IHG is buying back nearly a billion dollars in its own stock this year while asking owners to fund bigger PIPs, higher key money, and brand mandates that keep getting more expensive. The asset-light model works beautifully... just not for the person holding the mortgage.
Key International just finished renovating a 112-room Hampton in a Florida beach town most investors couldn't find on a map. The interesting part isn't the new soft goods... it's what this tells you about where smart capital thinks the risk-adjusted returns actually live right now.
The extend-and-pretend era is ending. Owners who borrowed at 3.5% in 2021 are about to refinance at 7%, and the math on that gap is brutal.
Last night's speech was 108 minutes of economic cheerleading that never once addressed the industry bleeding workers, losing international visitors, and staring down tariff-driven cost increases. Here's what every GM, owner, and asset manager needs to understand about what wasn't said.
