Cities across America are searching for ways to expand their tax base without overburdening residents. Raising property taxes is politically toxic. Sales taxes rise and fall with the business cycle. Grants and one-off windfalls disappear as quickly as they arrive. Yet one of the most dependable revenue engines sits in plain view: hotels.

There is a recurring moment of quiet frustration in nearly every audit cycle: the valuation report arrives – neatly packaged, meticulously worded – yet somehow not useful. Not entirely. You examine it, searching for alignment with financial reporting needs – inputs tied to the client’s forecast, assumptions that integrate with your models, rationale that aligns with ASC 820 definitions. Instead, you encounter a sterile narrative that seems to speak an entirely different language. You request a revision – perhaps a minor rephrasing or a narrower range. The appraiser declines. Not because they cannot, but because they will not. And if you are fortunate, they will cite USPAP as the reason.

CORAL GABLES, Florida — Hotel Investment Today gathered leading hotel and finance executives for an exclusive April 30, 2025, roundtable here to discuss the current and future state of the extended-stay sector. Their takeaway: Extended stay has “a lot of expanding upside”. Extended-stay experts say expanding investor interest, evolving growth options at different price points and increasing lender buy-in signal a bright outlook for the industry’s “most lucrative business model.”

In Aspen, Colorado, a once-private lodge has transformed into an ultra-exclusive hotel experience. The Aspen Street Lodge – the first boutique hotel to open in Aspen in over 25 years – features just nine guest rooms and a penthouse, blending a residential-style design with five-star amenities like a rooftop deck, private chef, and even an in-house adventure concierge. This evolution from luxury vacation rental to boutique hotel is no anomaly. Around the world, entrepreneurs who cut their teeth managing high-end vacation homes are now scaling new heights in hospitality by developing intimate hotels and branded residences. It’s a trend fueled by surging demand for experiential travel and lifestyle-driven stays, especially in elite destinations such as Aspen, Vail, and Park City.

The first half of 2025 has made one thing unmistakably clear: the hospitality industry is no longer expanding under the luxury of time. Between rising development costs and intensifying brand crowding in traditional markets, hotel growth now demands speed, precision, and – above all else – context.