Are hoteliers waiting until after the election to finalize deals?

The U.S. transactions market has sputtered throughout the better part of 2012. But the upcoming presidential election might be the remedy needed to kick-start the market, transactions experts report. Through June, just $5.9 billion of U.S. hotel transactions have closed, according to STR Analytics…that compares to $19.4 billion for the full year 2011.

According to several sources contacted for this report, one possibility is that investors are waiting until after the election to make their buy and sell decisions. “It’s not so much who gets elected,” said Steve Hennis, director at STR Analytics, it’s about knowing who will be president. “You’ll have some sense over the next four years of who will be in office.”