Use current accounting and contract documents, but do not mistake current publication dates for property-level evidence. Three developments are directly relevant to the comparison process:
- Accounting comparability: AHLA and HFTP set January 1, 2026 as the adoption date for the 12th Revised Edition of the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry, or USALI. Ask each bidder which edition and account mapping it uses; do not assume every historical statement has been restated. (ahla.com)
- Current affiliation schedules: the official Curio and Autograph Collection franchise disclosure documents reviewed here were issued on March 30 and March 31, 2026, respectively. Their fee schedules contain more than a single royalty percentage. (hmd-wp.go-vip.net)
- Continuing scrutiny of soft brands: Hotel Dive’s October 13, 2026 Lodging Conference report records owners discussing incremental demand, design control, technology and access to data—not merely brand recognition. These are practitioner views, not controlled evidence of financial uplift. (hoteldive.com)
For historical context, CBRE’s May 2025 analysis of a preliminary 2,600-hotel sample reported that 2024 expenses above gross operating profit rose 4.1%, against 2.3% total-revenue growth. That is a dated, broad US sample—not a 2026 boutique forecast—but it demonstrates why revenue growth and owner-profit growth need separate analysis. (cbre.com)