Xenia Hotels & Resorts NYSE: XHR reported first-quarter 2026 results that management said exceeded expectations across key metrics, driven by strength in both group and transient demand—particularly in March—along with continued momentum at the Grand Hyatt Scottsdale Resort following a major renovation.
First-quarter results beat expectations
Chair and CEO Marcel Verbaas said the company delivered “strong first quarter 2026 results that exceeded our expectations across all key metrics.” Xenia posted net income of $19.8 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $81.4 million, which Verbaas said was up nearly 12% year-over-year. Adjusted FFO per share was $0.63, up 23.5% compared to the first quarter of 2025.
On a Same-Property basis, RevPAR rose 7.4% year-over-year, supported by a 180-basis-point increase in occupancy and 4.8% ADR growth. Same-Property total RevPAR increased 7.2% to $370.13, reflecting what Verbaas described as continued growth in non-room revenues. Same-Property food and beverage revenue rose 6.2%, while other revenues increased nearly 11%.
Same-Property hotel EBITDA increased 17.9% to $87.8 million, and Same-Property hotel EBITDA margin expanded 270 basis points to 29.7%, which Verbaas attributed to “significant growth in rooms revenues…combined with disciplined expense management.”
Demand trends: strong group and transient, March standout
President and COO Barry Bloom said Same-Property RevPAR for the 30-hotel portfolio was $205.93, supported by 71.4% occupancy and ADR of $288.62. He highlighted March as the strongest month of the quarter, with RevPAR rising 14.3% year-over-year as occupancy increased 540 basis points and ADR climbed 6.5%.
Management described strength across both group and transient segments. Verbaas said group rooms revenues increased more than 7% year-over-year, while transient room revenues grew approximately 7%, “primarily driven by extremely strong performance in March” as Easter timing and early April dynamics appeared to pull corporate transient and leisure demand into March.
Bloom said group nights rose 2.5% for the quarter, with group ADR up 4.4%. He also pointed to broad improvements by day of week, noting weekday occupancy increased 210 basis points and weekend occupancy increased 110 basis points. RevPAR on Wednesday nights was up 11% for the quarter.
In Q&A, Bloom said the company has seen improvement in both corporate demand and leisure, noting a “relatively even mix between what weekdays were up and what weekends were up,” which the company uses to gauge the balance between business and leisure drivers.
Market performance and property-level highlights
Bloom pointed to several properties with double-digit RevPAR growth in the quarter, led by Grand Hyatt Scottsdale (up 46.2%). Other notable gainers included Kimpton Hotel Monaco Salt Lake City (up 27.2%), Andaz Savannah (up 16.4%), Hyatt Regency Santa Clara (up 14.7%), Grand Bohemian Hotel Mountain Brook (up 13.9%), and Kimpton Canary Hotel Santa Barbara (up 12%).
Verbaas said performance was broad-based, with RevPAR and total RevPAR increases in 15 of Xenia’s 22 markets. He cited double-digit percentage total RevPAR growth in markets including Salt Lake City, Birmingham, Portland, Santa Clara, Santa Barbara, and Houston.
Management also reiterated that some weaker year-over-year comparisons were anticipated. Verbaas pointed to properties that lapped one-time events from last year, such as the Super Bowl in New Orleans and the presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C., as well as properties impacted by capital projects and weather, including Fairmont Pittsburgh and W Nashville.
At Grand Hyatt Scottsdale Resort, Verbaas said the property produced record first-quarter revenues and hotel EBITDA as it continues to stabilize after its renovation. He said the resort has executed “occupancy driven ramp-up plans” that generated significant transient volume to complement increasing group demand, contributing to record results across outlets including food and beverage, spa, recreation, parking, and other revenues.
Capital projects: W Nashville outlets relaunch and ongoing renovations
Xenia reiterated its expectation to spend $70 million to $80 million on property improvements in 2026. In the first quarter, the company invested $15.2 million in portfolio improvements, Bloom said.
Verbaas said the company completed the M Club renovation at Marriott Dallas Downtown and finished the guest room renovation at Fairmont Pittsburgh “as planned with limited disruption” and on budget.
