The key phrase seems to be “slow and steady.” Market indicators in the hospitality sector are mostly in growth mode with upward pointing arrows in most, but not all, areas of inquiry. There appears to be a significant degree of confidence in hotel performance, but some discomfort as to the risk-reward relationship of debt positions. Transaction volume remains below 2006-2007 levels, but yet is tracking to be better than any year since 2007. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, we commend you to the U.S. Hotel Industry Performance created by Jan Freitag, Senior Vice President of STR, Inc.