DALLAS—At the Hotel Business Lenders Luncheon, sponsored by Best Western Hotels & Resorts, a group of lending experts converged here at The Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center for networking with industry peers, one-on-one video interviews on lending practices and the event was capped with a keynote speech from Bruce Ford, SVP and director of global business development, Lodging Econometrics.
Participants included: Michael Morton and Brandon Moore, Best Western; Mike Armstrong, HREC Investment Advisors; Mike Muir, Live Oak Bank; Matthew Mitchell, Hall Structured Finance; Jim Tennial, BMC Capital; Melissa Butler, PMC Commercial Trust; Hershel Pierce, Pavillion Bank; Brijesh Patel, State Bank of Texas; Vipul Shah, Zealous Finance; and Laurie Ivy, PMC Commercial Trust.
Referencing data culled by Lodging Econometrics, Ford delivered a summary of key insights including an overall economic outlook and what’s on the horizon for interest rates. “There was a shaky start to the first quarter and there are potential external economic events that may have an affect on the general economy. The Federal Reserve has peeled back a bit and it doesn’t seem likely interest rates will move in the next six months,” said Ford. “We continue to see a robust interest from hotel developers and people wanting to get into the market. The pipeline is not at its peak with less than 2 percent supply growth. If the Federal Reserve keeps rates down, the expectation is five percent this year.”
@HotelBusiness tweeted takeaways from Bruce Ford during the luncheon:
@LodgingEconomet: There’s new supply open and a big pipeline is scheduled to open … #HotelBusiness
@LodgingEconomet: Most of the market is trained on new supply … #HotelBusiness
@LodgingEconomet on new brands: Keeps the local hotel flavor and gets them into the national reservation systems #HotelBusiness
@LodingEconomet: The way you book has changed and accelerated. It’s a lot easier to be an independent #HotelBusiness …
Look for more coverage in the May 7 issue of Hotel Business.
—Corris Little