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NYU IHIF 2026 Takeaways: Optimism, Smarter Growth and the Women Leaders Reading the Market
- Stacy Silver
- 16 hours ago
- 6 min read
At the 48th Annual NYU International Hospitality Investment Forum, hospitality leaders pointed to resilient demand, renewed transaction activity, repositioning opportunities and practical AI as signs of a more disciplined growth cycle ahead.
More than 1,500 hospitality executives gathered in New York City this week for the 48th Annual NYU IHIF, where optimism reigned across panels, hallway conversations and networking events. Unlike some recent conferences where discussions focused heavily on risks and challenges, this event felt different.
The mood was largely driven by strong hotel operating fundamentals, improving performance among public lodging REITs, a growing number of institutional-quality assets entering the market, and signs that buyers and sellers are converging on pricing expectations.
For hertelier, one of the most interesting threads was that some of the sharpest analysis came from female leaders looking at the market from different vantage points: advisory, brand growth, asset strategy and commercial performance. Their read was consistent: optimism is back, but the next phase of growth will require discipline, sharper capital deployment, operational creativity and technology that supports, rather than replaces, people.
Demand Remains Resilient Across Segments
One thing that became clear throughout the conference is that demand remains resilient.
While luxury hotels continue to perform well, capacity constraints and higher rates at premium properties are pushing some consumers into upscale and select-service hotels, creating demand across a broader range of assets.
One of the more interesting discussions throughout the conference centered on whether the industry is operating in a K-shaped economy or what Hilton President and CEO Christopher Nassetta has described as a C-shaped economy.
Jess Shevlin, Chief Development Officer at HotelAVE, believes there are signs of both.
"The K-shaped economy is real in the current data: Q1 RevPAR ranged from -2.3% at Choice to nearly +12% at Pebblebrook, but the forward signals are starting to bend toward Nassetta's C: select service improving, SME demand recovering, and compression from luxury pricing pushing demand down the chain."
That trend is also showing up in brand performance. Hyatt is seeing continued strength in premium travel demand, with the company's concentration of luxury, lifestyle and all-inclusive hotels continuing to benefit from resilient leisure demand.
"Historically, Hyatt has maintained a higher concentration of premium hotels across luxury, lifestyle, and all-inclusive segments, serving higher-income travelers,” said Julienne Smith, Head of Americas Growth, Hyatt. “Demand in those segments has remained remarkably resilient since the post-pandemic recovery, with leisure continuing to be a major strength. Today, more than 50% of Hyatt's revenue comes from leisure travel."
Those trends suggest demand remains healthy across multiple segments and that broad-based performance is helping drive renewed optimism among investors, many of whom believe the industry is moving closer to a more active transaction environment.
Transaction Activity May Be Poised to Pick Up
While transaction volume remains low, many attendees expect activity to increase over the next 12 to 18 months. A combination of lender-driven sales, upcoming capital requirements, stricter brand standards and improving lending conditions is expected to bring more assets to market.
Shevlin believes some of the strongest opportunities remain tied to repositioning and operational improvement.
“Owners will always love a good turnaround story. New development is largely off the table, given construction costs and yield requirements, unless there is some sort of condo component.”
Smith pointed to repositioning, conversions and brand alignment as areas where owners can create value.
“The greatest value-creation opportunities today are coming from thoughtful repositioning, conversions, and brand alignment. In today’s environment, success is less about adding capital and more about deploying it strategically to match an asset with the right demand drivers, operating model, and brand platform.”
Smarter Growth Is the Opportunity
The discussion around growth was not about expansion at any cost. Rather, the conference reflected a more disciplined view of opportunity, with leaders focused on assets that can be repositioned, better aligned with the right brands or operated more efficiently.
That shift helps explain why conversions, brand fit and operational improvement came up repeatedly. In a market where new development remains difficult, value creation is increasingly tied to making existing assets work harder and smarter.
AI Moves From Hype to Practical Application
While most conversations focused on transactions and performance, AI remained impossible to avoid.
The conversation, however, has evolved beyond chatbots and guest-facing tools. Increasingly, discussions focused on how AI can improve hotel operations and help operators manage rising costs.
“The greatest value is in the middle of the P&L, labor scheduling, procurement, revenue optimization, and anomaly detection in asset performance data, because those are high-frequency, pattern-based decisions where AI genuinely outperforms human bandwidth,” said Shevlin. “In a world of above-inflation labor costs, even a 2-3% improvement in labor productivity compounds significantly across a portfolio.”
“At Hyatt, AI is a strategic enabler, not a substitute for human connection,” said Smith. “The human connection our colleagues provide will always be the heart of our business, and thoughtfully integrating AI into our operating model, culture, and innovation roadmap enhances the hospitality experiences for all stakeholders through better information, insights, and capabilities.”
Dorothy Dowling, Managing Director, Horwath HTL, echoed that sentiment, emphasizing that AI will not replace the industry's relationship-driven nature.
“I believe AI will help hospitality become more efficient and more effective, but it does not replace the relationship side of the business,” she said. “At the executive level, the real value is still in understanding the business problem, asking better questions, building trust, and creating win-win partnerships that work for owners, brands, operators, partners, team members, and guests.”
Dowling sees the greatest near-term opportunity in practical applications that improve operations and decision-making.
“For owners and operators, I see the greatest near-term value in very practical areas: back-office efficiency, content optimization, payment processing, revenue management, commercial decision support, and on-demand training,” she said. “These are places where AI can reduce friction, improve productivity, and help teams make better decisions faster.”
She also cautioned against viewing AI as a replacement for leadership and hospitality.
“AI can improve the inputs, but people still create the strategy, the service culture, the partnerships, and the trust,” Dowling said. “The best companies will use AI to make their people and their businesses stronger.”
The conversation around AI has clearly evolved from experimentation to implementation. While there is no question that AI will play a larger role in the future, there was agreement that relationships, leadership and service remain at the center of the industry.
Relationships Still Matter in a Technology-Enabled Industry
One of the clearest takeaways from the AI discussion was that technology is being viewed less as a replacement for hospitality and more as a tool to strengthen it.
For owners and operators, that means using AI to improve efficiency, productivity and decision-making. For leaders, it means keeping people, service culture and trust at the center of the business. The best use cases appear to be the ones that remove friction behind the scenes, allowing teams to focus more clearly on the work that only people can do.
Industry Leaders Recognized During Conference Week
The conference also provided an opportunity to recognize several leaders and organizations across the industry.
Prior to the official conference, Jim Risoleo, President and Chief Executive Officer of Host Hotels & Resorts, was honored by the UJA-Federation of New York Hospitality Division.
During the conference, Danny Meyer, Founder and Executive Chairman of Union Square Hospitality Group, received the Jonathan Tisch Active Citizenship Award.
Excellence in hotel ownership and asset management was also recognized during conference week, with CHMWarnick receiving the 2026 HAMA US Asset Management Achievement Award for the Hilton Cleveland Downtown, in recognition of innovation and leadership in hospitality asset management.
The Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration also honored Anthony Capuano, President and Chief Executive Officer of Marriott International, with the 2026 Cornell Hospitality Icon of the Industry Award, while Chris Kirby, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ithaca Hummus, was honored with the 2026 Cornell Hospitality Innovator Award.
Planning for Growth
Whether discussing demand trends, transaction activity, repositioning opportunities or the growing role of AI, conversations throughout the week shared a common thread: industry leaders are planning for growth.
The optimism at NYU IHIF was not about ignoring challenges. It was about seeing a path forward through stronger fundamentals, more disciplined capital deployment, practical technology and the enduring importance of relationships in hospitality.
