Episode 306: Hotel Transaction Activity Expected to be “Incredibly Strong” in 2022

Transaction activity in the hotel sector this year is expected to be “incredibly strong,” with robust pricing continuing in the luxury resort segment and the start of a recovery in business transient and group demand, according to Kevin Davis, CEO of JLL Hotels & Hospitality, Americas.

Speaking on the REIT Report, Davis noted that JLL has more than $12 billion in its U.S. hotel sales and financing pipeline for 2022, the highest level since 2015, which was already a record year from a transaction volume perspective. If JLL is a proxy for the market, “my expectation is that you'll see a lot of transactions this year.”

Davis said anticipated gains for 2022 follow a particularly strong year for the industry in 2021. This was fueled by the large amount of capital that had aggregated on the sidelines to take advantage of potential distress in the sector—which never materialized—as well as pent-up consumer demand for travel.