Beyond the Room: What the Next Era of Hotel Growth Will Look Like

Emily Weiss, Senior Managing Director and Travel Industry Lead at Accenture, argues that the industry cannot rely on higher ADRs to grow as RevPAR growth slows and costs rise. She explains how hotel brands are already shifting toward revenue beyond the room and stay, using retail and e commerce, bundled experiences, and next generation loyalty to keep guests engaged before, during, and after a visit. The message is clear: winners in 2026 and beyond will build lifestyle ecosystems that fit into how guests live and shop, not just how they sleep.

For years, rising average daily rates (ADRs) and strong traveler spending have been comforting signals for the industry. If rates were healthy and guests were still willing to pay for great locations and great rooms, things felt stable. But anyone looking ahead can see the ground shifting. In fact, CBRE forecasts U.S. RevPAR growth of only 0.1 % in 2025, reflecting weakening occupancy and rising cost pressures.

Travelers preferences are changing faster than the traditional hotel model, and the next phase of growth will not come from nudging ADRs a bit higher. It will come from reimagining the hotel as something bigger. A lifestyle hub. A retail touchpoint. A place where the brand relationship deepens long after the guest has checked out.

Read the full article

The Hotel Yearbook 2026 - Annual Edition

The hotel industry in 2026 finds itself at the meeting point of powerful, converging forces: rapid technological progress, climate urgency, shifting guest expectations, labour market disruption and economic realignment. This edition of The HOTEL Yearbook looks at how hotel organisations respond, not by choosing one direction over another, but by designing integrated strategies that combine digital and human, global and local, automation and empathy. A large share of this year’s contributions focuses in particular on artificial intelligence and its growing influence across almost every segment of hospitality, confirming AI as one of the defining themes of this moment. Bringing together expert voices from around the world, the publication explores strategy, technology, sustainability, finance, asset management, food and beverage, human resources, design and more, all through the lens of intentional hybridity in an age of convergence. The message is clear: in 2026, hybridity is no longer optional; it is strategic, and it will be the leaders who approach it with real intention who shape the future of our industry.
www.hotelyearbook.com/edition/2026.html