Marriott Bonvoy's new loyalty partnership with Ethiopian Airlines connects 10,000 hotels to 145 African destinations, and the press release is gorgeous. The question is whether the 50-plus properties Marriott plans to open across Africa by 2027 can actually deliver an experience that matches the expectation this partnership is about to create.
Julienne Smith spent six years building IHG's Americas development pipeline before Hyatt brought her back to run theirs. When a company hires someone who knows exactly how the other side's playbook works, the owners being pitched should pay very close attention to what's about to change.
Hotel owners who underwrote refinancing, PIP financing, or development deals assuming H2 2026 rate relief are staring at a 3.5%-3.75% federal funds rate that isn't moving... and the math on their desks just broke.
The Fed held at 3.50%-3.75% and some officials floated rate hikes. For hotel owners with floating-rate debt or looming maturities, the math on refinancing just changed by tens of millions of dollars.
