Cameron Sperance

Struggling hospitality companies keep taking the insurance companies to court over denied claims during the pandemic. They're highly unlikely to win.

The pace of hotel development in the Middle East has fallen for more than a year, but companies aren't shying away from introducing new brands to the region. If it can sustain its winter travel appeal — and that's a big if — expect the development pendulum to swing in a positive direction.

Exclusivity going public, like SoHo House's initial public offering, is a further signal luxury brands are poised for a major upswing on the other side of the pandemic.

When in doubt, condo it out: Investors sleep a little easier knowing there's a more reliable income stream like high-end housing attached to a hotel project.

Diversity in leadership makes a company better — period. While to be commended for laying the groundwork for advancing diversity when hiring picks back up, Hilton and other hotel companies can't stop with their latest diversity targets. This needs to be a long-term initiative across the entire industry.

A lesson in why not to overbuild: Limited supply gave European hotels a relative edge in holding their value last year compared to the U.S., despite stronger hotel performance in America.

Travel companies owe a lot to Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson. The acceleration of vaccine distribution jolted the U.S. travel industry out of its winter travel slump and built major strength heading into warmer months. Check out the numbers in just the last five days.

Sonesta is now a major hotel company with hundreds of franchised properties and an eye toward further growth. But the big hurdle is expanding its loyalty program. Marriott's takeover of Starwood showed the complexities of engineering loyalty across brands at a huge scale.

Hotel labor groups have justifiably been concerned over the industry push in the last year to offer contactless features like mobile check-in that reduce staffing needs. The Standard’s chat function replacing calls to the front desk may be the rare tech innovation that actually helps the worker.

The pandemic shows just how futile it is to build a hotel just for the sake of an event like the Olympics. Real estate is a long-term play.