New Research Reveals Travelers Are Two Years Ahead of the Travel Industry on AI
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: $5B across 15 reported transactions. All Hospitality coverage →
Computed from Real Estate Trail’s own tracked coverage
A four-party study finds 54% of travelers already use AI for trip planning, yet only 22% of DMOs offer AI capabilities, with 72% of DMO leaders warning that laggards risk irrelevance within two years.
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