The near-term outlook for the hotel industry in mid-2025 has been clouded by one disruptive force: tariffs. They have created unpredictable travel patterns, complicated route planning for international flights – especially to and from the US – and caused investors to hold back, waiting for clarity before deploying capital.
Combined with some other regional flareups, travelers as well as investors are getting stuck in a ‘wait and see’ pattern.
Yet as always, the inherently kindhearted nature of hospitality prevails. That is, there’s always hope!
Now that a couple months have passed, we’ve had time to reflect on our attending the International Hospitality Investment Forum (IHIF) Americas, partnered with NYU and held at New York’s Marriott Marquis at the beginning of June. Known for its high-level networking and insight-packed sessions, 2025’s edition stood out for how effectively speakers dismantled tariff anxieties. They offered clear macroeconomic context and pragmatic strategies for investment in uncertain times.
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The headline moment – the peak experience, if you will – came from the CEO roundtable featuring Geoff Ballotti (Wyndham), Sébastien Bazin (Accor), Tony Capuano (Marriott), Mark Hoplamazian (Hyatt), Elie Maalouf (IHG) and Chris Nassetta (Hilton). These leaders work daily with global data from vast loyalty systems and extensive owner networks, giving them unique insight into the industry’s realities. Their consensus was unequivocal: travel remains essential to people’s lives worldwide, meaning long-term demand will grow despite short-term volatility. Tariffs may be disrupting forecasts and pacing, but last-minute bookings are on the rise, softening revenue drops. For hotels, adaptability is key—invest in systems and processes that allow quick pivots.
Barry Sternlicht’s fireside chat added another exquisitely soundbite-worthy perspective: lifestyle and mission-driven hospitality brands are poised to capture market share from major chains. Drawing a parallel to disruptors in other industries, Sternlicht emphasized that small, nimble hotel brands can leverage the synergistic combo of new media and cloud-based tools to scale rapidly if they deliver authentic, culturally immersive experiences. His advice: build brands that connect people and break down barriers, because hospitality is inherently good for the world.
Another theme threaded through several talks was the rise of the ‘Silver Economy’ – wealthier, healthier retirees with more time and willingness to travel than any previous generation. As Maalouf noted during the CEO roundtable, many will live past 100 while staying active, creating vast opportunities for midweek occupancy growth, extended stay formats and high-end experiences. This demographic is fueling luxury’s resilience, as reflected in Bazin’s mention of a $10,000-per-night Orient Express room. Across the board, wellness and longevity products are seen as lucrative drivers of TRevPAR growth, alongside experiential F&B and activities.
In closing, IHIF NYU 2025 reinforced that while tariffs may cause turbulence, the long-term fundamentals are strong. Lifestyle branding, wellness innovation and the longevity-driven travel surge all point toward a decade of opportunity. Or, as the conference’s underlying message suggested, fortune will favor those bold enough to adapt and invest now.
The big ‘if’ and where we end it: this audacious and aspirational future reaches planning now and a pivot in operations, slowly and consistently in line with where demand is evolving towards. Think wellness; think sustainability; think tech-enabled personalization; think different business models; think immersive culinary; think exclusive experiences. Lots of thinking, and then get doing!
