As I sit here to write this, we're only partially through the hotel industry earnings season, but some takeaways are already coming into focus.
Chief among them is concern that the summer just isn't what hoteliers need or want it to be in terms of demand, an idea that's usually followed up with executives' hopefulness that later this year into 2026 could see a positive change in momentum.
We're still a long way away from finding out if that will actually be the case or not. But what isn't far away is my chance to check in with a lot of experts at the Hotel Data Conference in Nashville next week.
I feel like this conference might be even more illuminating than usual just because it seems like there's been a pretty significant shift in vibes and tone for the industry even since early June when the NYU International Hospitality Investment Forum was held. That even is largely attended by top executives — c-suite level — that have a strong incentive to paint a rosy picture on the current environment.
Next week's event is attended by a lot of the people tasked with driving actual performance at hotels — particularly in revenue and commercial strategy. They seem more likely to have a sober and realistic point of view on performance and where things might be headed.
So part of me is expecting things to be a bit more dreary in Nashville, but that so rarely is the tone in either the industry or HDC, in particular. It's as likely as anything that the HDC attendees will be excited about the food and music of Nashville, and vibes might be a little artificially inflated. But either way, the data will be the data, and there will be no shortage of opinions on if this soft summer is a blip on the radar or part of a bigger trend.
Either way, if you see me in Nashville, don't be afraid to say "hi."
Let me know what you think on LinkedIn or via email.
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