The Hospitality Asset Managers Association (HAMA) has released the results of its Fall 2026 Industry Outlook Survey, adding a fresh data point to a year in which hotel owners and asset managers are watching labor costs, insurance premiums and capital expenditure demands press on property-level margins.

The survey, distributed through LODGING Magazine, is the association's latest twice-yearly reading of where asset managers expect the industry to head. HAMA's membership sits on the ownership side of the hotel business — the groups that hold the buildings and the debt — which makes the outlook survey a useful proxy for owner sentiment rather than brand or operator sentiment.

What does the survey measure?

HAMA fields its outlook survey on a fall and spring cycle. Each edition asks asset managers to rate their expectations across the core levers of hotel performance:

• Revenue growth, including rate and occupancy expectations
• Expense pressure, from wages to property insurance
• Capital spending priorities, such as renovations and brand-mandated updates
• Owner-operator dynamics, including franchise and management fee scrutiny

The fall 2026 edition arrives amid a stretch in which full-service hotels have absorbed steady cost increases faster than room revenue has grown in many markets, keeping asset-level attention fixed on flow-through.

Why the ownership view matters

Asset managers control the capital decisions that shape what guests eventually see: whether a lobby gets refreshed, whether an F&B outlet stays open, whether a property changes brands or flags. When their outlook survey turns cautious, the practical consequences show up months later in renovation budgets, staffing plans and negotiating postures with management companies.

For operators and vendors, the release is a scheduling marker. HAMA typically unpacks the survey findings at its member meetings and in follow-up industry presentations, and the fall edition's numbers tend to frame conversations heading into annual budget season, when owners set 2027 capital and operating plans.

What comes next

Watch for HAMA's spring 2027 outlook survey to confirm or contradict the fall readings, and for asset managers to translate the results into harder negotiations over management agreements and capital budgets in the coming budget cycle.