South Florida Hospitality Market 2026: What Smart Buyers Are Doing Right Now

The Florida Hospitality Market Just Broke Into Two Very Different Stories

Let's get right to it. If you're watching the Florida hospitality market right now — whether you're a buyer, a seller, or just someone who owns a hotel and wonders what it's worth — the picture in 2026 is genuinely fascinating. And a little complicated.

Here's the short version: coastal and resort assets are absolutely on fire. Urban, convention-dependent, and group-travel properties? They're grinding through some real headwinds. Same state. Same year. Two completely different markets.

So what does that mean for you? Let's break it down.

The Numbers That Actually Matter Right Now

Florida's Average Daily Rate hit $196.41 in Q2 2025 — a 3% year-over-year increase. That might sound modest, but stack it against where rates were pre-pandemic and you're looking at a fundamentally different market. Florida's ADR has gone from lagging the national average to matching it — and in premium coastal markets, exceeding it.

RevPAR (Revenue Per Available Room, for the uninitiated) came in at $134.97 in Q2 2025 — also up 3% year-over-year. But here's where it gets interesting: CBRE is projecting RevPAR in Fort Lauderdale to be 16.5% above 2019 pre-pandemic levels. Miami? 21.7% above. West Palm Beach? 28.4% above.

That's not a recovery. That's a new, higher baseline.

And occupancy? Sitting at 67.4% in Q2 2025 — slightly down from the prior year, but that's seasonal. The five-year trend is clear: Florida hotels are running hotter than they were before COVID, and the gap with national averages has closed dramatically.

What the Deerfield Beach Market Is Telling You

Let's zoom into Deerfield Beach specifically, because this market is a perfect case study in what's happening across South Florida's mid-market hospitality segment.

The 221-room DoubleTree by Hilton Deerfield Beach-Boca Raton changed hands in late 2022 after the seller, Vista Hospitality, had poured over $7 million in capital improvements into the property since 2018. DoveHill Capital Management came in as the acquirer, with Berkadia Hotels facilitating both the sale and the acquisition financing.

So what does that deal tell you? A few things.

First: value-add hospitality works in this market. You put real capital into a property, you improve the asset, and you attract institutional buyers willing to pay for what you've built. That's not luck — that's strategy.

Second: Deerfield Beach sits in a sweet spot. It's not Miami (where prices are stratospheric and competition is brutal). It's not a secondary market that gets overlooked. It's central southern Broward County — close to Fort Lauderdale, close to Boca Raton, with three major expressways and a beach. That's a genuinely attractive hospitality location.

The Big Deal That's Setting the Tone: Blackstone's $153M Fort Lauderdale Play

You want to understand where institutional money thinks this market is going? Look at what Blackstone just did.

Blackstone paid $153 million total — $97.7 million for the property and $55 million for hotel operations — to acquire the 346-room W Fort Lauderdale from Related Fund Management. That works out to roughly $469,000 per room.

Let that sink in for a second. Nearly half a million dollars per key for a South Florida oceanfront hotel. And Blackstone's spokesperson said this reflects their strategy to "play offense in today's market" with "continued conviction in leisure hospitality and travel."

When Blackstone is playing offense in South Florida hospitality, you pay attention.

This isn't a one-off. The $835 million sale of the Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood in 2023 set a regional benchmark. Institutional capital is flowing into South Florida hospitality at a pace that should make every independent hotel owner in Broward and Palm Beach counties sit up and think seriously about their exit strategy.

Why Supply Constraints Are Your Secret Weapon (If You Own)

Here's something that doesn't get talked about enough: new hotel supply in Florida is constrained. Rooms under construction dropped from 50,161 to 46,599 in Q2 2025 — a 7% quarter-over-quarter decrease. And analysts are projecting supply growth of less than 1% annually over the next three years.

Why? High construction costs. Elevated interest rates. Potential tariffs on materials. Labor shortages. The math on building new hotels just doesn't pencil out the way it used to.

What does that mean for existing owners? Your asset is scarcer than it was two years ago. When demand stays strong and supply stays constrained, pricing power goes to the seller. That's basic economics — and right now, it's working in your favor.

The Bifurcation Problem: Not Every Hotel Is Winning

Real talk: not every hospitality asset in Florida is crushing it right now. The market is bifurcating, and if you're on the wrong side of that split, you need to know it.

Urban, convention-dependent, and group-travel properties are facing genuine headwinds. Reduced government spending, softer corporate travel demand, and the lingering effects of higher interest rates on group bookings are all creating pressure. Ashford Hospitality Trust — which reported a $215 million net loss for fiscal year 2025 — is actively selling 18 hotels to deleverage, including Florida properties like the Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront (expected at $96M) and Embassy Suites Palm Beach Gardens ($41M).

That's not a market collapse. That's a market sorting itself out. The assets that are winning are winning big. The ones that aren't are getting repriced.

If you own a hospitality business in South Florida, the most important question you can ask right now is: which side of that bifurcation am I on?

What Buyers Should Be Doing Right Now in South Florida

If you're a buyer looking at hospitality assets in markets like Deerfield Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, or Boca Raton, here's the honest assessment: the window for finding undervalued coastal assets is narrowing.

Institutional capital is already in the market. RevPAR is rising. Supply is constrained. The 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Summer Olympics are going to drive demand spikes that will make current valuations look conservative in hindsight.

The buyers who are winning right now are the ones who are moving on off-market deals, working with brokers who have direct relationships with owners, and not waiting for a price correction that may not come in the coastal segment.

Good South Florida hospitality deals do not sit on the market.

The Real Talk

Florida's hospitality market in 2026 is one of the most interesting acquisition environments in the country — if you know where to look and you're working with people who actually understand the market. The data is clear: coastal assets are outperforming, supply is constrained, and institutional buyers are paying premium prices for quality properties.

Whether you're a seller trying to figure out what your hotel or hospitality business is worth, or a buyer looking for your next acquisition in Deerfield Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, or anywhere across South Florida — Sun Biz Broker is the team you want in your corner. Get a real valuation, explore your options, and make a move before the market makes it for you. Visit sunbizbroker.com or reach out directly to start the conversation.