Host Hotels & Resorts recorded a 7% year-over-year increase in comparable hotel revenue per available room (RevPAR) in the second quarter of 2026, driven by aggressive rate management and strong demand linked to the FIFA World Cup and a market recovery in Maui.
Q2 2026 Earnings and Revenue Growth
The company’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDAre) rose 5.8% to $525 million in Q2 2026. Adjusted funds from operations (FFO) per share climbed 8.6% to $0.63. Comparable hotel EBITDA margin expanded 60 basis points to 31.9%, supported by lower fixed costs combined with the top-line revenue gains.
Host Hotels CEO Jim Risoleo credited
a targeted revenue management strategy emphasizing rate increases across its luxury resorts, especially in markets hosting FIFA World Cup matches. “The rate‑driven RevPAR growth was not an accident. That was a revenue management strategy we employed across the portfolio,” Risoleo said.
Impact of World Cup and Group Demand
The FIFA World Cup contributed about 160 basis points to the quarter’s RevPAR growth. Hotels in World Cup host cities experienced a 15% increase in RevPAR in June 2026, while non-host markets saw a 12% improvement. Transient revenue, the largest revenue category, rose 7% despite a slight decline in room nights, reflecting higher average daily rates.
Business transient room
nights at the New York Marriott Marquis increased 14%, resulting in a 4% growth in business transient revenue driven by demand from the technology, consulting, and finance sectors. Group room revenue grew 7%, equally split between rate gains and room-night growth. The company sold 1.1 million group room nights in Q2 2026 and had 3.8 million definite group room nights booked for 2026, an 8% gain from March.
Host Hotels CFO Sourav Ghosh noted the company secured 210,000 group room nights for the remainder of 2026 in the second quarter, surpassing the 167,000 booked during the same period in 2025,
with corporate groups contributing two-thirds of this increase.
Maui Market Recovery and Resort Performance
Resort RevPAR increased 9%, led by strong gains in Maui, 1 Hotel South Beach, and Florida Gulf Coast properties. Maui hotels achieved a 14% rise in RevPAR and occupancy improved by over eight percentage points. Golf revenue in Maui also exceeded pre-wildfire levels by 9%. Host Hotels projects the Maui portfolio will contribute approximately $120 million in EBITDA for 2026, with an additional $20 million to $25 million potential as the market stabilizes.
Host Hotels has trimmed full-year condo EBITDA guidance at the Four Seasons Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort to
between $16 million and $20 million due to some condominium closings shifting into 2027. In Q2, 28 of 40 condo units closed, generating $8 million of EBITDA.
Outlook and Capital Allocation
Following the strong first half and optimistic expectations for the remainder of 2026, Host Hotels raised its comparable hotel RevPAR growth forecast to between 4.75% and 5.25%. The adjusted EBITDAre midpoint forecast increased by $20 million to $1.83 billion. The company anticipates comparable hotel EBITDA margin expansion of 40 to 50 basis points for the full year.
July comparable hotel RevPAR is expected to rise about 10% year-over-year, with roughly three percentage points
attributable to the World Cup. Group bookings for the fourth quarter holidays, including Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, are pacing with double-digit growth. Host Hotels forecasts mid-single-digit RevPAR growth for the third and fourth quarters, with full-year rate growth near 4% and occupancy increasing by 60 basis points.
Comparable hotel expenses are expected to grow 4.2% in 2026, below the 5% wage-rate increase, due to productivity improvements and efficiency gains. Property insurance renewal results produced a 6% expense reduction, saving $2.5 million.
Host Hotels completed the sale of Sheraton Parsippany for roughly $12 million in Q2 as part of its
strategy to divest lower-growth assets. In July 2026, it distributed a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share and a special dividend of $0.72 per share, representing the $500 million taxable gain from the sale of Four Seasons resorts.
The company’s $2.1 billion reinvestment program remains on schedule and under budget, with the Hyatt Transformational Capital Program nearly 90% complete and Marriott’s second renovation program 37% finished. Host Hotels’ balance sheet showed leverage at 2.2 times after the July dividend, with $3 billion in available liquidity and weighted-average debt maturity of 4.7 years at a 4.8% interest rate.
Risoleo emphasized disciplined
capital deployment amid acquisition opportunities, stating, “The bar remains high. The math needs to work on an unlevered IRR basis.” He highlighted the 1 Hotel South Beach where EBITDA is expected to exceed $65 million this year, up from $35 million previously.
Host Hotels generated total revenues of $1.64 billion in Q2 2026 and $3.29 billion in the first half of the year, a 3.3% increase compared to 2025. Net income rose 7.1% to $241 million in the quarter and jumped 55.9% to $742 million year-to-date. Diluted earnings per share reached $0.35 in Q2 and $1.06 in the first half.