A major focus for the quarter was the reconcepting of food and beverage outlets at W Nashville through an agreement with José Andrés Group. Bloom said the outlets include:
- Zaytinya, an Eastern Mediterranean concept serving lunch and dinner
- Bar Mar, a seafood and premium meat dinner concept
- Butterfly, a rooftop bar with a Mexican-inspired menu
- Glowbird, a pool deck concept with expanded bar and upgraded offerings
Bloom said all reconcepted outlets opened in the first quarter except Glowbird, which opened in late April, and that the projects were completed on time and within budget. Verbaas said initial customer feedback has been “extremely positive.”
In Q&A, Bloom discussed W Nashville’s positioning in The Gulch and said the new outlets provide additional opportunity in private dining and small-group business. Verbaas added that the company expects “incremental EBITDA of…somewhere between $3 million-$5 million over time” from the outlet changes, with a longer-term view of reaching “somewhere in the low $20 million over time of EBITDA” at the property, noting it is difficult to set an exact timeline.
Bloom also said the company continues work on planned guest room and corridor renovations expected to begin in the fourth quarter at Andaz Napa and The Ritz-Carlton, Denver, along with infrastructure upgrades across 10 hotels this year.
Balance sheet and updated 2026 outlook
EVP and CFO Atish Shah said Xenia ended the quarter with approximately $1.4 billion of outstanding debt, with just over three-quarters fixed rate inclusive of hedges and a weighted average interest rate of 5.5%. The company’s leverage ratio was approximately 4.8x trailing 12-month net debt to EBITDA, and Shah said management expects leverage to decline as Grand Hyatt Scottsdale stabilizes, with a long-term target of sub-4x.
Shah said the company paid off a $52 million mortgage loan at The Grand Bohemian Orlando using cash on hand and made a $6.3 million principal payment on the Andaz Napa mortgage loan in March to bring it back into covenant compliance. He noted 28 of 30 hotels are free of property-level debt. Liquidity at quarter-end totaled over $600 million, consisting of over $100 million of cash and an undrawn $500 million line of credit.
The company paid a first-quarter dividend of $0.14 per share in April, which Shah said equates to an annualized yield of over 3% if maintained.
Given first-quarter outperformance, Xenia raised its full-year guidance. Shah said full-year RevPAR is now expected to increase 2.75% to 5.25%, and total RevPAR is expected to rise 3.75% to 6.25%. Full-year adjusted EBITDAre guidance increased by $6 million to $266 million at the midpoint, reflecting a $7 million increase to hotel EBITDA offset by $1 million higher G&A. The company’s AFFO per share forecast increased by $0.06 to $1.94 at the midpoint, which management said would represent about 10% growth versus 2025 at the midpoint.
While management said business trends have been strong, Shah noted the company is trimming expectations for the RevPAR lift from special events, reducing a prior estimate of 75 basis points to a range of 25 to 50 basis points. He said the expected World Cup benefit has “come in,” citing reduced visibility and group block “wash,” with about half of prior group business remaining on the books over the event period. Shah said ADR on currently booked business for game days is up about 50% versus last year, but he expects it could moderate as the event approaches, adding that less than half of inventory is booked on game days at the six impacted hotels.
Despite that special-events adjustment, Shah said other business trends are expected to make up the difference, and he emphasized the strength as being more “durable” than one-time event-driven demand.
Looking at near-term trends, Verbaas said the company estimated April Same-Property RevPAR increased nearly 6% year-over-year and said operators were reporting continued positive momentum. He also said the combined March/April performance implied over 10% estimated RevPAR growth when adjusting for Easter timing, with resorts benefiting “a bit” due to safety concerns in Mexico and weather conditions in Hawaii.
About Xenia Hotels & Resorts NYSE: XHR
Xenia Hotels & Resorts is a self-administered real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in owning, operating and acquiring premium full-service hotels across the United States. The company's portfolio emphasizes upper-upscale and luxury properties, partnering with leading hotel brands to deliver a distinctive guest experience while targeting markets with strong leisure and corporate demand.
Founded as a spin-off from Marriott International in September 2016, Xenia has built a diversified collection of full-service hotels and resorts in key U.S.
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