American Hotel & Lodging Association Executive Vice President of Public Policy Chirag Shah said while there's significant optimism from major upcoming events such as the World Cup and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the hotel industry's top concern is finding a sustainable labor pool.
Mar 20, 2026•23 min•Ep. 208
CoStar News Hotels' Natalie Harms and Stephanie Ricca recap the second day of the Hunter Hotel Investment Conference.
Mar 18, 2026•5 min•Ep. 207
CoStar News Hotels' Stephanie Ricca and Trevor Simpson share the highlights from the first day of the 2026 Hunter Hotel Investment Conference.
Mar 17, 2026•4 min•Ep. 206
Michelle Russo, founder and CEO of HotelAVE, had the eyes of the entire hospitality industry on her when she took over as receiver of the Parc 55 and Hilton Union Square hotels after Park Hotels & Resorts decided to hand back the keys instead of paying $725 million in debt. She joins the podcast to give an inside look at what it was like taking over those "beasts of assets" and find buyers for them during a uniquely challenging period in San Francisco's history.
Mar 11, 2026•22 min•Ep. 205
In an interview at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit, Crescent Hotels & Resorts' Lily Hu talks about the third-party management company's growth and retention strategies and working out the balance among hotel owners, operators and brands.
Mar 06, 2026•14 min•Ep. 204
In a recent interview at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit, Remington Hospitality's Chief Operating Officer Jason Kreul joined reporter Natalie Harms to discuss the hotel operator's new era of growth in the Caribbean and Latin America as controlling costs takes priority.
Mar 05, 2026•8 min•Ep. 203
First Hospitality President and CEO David Duncan and Chief Operating Officer Dave Montrose talk with CoStar News Hotels' Bryan Wroten at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit about their company's strategies to differentiate themselves among other third-party hotel management companies and grow their portfolio in a difficult environment.
Mar 04, 2026•21 min•Ep. 202
Greg Friedman, managing principal and CEO of Peachtree Group, explained to CoStar News' Natalie Harms why 2026 will be a better year for hotel transactions. But, the recovery is going to be a slow process. Friedman joined the show at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit in January.
Mar 03, 2026•11 min•Ep. 201
Genna Panagopoulos, newly appointed vice president of development for North America for Minor Hotels, shares expansion plans with CoStar News Hotels' Natalie Harms at the recent Americas Lodging Investment Summit.
Feb 26, 2026•9 min•Ep. 200
Noble Investment Group Founder and CEO Mit Shah has put his money where his mouth is in terms of investing in extended-stay hotels, and he lays out why he's a big believer in the evolution of "branded long-term accommodations."
Feb 25, 2026•23 min•Ep. 199
During our monthly check-in on the Asia-Pacific region, Trilogy Hotels' Tony Ryan joins the podcast, along with news editor Sean McCracken and STR's Jesper Palmqvist, to discuss how his company is seizing on the white space for third-party management in Australia.
Feb 24, 2026•34 min•Ep. 198
In this episode, CoStar News Hotels Reporter Natalie Harms speaks with Jason Ballard, global brand leader – Essentials at Hyatt, about how the company is thinking about growth. Ballard describes Hyatt's Essentials portfolio as the company's "growth vehicle" in the conversation, which was recorded at the recent Americas Lodging Investment Summit.
Feb 23, 2026•12 min•Ep. 197
Big events in the U.S. and growing their platform outside the U.S. are the recipe for success in 2026 according to Davidson Hospitality Group President and CEO Thom Geshay, but he thinks year over year comparisons should also get easier. This episode was recorded live at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit.
Feb 20, 2026•15 min•Ep. 196
Accor's Chief Development Officer for luxury and lifestyle Agnès Roquefort joins the podcast to talk about how her company is looking to grow its presence on the high end and how success in those segments relies so much on unique experiences.
Feb 18, 2026•15 min•Ep. 195
In an interview at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit, Kasa founder and CEO Roman Pedan speaks with CoStar News Hotels' Bryan Wroten about his aparthotel company's recent acquisition of competitor Mint House, the recent spotlight on his corner of the hospitality industry and what's to come.
