National Report?Marriott International, Hilton Hotels Corp., Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide and others have increasingly staked out turf in mixed-use developments.

New York–Hard Rock Hotels wants to at least quadruple its current portfolio. The iconic brand synonymous with its "Love all. Serve all." motto plans to aggressively develop its lodging concept outside of the United States after the success of its first handful of properties, said Trevor Horwell, chief hotels officer for Hard Rock Hotels and Casinos.

Builders say high demand and spending by U.S. and foreign travelers is driving construction in the Northeast corridor on several high-end hotel projects, as well as nearly 200 midrange business hotel properties.

Orlando--Interval International presented key timeshare buying statistics at the American Resort Development Assn. conference in March. See what markets are hot and what people are interested in when purchasing.

Perhaps the most dramatic performance increases have been reported by luxury hotels.

With the lodging industry in the midst of a major building phase, the domestic market has become an open laboratory to witness effective project development. Experts say a well designed construction timeline is crucial to the completion of a hotel project.

What does cap rate compression mean for hotel investors? Apr 2, 2007 By: Steve Mills

Continual lowering of hotel capitalization rates could have major implications for the industry. Find out what that means for investors, owners and management companies.

Construction companies in the southwestern United States are experiencing a lively pipeline. According to Smith Travel Research/TWR/Dodge, the West South Central region is the second most active region behind the South Atlantic.

London and Atlanta–The preliminary results from InterContinental Hotels Group's 2006 earnings presentation indicate a strong pipeline, plans for brand enhancements and increased performance metrics worldwide.

A real-estate investment trust is a company that owns, and in most cases (except hotel REITs and golf course REITs), operates income-producing real-estate. To be a REIT, a company must distribute at least 90 percent of its taxable income to shareholders annually in the form of dividends.

With the first Cambria Suites property scheduled to open this month in Boise, Idaho, and five more under construction, Choice Hotels International is focusing on this brand in 2007.

National Report—The reach for REITs is growing farther by the day.

No project is without its obstacles and with the development pipeline ready to burst, there are any number of stories of setbacks and successes.

Orlando—One of the most expected liquidations in recent lodging industry history culminated in mid-January when CNL Hotels & Resorts, the nation's second-largest hotel real-estate investment trust, signed agreements to be acquired by Morgan Stanley Real Estate and to sell 51 properties to Ashford Hospitality Trust.

Los Angeles—Leaders from the Industry Real Estate Finance Advisory Council talked money, debating public versus private ownership, capital availability and trends in luxury building at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit in January.

Los Angeles—"What inning are we in?" Speakers at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit were asked where the lodging industry stands in the current cycle.

Dallas—Now that Ashford Hospitality Trust is fully engaged in the closing of its $2.4-billion cash acquisition of 51 hotels from CNL Hotels & Resorts, don't expect the Dallas-based real-estate investment trust to be buying any other lodging properties any time soon. In fact, the buyer most likely soon will become a seller.

When the deal to acquire 51 hotels from CNL Hotels & Resorts closes in the second quarter, Ashford will have a combined portfolio of 126 properties. Ashford Hospitality Trust's President and c.e.o., Monty Bennet, discussed ways the company will analyze the portfolio to decide which properties it will integrate and which will be sold.

Development and construction executives based in the Southeast have no complaints about the current hotel-construction pipeline. In fact, the south Atlantic region in particular boasts the largest construction and planning pipeline in the country, according to Smith Travel Research.

Leveraging equity investments: Conduit Financing versus conventional financing Feb 5, 2007 By: Sanjeev Misra

Conduit financing offers the potential to obtain a lower cost of financing for your hotel given the current rates. However, conduit loans are not suitable for every hotel owner. Find out under which conditions conduit financing makes sense.