LOS ANGELES — Davidson Hospitality Group President and CEO Thom Geshay recognizes that 2025 wasn't what anyone in the hotel industry — more specifically in the U.S. — wanted it to be, but he remains optimistic that the stars are aligning for a stronger 2026.
During an interview at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit, Geshay said that positivity is pinned on factors both within his company — including laying the groundwork for international growth — and a better backdrop for travel-inducing events in the U.S.
The FIFA World Cup and America's 250th anniversary are the biggest drivers of optimism among U.S. hoteliers. And year-over-year hotel performance comparisons will get easier.
"I actually think [events will live] up to the hype," Geshay said. "There's been a lot of factors that have sort of tamped down performance. The big events are going to help, but I also think some of the noise is going to get out. [In 2025 we had] DOGE and government cuts and government shutdown. So government business is about 4% of the demand. So you take that basically out of the market, then our closest neighbor to the north basically has sworn off coming to the United States. ... I believe they're going to want to come back. But it's also an election year, so I believe that some of the rhetoric has to calm down to make people feel a little steady, so I think we're going to get back some of the demand that we normally had."
This year is also one for ramping up third-party management platforms in both the Caribbean and Europe for Davidson, which Geshay said holds a lot of promise for his company.
"We're new to both those regions, so we've spent time learning and getting to know them," he said. "What we didn't want to do is go over there and act like we knew everything. So we spent very thoughtful time. We've had a team in place almost two years now in the U.K. to really study and learn, to do it right so that when we talk to investors and we talk to people, we can say we have high confidence, 'We can operate this for you.'
"Deals move a little slower there than they do here, but the landscape, there's a lot of opportunity here."
For the rest of the interview with Davidson's Thom Geshay, watch the video above or listen to the audio-only podcast version.