RLJ Lodging Trust posted a first quarter that made Wall Street happy, with AFFO beating estimates by six cents and RevPAR outpacing the industry by 100 basis points. But the number buried in the earnings call tells you more about where this cycle is heading than the headline ever will.
Northern California tribal casinos generated $12.1 billion last year and they're plowing it into hotels, event centers, and entertainment districts designed to steal your group bookings, your wedding blocks, and your Saturday night leisure traveler. The part that should keep you up at night is the room rate math they're playing with that you literally cannot match.
California's tribal casinos generated $12.1 billion in revenue last year, and the expansion pipeline across Northern California is about to redraw the competitive map for every hotel, restaurant, and entertainment venue within a 100-mile radius.
