The Truth About the World Cup Hotel Boom

On this episode of Suite Success, host Katie Cline sits down with one of the industry's most trusted data experts, Jan Freitag, National Director of Hospitality Analytics at CoStar, to separate hype from reality. Together, they unpack all things World Cup—from returned room blocks and evolving booking patterns to what the tournament actually meant for hotel occupancy, room rates and performance across host markets. But this conversation goes far beyond the World Cup. Jan explains why the best hotel owners learn to ignore headlines, how to distinguish signal from noise, and what current hotel performance tells us about the broader U.S. travel market. He also shares why successful operators make decisions based on long-term trends rather than emotion—and why that mindset may be one of the biggest competitive advantages in hospitality. This episode is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lodgify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ &⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Bilt⁠⁠⁠. Lodgify: https://www.lodgify.com/?utm_source=P... Bilt: http://joinbilt.com/suitesuccess Timestamps: 00:00 Welcome to Suite Success 00:37 Meet Jan Freitag 01:43 Jan’s Career Path 03:54 World Cup Data Headlines 08:25 Booking Windows 10:27 Room Blocks and Cancellations 14:10 Industry Health 16:58 Luxury and Experience Spending 19:47 RevPAR Explained 23:07 Margins and Cost Pressures 25:56 Buying and Building Hotels 29:48 Risk Perception 30:48 Luxury Costs 31:51 Financing Small Boutique Hotels 33:42 What Makes Hotels Win 35:48 Misreading Data 37:08 Short Term Rentals Shift Demand 39:39 Hotel Brands Adapt 43:06 Generations Shaping Travel 46:00 AI in Hospitality 51:11 Suite Summary ⁠Connect with Jan:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Jan on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠: linkedin.com/in/janfreitag