Latest news: Extended-stay strength; Super Bowl winner, loser; Nobu to Maldives

Lower-price extended-stay leads. Economy extended-stay hotels reported a 1.4% RevPAR loss in 2025, which was slightly more than one third of the decline all economy class hotels recorded, according to The Highland Group The 1.1% fall in mid-price extended-stay hotel RevPAR was less than half the estimate for all mid-price hotels. “Extended-stay hotel room supply growth accelerated in the latter half of 2025 but with new room construction and RevPAR both falling, supply growth should moderate and maybe even decline in 2026,” added The Highland Group Partner Mark Skinner.

Super Bowl winner, loser. The U.S. hotel industry from February 1-7 reported positive year-over-year comparisons, according to CoStar data. Occupancy was 56.4% (+1.1% YOY); ADR was $158.69 (+1.7% YOY); and RevPAR was $89.55 (+2.8% YOY). Super Bowl market San Francisco reported the largest increases across each of the three key performance metrics: occupancy (+33.5% to 78.7%), ADR (+108.3% to $409.25) and RevPAR (+178.1% to $322.07). Last year’s Super Bowl host, New Orleans, registered the most pronounced performance decreases due to a comparison against the 2025 game weekend: occupancy (-22.4% to 57.5%), ADR (-65.4% to $170.46), and RevPAR (-73.1% to $98.08).

Nobu to Maldives. Nobu Hospitality has announced a hotel, residences and restaurant in the province of Laamu Atoll on the private island of Munyafushi in the Maldivies expected to open in late 2028. Developed in partnership with Sarat International and Sarat Investments, the project is being led by Sarat International Managing Director Ali Ahsan with Engr. Abdulaziz Bin Mohammed Alkhudair appointed as chief advisor. The resort will feature 26 one- and two-bedroom beach villas and 30 one- and two-bedroom overwater villas. There will be only 10 Nobu Island Estate Residences for offer, each positioned on its own private island. A Nobu restaurant will also be set on its own private island, complete with bar and lounge.

SF, NYC office lease news. San Francisco is expected to see its office leasing activity total 12.8 million square feet in 2026, representing 15% year-over-year growth, according to a new report from software company VTS. New York City’s office leasing activity is set to reach 39.8 million square feet in 2026, a 6% year-over-year increase.

InterCon to Papua New Guinea. IHG Hotels & Resorts is partnering with Gulf Province Properties Ltd., a subsidiary company of the Gulf Investment Trust Fund, to bring InterContinental to Papua New Guinea. Scheduled to open in late 2028, the 179-room InterContinental Port Moresby will be the centerpiece of a mixed-use development in the heart of the capital city’s diplomatic precinct and the seat of National Government. Across Australasia and the Pacific, IHG’s Luxury & Lifestyle portfolio includes 16 open InterContinental hotels and two pipeline properties, contributing to a global presence of more than 230 open hotels, with another 100 in development.

Pebblebrook refi. Pebblebrook Hotel Trust has refinanced its near-term debt maturities, strengthening its liquidity profile and extending its debt maturity schedule. The transaction included a new $450 million senior unsecured term loan, the early repayments of the Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort mortgage due in 2026 and the 2027 term loan, and the extension of the remaining $48 million portion of the revolving credit facility, restoring revolver capacity to $650 million through October 2029, including two optional six-month extensions. Pebblebrook expects a $90 million delayed-draw capacity, when combined with cash on hand and expected free cash flow to be generated during 2026, to provide a clear and fully funded path to address the remaining $350 million outstanding principal amount of 1.75% Convertible Senior Notes maturing in December 2026. The company will then have effectively addressed its remaining 2026 debt maturity and will not have any significant debt maturities until 2028.

Sotherly deal closes. Kemmons Wilson Hospitality Partners, together with Ascendant Capital Partners (“Ascendant”), through their joint venture, KW Kingfisher LLC, and Sotherly Hotels completed the definitive merger pursuant to which Sotherly was acquired by the joint venture. The joint venture acquired all outstanding shares of Sotherly common stock for $2.25 per share in cash. The acquisition expands KWHP’s and Ascendant’s respective hospitality portfolios in strategic Southeastern U.S. submarkets with established demand. Schulte Hospitality Group, which has also invested in the deal, will assume operations of Sotherly’s 10 full-service hotels and its single condo-hotel management agreement. Affiliates of Apollo and Ascendant provided debt financing commitments to the joint venture in connection with the transaction.

Premier Inn Middle East deal. Whitbread’s Premier Inn Middle East has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with international holding company Equitativa Real Estate to develop six to eight Premier Inn hotels, delivering approximately 3,500 keys in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Representing a total investment of around AED 2 billion, the planned expansion will double Premier Inn’s current portfolio of 3,184 keys. Premier Inn Middle East, a joint venture between Emirates Group and Whitbread Plc., currently operates 11 hotels across the UAE and Qatar. The strategic partnership with Equitativa will target high-demand markets including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah, Riyadh and Jeddah, with a focus on city and airport locations.

Tribute’s first all-inclusive. Marriott International’s Tribute Portfolio has opened its first all-inclusive property with the 88-room Crystal Cove, Barbados.

Record 2025 for Ascott. The Ascott Ltd., the wholly owned lodging business unit of CapitaLand Investment, signed a record 19,000 units across 102 properties in 2025, marking 27% year-on-year growth in new signings. This growth reflects Ascott’s accelerated asset-light and conversion-led expansion strategy. The company has expanded into more than 10 new cities across Asia Pacific and Europe, including flagship entries in Taipei and Wellington, while strengthening its presence in key leisure markets such as Phuket, Bali, and Vietnam. Resort signings, franchise agreements and conversion projects were key drivers of growth for its Ascott, Citadines, lyf and Oakwood brands. Ascott now operates and has under development more than 1,000 properties with over 176,000 units across more than 230 cities globally, positioning the company to exceed its S$500 million fee revenue target as its pipeline becomes operational.

Mideast pipeline update. The Middle East’s hotel construction pipeline stands at a record-high 710 projects/176,402 rooms, according to Lodging Econometrics data. The region shows robust growth with a 15% year-over-year (YOY) increase in projects and a 13% YOY rise in rooms. At Q4, 332 projects/84,172 rooms are under construction throughout the Middle East, up 10% YOY by projects and 5% by rooms. Projects scheduled to start construction anytime within the next 12 months reached a record-high room count of 176 projects/54,060 rooms, up 13% YOY by projects and 27% by rooms. The luxury chain scale reached record highs with 207 projects/45,780 rooms, showing an 11% YOY increase in projects and 6% in rooms. Countries with the most projects in the construction pipeline are Saudi Arabia, with record-high project and room counts of 394 projects/106,521 rooms, up 25% YOY by projects and 28% by rooms, and Egypt, also achieving record highs with 140 projects/31,104 rooms, up 17% by projects and 9% by rooms. LE forecast for new hotel openings shows 93 new hotels/18,511 rooms expected to open in 2026, and 94 new hotels/19,654 rooms are forecast to open in 2027.

WTTC warning. The World Travel & Tourism Council , which represents the private sector in the travel & tourism industry, has cautioned against the introduction of new local visitor levies in England, warning that additional costs and fragmented local policies risk fewer jobs, as well as further weakening the U.K.’s competitiveness at a time when the sector’s growth is already lagging behind global recovery. The warning comes as the U.K. government consults on proposals to give Mayoral Strategic Authorities the power to introduce overnight visitor levies.