With 121 consecutive months of growth through Q2 2019, the U.S. economy is now in record territory for the longest expansion period in history. The decade long economic expansion has been fueled in part by job growth, record low unemployment rates, and low-interest rates in the capital markets.

While the longer economic growth endures, intuitively the risk of recession rises. Despite GDP indicative of a slowing economy during Q4 2019, the U.S. economic expansion which commenced in June 2009, is soon approaching the longest post-World War II expansion with uninterrupted growth.

Although the eight-year bull market in the US lodging industry is showing signs of deceleration, the sector posted record performance metrics on a national level during 2016 including: 65.5 percent occupancy, $124 average daily rate, $81 revenue per available room, 1.

The dramatic decline in United States hotel operating metrics and asset values during the Great Recession were much more severe than the downturns that took place during the Gulf War nearly 20 years ago and then immediately following 9/11.

The recent vote by the New York City Council approving construction of 15 Penn Plaza, a 1.3-million-square-foot office building on the site of the Hotel Pennsylvania in Manhattan, is most likely the final chapter of this storied hotel’s economic life.