More Than 50% of Hotels Use AI, but Under 10% See Real Impact, Finds State of Distribution 2026 Report from RateGain, NYU SPS and HEDNA
Why this matters
Hospitality has separated by chain scale and demand segment, with luxury and resort outperforming and select-service holding pricing power on a leaner cost base. New construction starts remain at multi-decade lows, which has supported in-place RevPAR and made conversions of soft-branded flags an increasingly active part of transaction velocity. For sponsors with operational expertise, the sector continues to offer one of the more compelling income-plus-appreciation profiles available across CRE.
Editorial analysis · Real Estate Trail Editorial
On the RET wire
- Disclosed hospitality deal value tracked in September 2026: $375.2M across 6 reported transactions. All Hospitality coverage →
Computed from Real Estate Trail’s own tracked coverage
The third edition of the State of Distribution report, based on 270+ hotel brands and 58,000+ properties, finds AI adoption widespread but transformational impact rare, with OTAs still dominating over direct channels.
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