The post COVID recovery did more than repair the U.S. hotel industry – it reshaped where value is being created and who is best positioned to capture it. Nowhere is that clearer than in the Sunbelt and its collar markets, where demographic shifts, corporate relocations and “year round leisure” have combined to produce outsized and often resilient hotel performance.

Independent hotel management companies are experiencing a period of accelerated growth across the Caribbean and Latin America (CALA), including Mexico. What was once a fragmented landscape of small, entrepreneurial operators is evolving into a dynamic ecosystem of increasingly sophisticated regional platforms — and capital providers are taking notice. For owners, investors, and lenders, the trend is not simply about operational preference. It reflects deeper structural forces reshaping the region’s hospitality sector: the need for local expertise, the pursuit of scale, the rapid modernization of technology and processes, and the growing demand for transparency, professionalism, and liquidity. Together, these drivers are creating a compelling case for independent operators as credible, aligned, and value‑enhancing partners for capital.

In 2026, the world will turn its eyes toward North America. For a month, the FIFA World Cup will become more than a global sporting competition – it will be a defining measure of how cities, nations, and industries craft human experience at scale.

How universities can use hospitality discipline to strengthen enrollment, revenue, and long-term resilience A university campus is one of the most complex real estate products in most markets. It is a learning environment, an employer, a cultural institution, a civic landmark, a landlord, a transportation network, a public realm, and in many towns, the closest thing to a year-round destination resort. Yet most universities still manage the campus experience as a set of separate functions rather than as a single, intentional “arrival-to-departure” journey.

Luxury travel is evolving, and the traditional divide between five-star hotels and private residences is quickly disappearing. In destinations such as Park City, Utah, travellers now expect the comfort and scale of a home combined with the seamless service of a luxury hotel. At the same time, hotels are embracing a more residential feel – prioritising space, privacy, and thoughtful design. In a new article for Branded Residential, Bryan Younge explores these themes.