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1. Extended-stay room construction down across major markets
According to a recent report from The Highland Group, extended-stay hotel rooms under construction in the U.S.'s top 100 largest hotel markets fell below 25,000 compared to more than 30,000 a year ago. Sixty-nine of those markets reported lower revenue per available room at extended-stay hotels in 2025 compared to 2024.
“With about one-third of MSAs expecting 5% or less extended-stay supply growth and no increase forecasted in one quarter of the 100 largest markets in 2026, the near-term outlook is generally good for extended-stay hotels," said Mark Skinner, partner at The Highland Group.
2. Countries issue Middle East travel advisories
U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing for military action against Iran, claiming the country has restarted its nuclear program and presents a threat. As a result, countries around the world are issuing warnings for travel to the Middle East, Reuters reports.
These countries include Finland, Australia, Serbia, Poland, Sweden, India, Cyprus, Singapore, Germany and Brazil. Most of these travel warnings call for citizens to leave Iran as soon as possible and avoid travel to the region.
3. US hotel performance off to solid start in 2026
On the latest episode of Tell Me More: A Hospitality Data Podcast, co-host Isaac Collazo, STR's senior director of analytics, said hotel room demand grew 0.5% year over year in January. This is the first monthly increase in room demand since March 2025.
Collazo said it's representative of positive momentum he's seeing in hotels across the country, even with disruptions such as Winter Storm Fern.
"[He] cautioned, however, that this is just a start, and the optimism centers on demand, not revenue per available room just yet, though January did come in with 0.4% RevPAR growth, the first positive value since March 2025," CoStar News' Stephanie Ricca reports.
4. Potential effect of violence in Mexico on World Cup
Order has largely been restored in Mexico after violence ensued in the wake of the Mexican military killing of Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as El Mencho, on Sunday. However, there are questions of safety in the region now with soccer leaders of countries set to play in friendly matches next month in Mexico expressing concerns, the New York Times reports.
Michael Ricketts, president of the Jamaican soccer federation — which is scheduled to play New Caledonia in Guadalajara on March 26 — said they "are very aware of what's happening there, and, of course, you are very concerned."
Portugal is scheduled to play the Mexican national team in Mexico City on March 28. The Portuguese federation said it still plans to play the match, but "the recent evolution of events requires continuous evaluation" and "any decision will be made as a result of ongoing monitoring."
5. US wholesale prices rise more than expected in January
The U.S. core producer price index, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, increased a seasonally adjusted 0.8% in January, well above expectations of 0.3% growth, CNBC reports. It was also more than the 0.6% gain in December.
"For the full year, core wholesale prices accelerated 3.6%, while the headline index posted a 2.9% gain. Both figures are well ahead of the Federal Reserve’s 2% inflation goal and suggest that rising prices are still a factor for the U.S. economy," CNBC reports.