Hotel companies entered 2026 on a brighter note, reporting widespread U.S. RevPAR growth for the first quarter of the year after a rocky 2025. 

Strengthening travel fundamentals drove RevPAR gains in the quarter, hotel CEOs shared during Q1 earnings calls. Marriott International and IHG Hotels & Resorts, in particular, saw improvement across leisure, business and group travel segments. 

An increase in travel spending by middle- and lower-income households also contributed to performance gains for several hotel companies, including Hilton. Meanwhile, the luxury segment continued to outperform for Marriott and Hyatt. 

Las Vegas operators reported that the city’s RevPAR environment also strengthened in Q1, after the market saw the largest full-year declines in ADR and RevPAR among other top U.S. markets in 2025. 

Looking ahead, hotel CEOs are optimistic about a potential lift from the FIFA World Cup this summer, though it has been reported that U.S. hotel bookings for the event are tracking below initial forecasts. 

During the first quarter, hotel companies expanded their portfolios and pipelines, with conversions overwhelmingly driving system growth. On the technology front, most hotel companies furthered their strategies around artificial intelligence, with Marriott and IHG touting new AI-powered conversational search tools. 

Following the quarter’s close, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts launched its own native ChatGPT app designed for conversational search, while Choice Hotels teamed with AWS on an enterprisewide AI deployment. 

Below is a roundup of Hotel Dive’s Q1 earnings coverage, with insights into how the remainder of 2026 could play out for the hospitality industry.