Takeaways from ALIS 2026
Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) 2026 didn’t signal the start of a rebound. It signaled a shift in management strategy – and what will be necessary to win this year
Hoteliers are coming into 2026 with more realism than optimism. RevPAR ended last year down 0.3%, and the 2026 growth projections hover around +0.6%, with some forecasts ranging from a 1.5% decline to 1.0% growth. At the same time, costs continue to climb, and Tourism Economics projects GOPPAR down 1.5%.
Flat revenue and shrinking profitability redefine the operating environment: this is not a demand cycle — it’s a discipline cycle.
That macroeconomic pressure defined the tone at ALIS. The HIA team found that conversations were less about upside scenarios and more about what is actually working inside portfolios right now. Travel disruptions reduced attendance, but with more time in their schedules executives spoke more candidly and at greater length about the friction, inefficiencies, and operations gaps that surface when top-line growth stalls.
The implication is clear: 2026 results will be driven less by market demand and more by operator discipline, infrastructure, and financial clarity.
HIA’s Gregg Suffredini, VP Sales East, and Candra Valley, VP Sales West spoke to dozens of hospitality executives and operators on how they are focusing on financial fundamentals and tech infrastructure to protect margins and prepare for the next cycle.
The first pressure point is capital.
Gregg’s Takeaway: Financial Clarity Has Become a Capital Issue
In one session a live poll captured the capital environment in a nutshell: 83% of respondents said money is available — but expensive.
It isn’t that capital is gone, it’s that dealmakers lack trust and confidence in the numbers.
In conversations with dozens of owners, the message was consistent: deals aren’t failing from lack of interest — they’re slowing because assembling reliable financials takes too long. The back-and-forth required to produce usable numbers from management companies and accounting teams is creating transaction friction.
Deals are harder right now due to conservative valuations and stricter underwriting, which makes inconsistent reporting more than an inconvenience. It is a risk signal.
Slower underwriting means delayed closings, retrades, and missed timing. In a market where debt is selective and equity is cautious, data confidence is becoming as important as asset quality.
The operators who can quickly deliver reconciled, consistent, transparent performance data are reducing friction in the capital process. Reporting quality is no longer back-office hygiene. It is a competitive advantage that directly affects valuation, liquidity, and deal velocity.
– Gregg Suffredini, Regional VP Sales, East
Candra’s Takeaway: Tech Strategy Is Now About Margin Defense
While capital markets are demanding clearer numbers, operating teams are fighting a different battle: cost pressure.
Hoteliers don’t need an economist to tell them costs are rising. They feel it in labor, services, insurance — everywhere. They’re actively looking for automations and efficiencies where it truly moves the needle.
But the answer isn’t adding more tools. “Tool fatigue” came up repeatedly. Operators aren’t looking to bolt on disconnected solutions; they want to get more value out of existing systems and create a consolidated, real-time view of performance.
Operators are laser focused on margin defense. Every disconnected system adds manual work, reporting delays, and operational friction — all of which quietly erode GOPPAR.
The operators moving fastest right now are standardizing processes, integrating data flows, and simplifying tech environments. The goal isn’t more dashboards; it’s fewer gaps between operations, finance, and decision-making. In a flat RevPAR environment, workflow efficiency becomes a profit lever.
– Candra Valley, VP Sales, West
Conclusion: Treat Tech Infrastructure as Strategy
2026 may not deliver the revenue surge many hoped for, even with major demand drivers like the FIFA World Cup and large-scale national events on the horizon. Near term, this remains a margin management year.
That makes the strategic priority straightforward.
Operators can use this period to:
- Tighten financial reporting and reduce diligence friction
- Standardize processes across portfolios
- Consolidate and integrate tech environments
- Create a single, reliable view of performance trusted by finance, operations, and ownership
This cycle will reward operators who treat operational and data infrastructure as strategy, not back office support.
Jaime Goss has over a decade of marketing experience in the hospitality industry. At Hotel Investor Apps, Jaime heads up marketing initiatives including brand strategy, website design, content, email marketing, advertising and press relations.
