Hospitality Asset Managers Consider COVID Impact on the Hotel Industry

Hospitality Asset Managers Consider COVID Impact on the Hotel Industry

The Hospitality Asset Managers Association today released the results of its Spring 2022 Industry Outlook Survey. The semi-annual report collected the opinions, experiences and predictions of nearly 100 hotel asset managers concerning the hospitality industry since the beginning of the pandemic through today. The survey also addressed respondent’s thoughts on the future outlook of the industry.

Presented live in Hollywood, Fla., the survey was conducted in advance of HAMA’s 2022 Annual Spring Meeting. In total, 84 asset managers, comprising approximately half of membership, participated in the survey.

“Overall, it would appear the hotel industry is entering a more optimistic phase than it found itself in as recently as last year,” said Matthew Arrants, The Arrants Company, CHAM, HAMA president. “The majority of respondents see the acquisition market heating up, and many believe the industry will begin to return to pre-pandemic levels within the next year or two. Some markets already have surpassed 2019 numbers, and continued, pent-up travel demand have asset managers in a positive mood.”

Highlighted results include:

• One-third of respondents currently forecast 51-75% of their hotels to exceed 2022 budgeted RevPAR.
• Three-quarters of surveyed asset managers are more optimistic about the remainder of 2022 since the COVID-19 Omnicom variant has subsided.
• The top three concerns of asset managers are labor availability (90.48%), wage increases (70.24%) and supply chain delays (61.9%).
• 61.9% of participants believe RevPAR will return to 2019 levels for the entire U.S. by 2023.
• Nearly 90 percent of those surveyed actively are seeking acquisition opportunities.

HAMA members are involved in asset management, acquisition, financing and disposition of hotels and resorts and are directly responsible for making decisions concerning capital investments, renovations, asset repositioning, operational policies and management selection. Its U.S. members represent more than 3,500 hotels and resorts across every major brand, accounting for 775,000 hotel rooms, 250,000 employees, $40 billion in annual revenue and $3 billion in capital expenditures. The organization boasts an additional 245 international affiliate members, as well.