Insights from the 2026 NYU International Hospitality Investment Forum

H&LA's David Sangree and Anthony DiPonio were among the more than 2,200 hospitality professionals, investors, developers, and brand executives who descended on New York City for the NYU International Hospitality Investment Forum. From financing headwinds to the rapid rise of AI in guest discovery, this year's sessions reflected an industry navigating complexity with cautious optimism. Here are their top five takeaways.

1. Hotel Performance Is Stronger Than Previous Projections

Despite early signs of weakening performance coupled with ongoing cost pressures, the U.S. hotel industry is exceeding earlier expectations. CoStar and Tourism Economics project ADR gains of 1.0% and RevPAR gains of 2.2% and now expect occupancy to grow rather than decline. This is driven by stronger demand from both group and transient segments, with room demand up more than eight million room nights year over year through April. Booking.com’s conference presentation reported that 75% of their customers expressed optimism about travel in 2026.

2. AI Is Reshaping Hotels and How Guests Find Them

AI dominated conference floor conversations, and the discussion has matured well beyond hype. Hotels are deploying AI across revenue management, guest communications, security, and sales initiatives. AI has rapidly become one of the fastest-growing tools travelers use to research and plan trips, increasingly influencing destination discovery and hotel selection. This creates a new imperative of ensuring properties are visible not just on traditional OTAs, but in the AI-driven discovery environment and social media algorithms that are quickly influencing how people travel.

3. Financing

Speakers noted that access to capital remains a significant constraint, with elevated interest rates and tighter lender underwriting making deal financing more challenging across the board. That said, the market is not monolithic. It was noted that better-performing luxury hotel assets continue to attract strong investor interest, with capitalization rates at 5%. Cap rates for more typical hotels are closer to 8.5%, which reflects a higher risk profile and tighter debt availability.

4. Doing Deals

Transactions are still happening, but the bar has risen. A recurring question among panelists was: will someone buy this when it's built? Beyond fundamentals, a meaningful influx of new capital is actively seeking the right opportunities. Brands continue to add measurable value by bringing distribution, loyal customers, and lender confidence to deals.

5. New Development Challenges

Multiple speakers across panels and general sessions reached the same conclusion: ground-up hotel development is harder than it has been in over a decade. Sharply higher construction costs, elevated interest rates, and a more cautious lender and investor community are compounding challenges, particularly for full-service and mixed-use projects. Developers still moving forward are doing so with more equity, tighter scopes, or creative structures like conversions and adaptive reuse.