For 13+ years, the Founder & CEO of Skift has challenged the industry’s power structures. In my opinion, Skift is the best travel news site in the business(.)
We went straight at the uncomfortable stuff:
The epidemic of failing upward in hospitality and why there are so many incompetent leaders at the top of organizations
Why industry associations rarely move the needle and do not do their part
And why the U.S. travel brand is quietly eroding heading into 2026—World Cup or not
But the real mic-drop?
Whoever owns the memory wins the AI race. Not the booking engine. Not loyalty programs.
Other moments you won’t forget:
Why Skift knowingly lost hundreds of thousands in ad revenue exposing tourism board CEO pay
Airbnb’s crisis of imagination and what its hotel push really means. Rafat recently interviewed AirBnB’s CEO & Founder Brian Chesky:
Why Vegas is ground zero for the middle-class affordability crunch in travel
And why AI is overhyped—but airports are where the real transformation happens
If you care about where travel is actually headed—not the press releases—this episode is required listening.
SLOAN’S TAKE on ALIS 2026 - “Apprehensive Optimism” This was my first ALIS since stepping down as CEO of Remington Hospitality, and the perspective shift was real. When you’re running 140+ hotels, ALIS is about defending your portfolio and closing deals. Now, I found myself listening differently—hearing the operational pain points that every CEO on stage described and thinking about how AI and automation can solve them at scale. The themes that dominated this conference—margin compression, labor challenges, the need for operational precision—are exactly the problems we’re building solutions for. I also hosted “Friends of Sloan Dinner 2” during ALIS week, a peer-to-peer CEO leadership gathering inspired by my experience founding YPO Dallas Fort Worth. No panels, no agendas—just real conversations among top CEOs in a trusted environment. The candor at that dinner reinforced what I heard on stage: this industry is hungry for new tools and new thinking. |
My ALIS 2026 Interview with Hotel News Now
I sat down with the Hotel News Now / CoStar team during ALIS for a video interview on the state of the industry and what I’m watching in 2026. You can watch the full interview in CoStar’s Day 2 recap coverage here (5 min run time): Hoteliers Hope to Rise Above Chaos, Uncertainty in 2026.
The Numbers: 2026 Performance Outlook
The annual “Numbers” panel is always the data backbone of ALIS, and this year’s session delivered a mixed verdict. CoStar and Tourism Economics released their 2026–2027 U.S. hotel forecast projecting RevPAR growth of +0.6% (ADR +1.0%, occupancy -0.2%)—a modest swing back to positive territory after 2025’s -0.3% RevPAR decline. (Hotel Investment Today: Good News, Bad News with ALIS Data)
Not everyone shared that cautious optimism. Kalibri Labs’ Cindy Estis Green presented a more pessimistic view: a 1.5% decline in occupancy and only 0.5% rate growth, netting out to a -1.0% RevPAR decline for 2026. Her message was clear: uncertainty and macroeconomic turbulence disproportionately punish discretionary travel.
STR’s Isaac Colazzo underscored what many owners already feel in their P&Ls: expense growth continues to outpace revenue growth. Total revenues are expected to rise faster than last year, but expenses will follow the same trajectory—and at a rate exceeding inflation. The margin squeeze is structural, not cyclical.
SLOAN’S TAKE Here’s the reality that most forecasters dance around: +0.6% US RevPAR growth, which I think is optimistic outside of Luxury, is functionally negative when your expenses are climbing 3–4%. The real story of 2026 isn’t going to be who grew the top line—it’s going to be who protected their bottom line. That’s why I’m so bullish on AI for back-office operations: procurement automation, AP optimization, and intelligent labor scheduling are where you find the margin recovery that rate increases alone cannot deliver. |
The US International Inbound Crisis
Perhaps the most sobering data point at ALIS came from U.S. Travel Association CEO Geoff Freeman during the opening session: domestic travel was “basically flat” in 2025 (inflation-adjusted), while international inbound travel fell more than 5%. The United States was the only major nation in the world to see a decline in travel. (Travel Weekly: Will the World Cup Lift U.S. Tourism in 2026?)
