occupancy at 66.1% (-20.5%), ADR at $155.68 (-10.2%), and RevPAR at $102.91 (-28.7%). Seattle followed with significant decreases. Overall, 17 out of the Top 25 Markets experienced occupancy declines. CoStar's global hotel sample includes over 90,000 properties and 11.8 million rooms.

💰 David Lund, a hotel business veteran with over 40 years of experience, challenges the notion that hospitality financials are too complex for non-accountants. His podcast series, transformed from his writings using Notebook LM, aims to debunk this myth. ????✨

🏨 The Hôtel de Paris, Hôtel Hermitage, and Metropole in Monte Carlo exemplify European luxury through distinct narratives. The Hôtel de Paris offers monumental luxury, the Hermitage embodies Belle Époque elegance, and the Metropole presents contemporary style. Together, these hotels shape Monte Carlo's identity as a luxury destination, offering stories intertwined with architecture, aesthetics, and service. They create a narrative space where visitors experience luxury as an evolving story, not just a product.

🏨 In 1919, Conrad Hilton laid the foundation for a hotel empire in Texas after a bank purchase failed. His success stemmed from systematizing hotel operations, documenting procedures, and creating a centralized reservation network, allowing for global scalability. Unlike competitors who remained local, Hilton’s approach set new industry standards. Today’s leaders are challenged to adopt similar systems, ensuring brand consistency and scalability without sole reliance on individual presence. Hilton’s legacy underscores the importance of systems over hustle.