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1. Borrowing costs increase in US
The BBC reports borrowing costs have hit their highest point since January 2025 in the U.S. with an effective interest rate of 4.79%. Reasons include inflation concerns and high oil prices related to war in the Middle East.
Momentum seems to be building at the U.S. Federal Reserve for an interest rate increase to tamp down inflation. CNBC reports Fed Governor Michael Barr has publicly stated he supports an increase if prices don't moderate.
“If trends in the data give me some confidence that inflation is moderating on a path to 2%, then I think we can take a bit more time to assess our policy stance,” Barr said. “However, if inflation appears not to be moderating sufficiently, then I think we should act decisively to raise rates.”
2. Columbia Sussex tops JD Power hotel management ranking
JD Power had released its 2026 North America Third-Party Hotel Management Guest Satisfaction Benchmark, ranking Columbia Sussex the leader in guest satisfaction, followed by Crestline Hotels & Resorts and Driftwood Hospitality Management.
Overall, guest satisfaction rose at hotels run by third-party management groups compared to 2025.
“Franchised hotel property investments are paying off in higher guest satisfaction compared to last year,” Andrea Stokes, JD Power hospitality practice lead, said in a news release. “Where we see further opportunity is in guest perceptions of hotel lobbies and common areas.”
3. How hotel revenue managers navigated an unusual summer
After a relatively weak 2025, the U.S. hotel industry enjoyed strong demand this summer, but that strength also came with volatility, CoStar News' Trevor Simpson reports.
Revenue management experts say they're hopeful the U.S. hotel industry is now moving from an up-and-down summer season to a more stable and predictable fall.
"I feel cautiously optimistic. It's been a really, very good first half of the year," Allison Frazier, vice president of revenue management at Atlanta-based Peachtree Group, said during a roundtable discussion hosted by CoStar News Hotels at the recent Hotel Data Conference. "I think that it's still volatile. There's still a lot of political things and things with the economy ... that's why I like the word 'cautiously' because I feel like things can change very quickly."
4. Blackstone taking Spanish ownership group public
The long-awaited initial public offering of Spain-based hotel ownership group Hotel Investment Partners is expected to come by early November, Reuters reports, citing Spanish language newspaper Cinco Dias.
The company owns 61 hotels and is expected to be valued around €6 billion ($6.95 billion).
Blackstone has been planning its exit from its 65% stake in the company via sale or IPO for nearly two years. The remaining 35% interest in HIP is owned by Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC.
5. Rate hike likely in Japan
Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda believes an interest rate hike is in the cards to help battle inflation and strength the persistently weak yen, Reuters reports.
The U.S. Treasury has recently joined Japan in combined efforts to boost the value of their currency.