Insights into the ever-changing hotel commercial strategy discipline, which encompasses revenue management, sales and marketing, featured heavily in recent podcasts from CoStar News Hotels.
Here are some podcast highlights from the last month.
CoStar News Hotels
Several top commercial strategy executives were interviewed for the "CoStar News Hotels" podcast during the 2026 Hotel Data Conference.
Parks Hospitality Group is seeing opportunities in shoulder nights, said Vice President of Commercial Strategy Chris Hardy.
"We're seeing demand really peak on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, primarily across the board for our portfolio. So that has been an opportunity for us to continue to maximize those nights and days of weeks," he said.
Global Head of Sales, Revenue & Distribution for Virgin Hotels Jeff Borman said broadly his company is thriving by having off-the-beaten-path destinations.
"We're having a decent summer, slightly better-than-expected summer. [But the Virgin Limited Edition] portfolio, the one that gets less talk, is having a great summer. These are nine really cool boutique properties — a private island, a couple safaris. These ... are doing well in far-flung places. The K-shaped economy that we're hearing about is eroding, but the top of that K — they come to the Virgin Limited Edition."
The rebound of travel to Hawaii was the highlight of two recent podcasts, including PM Hotel Group's Executive Vice President of Commercial Strategy Erica Lipscomb saying an uplift in business travel is breathing new life into the the company's Hawaiian portfolio.
"We just opened up a Hyatt Place in Hawaii, We were very worried about what we would see, and we just saw that hotel just take off like it didn't even need a ramp. So that's been exciting. We have other projects in the pipeline for Hawaii," she said.
Meanwhile, the comeback in Maui is still a work in progress said Jenna Villalobos, senior vice president and chief revenue officer at Outrigger Hospitality Group.
"We're still not completely recovered because Lahaina as a destination hasn't been completely rebuilt. Things do take a little longer in Hawaii at times," she said. "But we're definitely seeing the Maui people are very committed to that destination's return."
Kerry Mack, chief revenue officer at Highgate Hotels, said even though the U.S. hotel industry is enjoying a period of high performance, the country won't unlock its full potential until foreign travelers return in greater numbers.
"Outside of World Cup, the international pullback is a little tough in markets that are heavily reliant" on international travelers, she said. "We're hoping that all of the good press and the good news and the excitement of all of the international travelers during World Cup spurs people to book their next trip."
Kelly McGuire, chief commercial officer at aparthotel company Kasa, said guest preferences are changing, and more travelers are looking for stays in residential parts of cities with the comforts of home.
"People can just keep those lifestyle habits and that extra sense of space and comfort while on the road," she said. "You think about that for the business traveler and that really being a benefit, but we see that for the leisure travelers as well."
Another change is an increasing need for hotels to drive guest spending outside of room rates, Crestline Hotels & Resorts Executive Vice President of Operations Aaron Olson said, noting things such as up-charges for early check-ins are key. He said they're effective with family travel, in particular.
“What if my room isn't ready until 3? Like, what am I going to do with the kids and my luggage?” he said. “So, that $20 — it's not even about the money. They're just glad that you offered it.”
Sage Hospitality Group Senior Vice President of Sales, Revenue and Distribution Strategy Priya Chandnani agreed profitability is increasingly in focus, particularly for hotel owners.
"Never before has it become more important for us to not only envision what does top-line strategy look like, but how does that tie into profitability?" she said . "And who better to do it than people who only look at this all day long? So, I think it's exciting times to say 'OK, what paths do we want to go? Do we want to build out depth in profitability or do we want to scale around the commercial space or maybe both?'"
She noted artificial intelligence will be key for keeping down costs and boosting profitability, but Michael Goldrich, founder and chief advisor for Vivander Advisors, noted hotel companies are not keeping up with changes in AI.
"I went to this one hotel management group, and I ran them through a whole AI literacy program. ... They were like 'Oh, this is great. This is going to make us all so productive,'" he said. "Everyone was excited. I went back a year later [and] nothing changed. Nobody was using it."
Across the globe, hotel investment is making a big change. This year is the first where real estate investment trusts were an investment option for various forms of commercial real estate, including hotels, in China.
STR's Jesper Palmqvist said this is likely to change the exit strategy for investors in that country.
"At least in theory, this allows for Chinese owners to recycle capital, and the intention to improve their liquidity," he said. "And I suppose the idea is to potentially then, in a dream world, accelerate the institutional investment in hospitality."
Tell Me More
The hotel industry is making a pivot from a summer driven by the FIFA World Cup to a fall driven by business and conventions, the data experts on the monthly "Tell Me More" podcast said.
Strong performance in July for markets that didn't host World Cup matches highlighted the broad strength hotels have been enjoying of late.
"RevPAR for July in Chicago was plus-16, in Detroit it was plus-17, in San Diego, plus-11," Jan Freitag, CoStar national director of hospitality analytics, said.
The Upgrade
On the Europe, Middle East and Africa focused podcast "The Upgrade," Alison Grinnell, group chief operating officer for Marjan and CEO of Marjan Hospitality, talked about the strides being made in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, which is seeing a domestic travel boom amid war-related disruptions.
“The level of agility and pivoting that we saw from our resorts to really focus on the staycation market, bringing in new people from other emirates, and residents, we managed to really learn from what happened in COVID,” she said. “We had a 93% increase in UAE-based visitors.”
Next Gen in Lodging
Staffing issues have been a persistent thorn in the side of hotels since even before the COVID-19 pandemic, and Hireology co-founder and CEO Adam Robinson discussed how good staff are the most important product for hotels on the most recent episode of "Next Gen in Lodging."
“You can’t automate it,” he said. “Our industry — I don’t care what anyone says, AI is not going to replace guest experiences delivered by human beings in this industry. I just don’t see it happening.”