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CoStar News Hotels

CoStar News Hotelswww.costar.com
CoStar News Hotels' experienced, award-winning journalists bring diverse perspectives and voices to the news. From exclusive interviews with CEOs, to conference news from around the world, to coverage of public hotel companies, our stories are accessible for free 24/7 to inform your business today and in the future. CoStar News Hotels is part of the global CoStar News team, which reports commercial real estate news from all over the United States, Canada and the U.K.
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Episodes

Labor, events top of mind for top US hotel lobbying group

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, 202623 minEp. 208

What it was like to take over San Francisco's biggest hotels in receivership (with HotelAVE's Michelle Russo)

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, 202622 minEp. 205

Crescent seeks hotels where it can make an impact (with Lily Hu)

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, 202614 minEp. 204

New era for Remington Hospitality includes cost control, targeted expansion

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, 20268 minEp. 203

Hotel transactions market is making its slow-but-steady comeback

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, 202611 minEp. 201

Minor Hotels lines up major North American expansion

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, 20269 minEp. 200

Hyatt's plan for growth in select-service hotels

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, 202612 minEp. 197

Davidson CEO pins 2026 hopes on events, international growth (with Thom Geshay)

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, 202615 minEp. 196

Kasa's Mint House deal a 'maturation moment,' CEO says

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, 202616 minEp. 194

Hilton's Christian Charnaux sees no end to his company's outsized growth

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, 202621 minEp. 192

Marriott's Leeny Oberg looks back at her career and lessons learned

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, 202618 minEp. 191

Thailand's tourism push (with STR's Jesper Palmqvist)

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, 202620 minEp. 189

AI's 'tectonic shift' for hoteliers

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, 202640 minEp. 188

Hotel experts pick the word of 2025

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, 202511 minEp. 182

2026 hotel trend forecast with Hertelier's Emily Goldfischer

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, 202540 minEp. 180

How Bunkhouse Hotels is growing in its Hyatt era

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, 202525 minEp. 179
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