Hotels 2026: Travelers Trade Luxury for Meaningful Stays—The Rising Hotel Trend Shaping Next-Year Bookings

U.S. HOTEL SNAPSHOT: MIXED HOLIDAY PERFORMANCE, BIG-TICKET DEALS, AND GLOBAL MOMENTUM U.S. winter metrics cool but remain resilient STR’s latest Weekly Insights report covering 16–29 November shows U.S. revenue per available room (RevPAR) slipped 0.3 percent year over year as occupancy dipped 0.7 percentage points, offset by a 0.9 percent rise in average daily rate (ADR). When hurricane-affected markets are removed from the comp set, RevPAR actually ticked up 0.9 percent, underscoring steady underlying demand. Thanksgiving travel helped lift room demand to the third-highest level in 26 years, with 19.8 million rooms sold during the holiday week. Top 25 Markets diverged sharply. San Francisco (+51.3 percent RevPAR) and St. Louis (+35.5 percent) led gains thanks to major tech and convention business, while Tampa (-28.2 percent) felt the sting of lapping last year’s hurricane-related spike. ADR growth remains below the U.S. inflation rate, signalling limited pricing power as operators head into the slower pre-Christmas stretch. AI-fueled rebound puts San Francisco in the headlines Investor appetite returned to the Bay Area this week as Blackstone Real Estate acquired the 277-key Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco in a transaction reportedly near $130 million. Blackstone COO Jon Gray cited the city’s “AI revolution” and improving office utilization as catalysts for a hospitality comeback. The purchase follows November’s $408 million acquisition of Parc 55 and Hilton Union Square by Newbond and Conversant, signalling that deep-value deals are attracting long-term capital back to a market that suffered some of the nation’s steepest post-pandemic RevPAR declines. Global RevPAR races ahead, led by the Middle East Outside the U.S., RevPAR surged 8.7 percent over the same two-week period, buoyed by a 6.9 percent ADR jump and event-driven demand across Gulf Cooperation Council countries, where RevPAR skyrocketed 30.4 percent. Australia, Spain, India, France, and Japan also posted double-digit growth, while China notched its sixth straight week of gains, aided by a 9 percent RevPAR spike in the luxury segment. The broad-based recovery underscores how reopenings, currency arbitrage, and a resurgent meetings calendar have shifted momentum overseas just as U.S. growth moderates. Group travel shows pockets of strength Luxury and upper-upscale group demand slipped 1 percent nationally, yet key convention cities bucked the trend. St. Louis benefited from the recently reopened America’s Center and Microsoft Ignite 2025, while San Francisco’s Moscone Center calendar boosted weekday occupancy. Markets banking on large-scale events are expected to outperform through early 2026 as corporate planners lock in space before inflation pushes rates higher. Outlook: what hoteliers should monitor in December 1. Calendar shift: Christmas and New Year’s fall mid-week, historically depressing transient demand during the final 10 days of the year. STR forecasts flat to slightly negative RevPAR for the month, with leisure-heavy Sun Belt markets likely to outperform. 2. Interest-rate trajectory: Federal Reserve signals of potential 2026 cuts could unlock shelved renovation and acquisition pipelines if borrowing costs ease. 3. International spillover: Record-setting Middle East fairs and rising Asia-Pacific outbound travel may drive higher inbound U.S. volumes for Lunar New Year and spring break. 4. Transaction pipeline: Opportunistic investors continue to target distressed urban assets; expect more headline deals as lenders close year-end books and sellers crystallize losses. Bottom line The hotel industry enters the heart of the holiday season navigating a complex mix of softening U.S. comps, vibrant global demand, and renewed investment enthusiasm. Operators that fine-tune pricing strategies, capitalize on event-led compression, and modernize assets through well-timed capital playbooks are positioned to capture share as 2025 closes and a new cycle dawns.