Feb 17, 2026•16 min•Ep. 194
Even if hotel demand expectations don't come in as hopes for many FIFA World Cup markets, Hotel Equities CEO Ben Rafter thinks 2026 will be a year that exceeds expectations. This episode was recorded live at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit.
Feb 11, 2026•15 min•Ep. 193
After capturing 6.7% of net unit growth in 2025, it'd be natural to expect a cooldown even for a major hotel brand like Hilton. But Chief Development Officer Christian Charnaux believes there is opportunity to continue at that pace, particularly as 1 in 5 global hotel rooms under construction are slated to carry Hilton flags. This episode was recorded live at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit on January 26, 2026.
Feb 10, 2026•21 min•Ep. 192
Marriott International Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, Development, Leeny Oberg talks with CoStar News Hotels' Bryan Wroten at the 2026 Americas Lodging Investment Summit. With her retirement coming at the end of March, she talks about her experiences at Marriott, her favorite moments, the 2016 Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide deal and what's next.
Feb 09, 2026•18 min•Ep. 191
CoStar Group's Colin Sherman joined the CoStar News Hotels podcast to contextualize the Super Bowl's effect on hotel rates and occupancy in Santa Clara and San Francisco.
Feb 04, 2026•18 min•Ep. 190
Thailand has had to overcome some negative headlines from 2025 in it, but tourism stakeholders in that country are making big pushes to bring in hopes of bringing in 3 trillion baht, roughly $96 billion, in tourism revenue for the year. STR's Jesper Palmqvist joins the podcast to unpack those efforts.
Jan 30, 2026•20 min•Ep. 189
Kurien Jacob, partner at Highgate Tech Ventures, joins the show to dive deep into how AI is reshaping hospitality, from guest-facing search to operations productivity.
Jan 28, 2026•40 min•Ep. 188
Former Remington Hospitality CEO Sloan Dean joins News Editor Sean McCracken to talk through the second day of the Americas Lodging Investment Summit and expectations for 2026.
Jan 28, 2026•7 min•Ep. 187
CoStar News Hotels' Bryan Wroten and Natalie Harms share the highlights from the first day of the 2026 Americas Lodging Investment Summit.
Jan 27, 2026•6 min•Ep. 186
SCP Hotels co-founders, Ken and Pam Cruse, join the podcast to explain why they priorities nature-led hospitality — and how other hoteliers can do the same in 2026.
Jan 21, 2026•37 min•Ep. 185
In this interview, labor attorney Sylvia St. Clair talks about new minimum wage increases, U.S. Department of Labor opinions and more.
Jan 14, 2026•21 min•Ep. 184
Jared Schlosser, head of originations and C-PACE at Peachtree Group, joins the podcast to share his outlook on the lending environment in 2026, and why it's a "tale of two cities" when comparing the best positioned borrowers with the rest.
Jan 07, 2026•28 min•Ep. 183
What word best describes the vibe of '25? Hoteliers and industry experts share some choices that show a mix of optimism and the challenges of a difficult year.
Dec 30, 2025•11 min•Ep. 182
CDL's David Ling and STR's Jesper Palmqvist join the podcast for the monthly look across the Asia Pacific region, with Ling discussing how Singapore-based CDL is finding hotel investment opportunities across the globe.
Dec 23, 2025•30 min•Ep. 181
Herterlier founder and editor in chief Emily Goldfischer joins CoStar News Hotels' Stephanie Ricca to choose their top hotel industry trends for 2026. From traveling with purpose to choosing "skillcations," Ricca and Goldfischer give a lighthearted yet informed take on the industry trends they think have lasting power, and the ones that are just noise.
Dec 17, 2025•40 min•Ep. 180
Just over a year after Bunkhouse Hotels became a part of Hyatt Hotels Corp. through its acquisition of Standard International, CoStar News' Natalie Harms sits down with Lisa Bonifacio is managing director, The Lifestyle Group, Hyatt, to talk about Bunkhouse's newest hotel: Hotel Daphne in Houston.
Dec 15, 2025•25 min•Ep. 179