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Podcast: No Vacancy Live!
Episode: How First Hospitality Plans for 2026 | David Duncan & Marissa Ballan
Description: Margin pressure. Rate uncertainty. Shifting investor expectations. Welcome to 2026 planning season. During The Lodging Conference, I spoke with David Duncan, President & CEO of First Hospitality, and Marissa Ballan, Chief Investment Officer, about how their team approaches the next phase of the hotel cycle — with discipline, data, and confidence. Here's what stood out: 👉 First Hospitality has spent months renegotiating contracts and sharpening cost control to offset margin compression. 👉 The company's revenue management and analytics platform helped 76% of its hotels grow share last month—even longtime assets. 👉 Investors see 2025–2026 as a transition period, with falling rates e...