ATLANTA — Hotel executives speaking at the Hunter Hotel Investment Conference have been bullish on the transaction market in years past, but panelists at the 2026 event believe all of the stars are aligning for the breakthrough to finally happen.
Robert Webster, vice chairman and president of CBRE Hotels Institutional Group, said this is the second-best opportunity to buy a hotel over his 30-plus year career. He said debt is becoming cheaper, which should help the value of properties on the sell side.
"Anytime there's a spike in risk to investment, typically, rates will go down not up, and if rates go down, it will help hotel values, and probably really help with the transaction market," he said.
Another big topic on the first day of the Hunter Conference: The K-shaped U.S. economy that reflects the spending gap between wealthier consumers and those more affected by macroeconomic forces that tighten spending. This bifurcation results in more favorable performance among luxury and higher-end hotels, with declining performance along the lower ends.
It's still a prevalent trend, said Tourism Economics President Adam Sacks, but one in which the U.S. hotel industry can "survive and even thrive," he said.
"More than half of consumer spending on travel" comes from those people on the high end of the spectrum, Sacks added.
Photo of the day
Quotes of the day
"I think a lot of investors, vendors, market participants have done their best to bury their head in the sand ... meaning if you don't have to do something, don't do something. And that has just continued to kick the can and kick the can, and now we're at a point where a lot of those groups — doesn't matter which side of the table you're sitting on — you've kicked the can kind of as far as you can and now things have to happen."
— Brian Waldman, chief investment officer at Peachtree Group, on the transaction environment hitting its breaking point when it comes to transactions.
"I want to make a case for optimism."
— Adam Sacks, president of Tourism Economics, pointed to positives including moderating prices on consumer goods, wage growth happening above the rate of inflation and an overall pro-growth economy as factors encouraging better hotel performance in 2026.
Editors' takeaways
Is this the year the transaction market finally explodes and we see a wave of sustained hotel deals occur? Executives at the Hunter Hotel Investment Conference certainly seem to believe so.
We've heard optimism in the transaction market picking up at the past few Hunter conferences — understandably so, as uncertainty in the economy derailed prior attempts. But this time, it feels like it truly is at a breaking point.
Even with more and more uncertainty added to the market every day, there's a timing element to this and the fundamentals seem to be improving.
A few panelists mentioned that hotel lenders are tired of kicking the can down the road on loans. Debt is getting cheaper. Hotel values are rising on the sell side.
Maybe this is finally the moment.
— Trevor Simpson, staff writer/staff editor
The halls of the Signia by Hilton Atlanta Georgia World Congress Center buzzed with energy on the opening day of the 2026 Hunter Conference, partly because of the event's new venue, but mostly with a steady optimism. Brokers, owners and advisers are determined to unlock hotel transactions at all levels. Yes, demand for high-end luxury hotels is strong and buyer and seller expectations are closing the bid-ask gap. But as hotels across the other chain scales face the choice to renovate or refinance, brokers seem to think selling will get much more attractive.
— Stephanie Ricca, editorial director