Quotes of the Week: ALIS commentary, SH Hotels, Aimbridge, JLL

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“We’re going to be looking for opportunities to help grow the new Starwood platform all over the world… We have the capital to be able to do deals, and we’ll be out there looking to grow this thing. It may not be Starwood 1.0, but we certainly respect the legacy of Starwood 1.0 and want to build on that.” – Raul Leal, SH Hotels & Resorts   Read story

“A lot of owners were really surprised when I would visit them and say, ‘we screwed up this, this, this and this.’ But I don’t know that unless I admitted it – and our teams talked about it – there was a way we were going to fix it.” – Craig Smith, Aimbridge Hospitality   Read story

“I’ve gotten some pushback from people saying, ‘There’s no way our profits are going up because our costs are still increasing,’ but expenses are going to stabilize this year.” – Amanda Hite, STR   Read story

“This is provocative, but I believe it to be true. Right now, the focus is on the border and closing the border and stopping illegal immigration. What we ought to be focused on, once that stuff has been dealt with, we may have a once-in-a-generation opportunity for this administration to get comprehensive immigration reform done… To be able to help some of the workforce challenges that we’ve had.” – Chris Nassetta, Hilton   Read story

“It’s just that there’s not that free flow of debt — for existing assets, yes — but for new construction. It’s still a bit constricted. To me, that’s where the administration can help us in a meaningful way. Interest rates are going to go up and down, and our collective partners will navigate that, but we have to get debt capital for new construction flowing into the system.” – Tony Capuano, Marriott International   Read story

“From a transaction volume perspective, I think that we’re going to be surprised a year from now on how busy things were in 2025. I think we’ll observe that a lot of it happened bilaterally, behind closed doors, in quiet conversations, quickly, quietly and discreetly.” – Lawrence Kwon, Moelis & Co.   Read story

“Host [Hotels & Resorts] is much bigger than we are, but they trade at a much lower multiple. The only real savings on a deal are corporate G&A, and that gets wiped out with transaction costs. So, you’re more likely to see public to private.” – Jon Bortz, Pebblebrook Hotel Trust   Read story

“We have been terrible as an industry in taking technology and making it work for all of us — customers and owners and the like. [The brand] companies are going to continue to invest in technology and innovation from a brand standpoint that is going to deliver better experiences for customers and reliability and do it while taking costs out of the operating model. Those two things have to happen at the same time.” – Mit Shah, Noble Investment Group   Read story

“If you have the right brand and the right location in a market where you’re not seeing a lot of new supply come out of the ground, we think we’re going to be really well positioned in a couple of years when these projects open with limited new supply and being the newest, nicest product in the respective markets.” – Brian Waldman, Peachtree Group   Read story

“Global hotel investment volume increase will be catalyzed by impending loan maturities, deferred capital expenditures, private equity fund-life expirations, and moderating RevPAR in some markets, with the Americas expected to see the largest growth followed by EMEA and APAC.” – JLL Hotels & Hospitality   Read story

“We have no timeline in our funds. So, we’re not anxious to get our money out necessarily. Certainly, we like to play. A lot of capital is going to be reasonably patient. I don’t talk to a lot of people that say, ‘Gee, we have to put out $300 [million] of our $500 million this year or our fund as it’s closing its investment period at the end of the year. So, we have to get this out.’” – Russell Urban, Electra America Hospitality Group   Read story

“If you look at London the three to four years before [it hosted the 2012 Olympics], they saw an incremental 3 million room nights in hotels utilized than normal... So, there’s that impact in the lead-up and the demand during that period, and then obviously culminating when we get to the games.” – Allison Katz-Mayfield, LA28   Read story

“We are thrilled to expand our presence in the vibrant Japanese market, a key growth area for our company. Through our partnership with Royal, we aim to deliver unparalleled hospitality experiences that authentically reflect Japan's unique culture while showcasing the global excellence of our renowned brands.” –Dillip Rajakarier, Minor Hotels   Read story

“The James brand is back and this project in Downtown Miami is leading the way. The lifestyle and luxury space is where the consumer is going. Sonesta is excited to be partnering with AD1.” – Brian Quinn, Sonesta International Hotels Corp.   Read story

“We are excited to partner with Ares, and we very much look forward to advancing this portfolio of unique assets though its next growth stage.” – Ramsey Mankarious, Cedar Capital Partners   Read story