10/26/2026
The industry’s numbers look healthy. The margins don’t.
At The Lodging Conference in Phoenix earlier this month, our Hospitality Partnership Lead, Jasmin, heard the same tension in almost every session: RevPAR is up around 5% this year, but GOP margins are flat as costs soak up the gains.
For independent and boutique hotels, that changes how direct bookings should be talked about. They’re not just a marketing metric - they’re where profit is won or lost.
A few other things stood out:
- Brand value is under scrutiny. On the C-Suite stage, Craig S. Smith, CEO of Aimbridge Hospitality, said some owners are now asking, “Do I need a brand with the advent of AI?” Independents already compete on identity, so that question plays to their strengths.
- AI has gone from hype to urgency. Smith called it the biggest change since digital, and Accor has launched an AI concierge across its properties.
- Discovery is shifting. As travelers start planning and booking through AI tools, reliance on OTAs could ease. The hotels with a distinct, consistent story will be the ones that get found.
- Character still matters at scale. Founder-led groups are growing and professionalizing while working hard to keep what makes them special.
Our take: the tools are changing fast, but what makes a guest choose a hotel hasn’t. Hospitality is still a people business.
