SPECIAL REPORT
Forward
Thinking
2025 WAS NOT THE EASIEST YEAR FOR THE HOTEL INDUSTRY. WILL 2026 BE ANY DIFFERENT?
By HARVEY CHIPKIN
T
he hotel industry isn’ t supposed to be pugilistic, but 2025 presented challenges as formidable as a peak Mike Tyson uppercut.
“ Every day was a fight,” said Steven Nicholas, head of asset management for hotel investor Noble Investment
Group. It’ s a sentiment shared by many in the hotel industry HOTELS spoke with to gain an understanding of what was then, what is now and what could be just around the corner.
There is an upside, Nicholas offered, which pivoted on a continuing return to office, strong group business, stabilized leisure and increasing international inbound travel. In fact, he said, leisure did stabilize in the latter half of 2025, while business travel has come back slower.
Michael Bellisario, managing director, senior research analyst, hotels, global brands and real estate for Baird Equity Research, does not own or operate hotels, but from his vantage point, he witnessed a year that could only be described as choppy.“ A lot of things went wrong,” he bluntly put it.“ Many small-to-mediumsized headwinds pushed RevPAR lower.” He’ s more sanguine on 2026.“ This year should be better,” he said, noting powerful upcoming demand drivers, such as the World Cup, June 11 to July 19, in various North American destinations, tax cuts and other factors.
At BWH Hotels, President & CEO Larry Cuculic is approaching 2026 with unfettered optimism. Even with ongoing pressures, he said,“ We continue to see strong directbooking behavior, record brand. com share and 15 % year-overyear growth in our Best Western To Go app production.”
EVERY DAY WAS A FIGHT
– STEVEN NICHOLAS, HEAD OF ASSET MANAGEMENT, NOBLE INVESTMENT GROUP
6 hotelsmag. com Jan / Feb 2026