NEW YORK — After a first day largely focused on ownership and investment, the second and final day of the 2025 NYU International Hospitality Investment Forum shifted to discussions about brands and hotel operators, who called for a higher degree of collaboration.
Hoteliers discussed the need to improve technology and embrace the potential of artificial intelligence, even if it's still early days.
Choice Hotels International President and CEO Patrick Pacious said it won't be long before it's used as an on-property productivity tool.
"So really across the board, AI isn't just something that sits in the tech department," he said. "It's something that's core to our overall strategy for growth and for driving ROI for our owners."
Podcast recap
Photos of the day
Quotes of the day
"We need to get ahead of [the technology] curve. We need to help the brand companies, and the brand companies need to lean in further so that we can use technology. [Guests] are getting used to the fact that they don't need to talk to somebody for everything. If I can order my food online and there's a place to put my comments I like extra ketchup, then they'll do it. If you haven't got that technology piece fixed, they're still going to call that and that will cost you more money." — Aimbridge Hospitality CEO Craig Smith
"I think there will actually be a little bit of a reckoning because it can't be sustained. If I'm confused and I'm actually paid to understand the market, imagine a consumer." — Kempinski Group CEO Barbara Muckermann on the overproliferation of hotel brands.
Editors' takeaways
If there's one common theme I've picked up not just on the last two days of this conference but on the last two years collectively, it's that hoteliers have a boiling-over sense of frustration. What's different from year to year, though, is the target of that frustration.
Last year, there was a palpable sense of discontent within the industry that maybe the brands were over correcting by drawing a hard line on brand standards and renovation requirements, particularly when it came to things with little to no return on investment, like signage. This year, the frustration is focused outward to an environment rife with headwinds and confusion at a time many hoped would be the moment the industry finally seized some momentum and broke out of the slow growth cycle it has seen in recent history.
Hoteliers remain an optimistic bunch, but I don't hear many people calling for the start of a new golden age later this year.
— Sean McCracken, news editor
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If my takeaway word from the beginning of the conference was "resilience," my takeaway from the end of the event is "retreat." I see a clear trend of hotel companies retreating to their tried-and-true business strategies, those tactics they can rely on when bigger uncertainties are out there. I heard many people talking about extended-stay hotels this week, a segment that has long been an investor darling. Collection brands — or soft brands — abound, at all segments, from all the major franchise companies. Those undoubtedly are moves to bring as many hotels as possible into the family to keep building that critical mass of loyalty.
This retreat to proven strategy is critical for maintaining strong foundations. Yes, it means that we see fewer companies innovating or pushing the envelope too much with product or design or brand for the masses, but that's OK. There will be time for those moves again.
— Stephanie Ricca, editorial director
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As the conference wraps up and I continue to process some of the things I’ve heard from panels and interviews, I’m finding it refreshing to see a lot more thoughtful optimism with hoteliers considering the market today and acknowledging that the industry has weathered storms before. It seems like hotel executives are getting comfortable with the uncomfortable — the uncertainty of macroeconomic trends is becoming the new normal and, rather than let it hit pause on hotel business activity, the industry seems to be moving forward. A lot of the data that’s been presented this week really shows that the year could end quite differently from how it started, especially when it comes to the transaction market.
— Natalie Harms, reporter
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