IHG CEO Elie Maalouf framed the structural challenge during the “Boardroom XXV: Confronting Change” session: the U.S. simply does not prioritize tourism the way other nations do. Other countries treat tourism as an essential economic engine; the U.S. takes its domestic wealth for granted. (CoStar Day 1 Recap)
Freeman pointed to specific policy barriers undermining inbound tourism: new visa fees, a proposed $100 charge for foreign visitors to national parks, and a CBP proposal requiring international travelers to provide social media information. His assessment was blunt: the U.S. is sending a message to the world that it doesn’t want their legal visitors either.
Marriott CEO Tony Capuano echoed the urgency, particularly with the FIFA World Cup approaching with matches in 11 U.S. cities this summer. The industry’s message was clear: the World Cup should be a massive demand driver, but policy headwinds risk squandering the opportunity. (Travel Weekly: Immigration Policy Concerns at ALIS)
SLOAN’S TAKE We're (the U.S.) exporting travelers and importing uncertainty! |
Boardroom XXV: What the CEOs Are Saying
The marquee “Boardroom Outlook: Roadmap for the Future” panel featured the heaviest lineup at ALIS: Tony Capuano (Marriott), Elie Maalouf (IHG), Chris Nassetta (Hilton), Geoff Ballotti (Wyndham), Jean-Jacques Morin (Accor), and Craig Smith (Aimbridge). Moderated by Jeff Weinstein of Hotel Investment Today, the conversation spanned immigration reform, development challenges, and the evolving capital landscape. (Hotel Investment Today: CEOs Weigh In on Top Issues)
Immigration & Workforce: Nassetta called immigration reform one of the industry’s most critical challenges, urging the sector to unite behind a comprehensive solution if the policy window opens. Aimbridge CEO Craig Smith advocated for engaging the administration specifically on legal immigration pathways for skilled hospitality workers.
Development & Debt: Capuano identified the core constraint on new construction: not interest rates or construction costs, but the fundamental availability of debt capital for new builds. Pipelines are full of shovel-ready projects waiting for financing to flow.
International Capital: Maalouf noted a structural shift in investor appetite: Middle Eastern and Asian capital is increasingly targeting U.S. hotel real estate at the right valuations, while European investors are pulling back. Accor’s Morin confirmed abundant capital availability across Asia and the Middle East.
Third-Party Management Consolidation: The panel acknowledged that management company consolidation will continue, driven by owners demanding scale-driven efficiencies and brands requiring larger operating partners.
The major brand companies used ALIS week to showcase their growth engines. Hilton led the headlines with a staggering 6.7% net unit growth in 2025, adding nearly 800 hotels and 100,000 rooms—with conversions accounting for nearly 40% of openings. The company now has over 3,700 hotels and 520,000+ rooms under development, and approximately one in five hotel rooms under construction globally is slated to join the Hilton system. (Hotel Investment Today: Big Dogs Barking at ALIS)
Two new Hilton brands made their debut: Apartment Collection by Hilton (furnished apartment-style accommodations, launching bookings in H1 2026 with Placemakr) and Outset Collection by Hilton (a conversion-focused brand for independent hotels, with 60+ properties under development and a target of 500+). Nassetta promised more new brands in 2026.
Hyatt highlighted its newest brands—Unscripted by Hyatt, Hyatt Select, and Hyatt Studios—which accounted for more than 65% of all new U.S. deals in 2025. Marriott kicked off the week with a press breakfast led by CEO Tony Capuano. Across all brands, the message was consistent: luxury and lifestyle segments are driving outsized demand, and the premiumization trend is accelerating.
Prediction #10 for 2026 is out this week on LinkedIn.
Cheers,
Sloan