RLJ Raises 2026 Outlook After Third Straight Quarter of Lifts

The Tip Desk · November 11, 2026 · 3 min read

Comparable RevPAR growth reached 9.7% in the third quarter, and the trust now sees full-year comparable RevPAR growth of 5.75% to 6.25%.

RLJ Lodging Trust (RLJ), a self-advised REIT of urban hotels, raised its full-year 2026 outlook for a third consecutive quarter after comparable RevPAR growth accelerated to 9.7% in the three months ended September 30, 2026, from 6.8% in the second quarter and 4.8% in the first.

The company now expects full-year comparable RevPAR growth of 5.75% to 6.25% and comparable Hotel EBITDA of $377 million to $383 million. Those two outlooks exclude seven Chicago Midway hotels sold after the quarter. It also expects adjusted EBITDA of $352 million to $358 million and adjusted FFO of $1.47 to $1.51 a diluted share and unit.

Comparable RevPAR was $153.36, up from $139.82 a year earlier. Average daily rate rose 6.4% to $203.35 and occupancy rose 3.1% to 75.4%. President and Chief Executive Officer Leslie D. Hale said business travel led the acceleration, with leisure and group demand also contributing, and that the company outpaced the industry on both demand and rate.

Comparable hotel revenue was $354.5 million, up 9.1% from a year earlier. Total revenue was $354.5 million. Non-room revenues rose 6.5%, which the company attributed to corporate transient and group demand and to return-on-investment initiatives.

Profitability widened faster than the top line. Comparable Hotel EBITDA was $93.9 million, up 17.5% from $79.9 million a year earlier, and the comparable Hotel EBITDA margin expanded 190 basis points to 26.5%. Adjusted EBITDA was $85.2 million, up 17.3%. Adjusted FFO was $0.34 a diluted common share and unit, up 25.9%. Hale said disciplined cost control allowed Hotel EBITDA to grow at nearly twice the pace of revenues.

Net income was $4.6 million, versus a $3.8 million net loss a year earlier.

The company said it is updating its full-year outlook to incorporate third-quarter outperformance and an improved fourth-quarter outlook, citing strong preliminary October results and an expectation that positive trends will carry into the remainder of the year.

In October 2026, RLJ completed the sale of seven hotels near Chicago Midway Airport for $110.0 million, a 13.8x multiple of forecasted 2026 Hotel EBITDA, or 16.1x including required capital expenditures. The company provided $20.0 million of seller financing.

As of September 30, 2026, the company had over $1.0 billion of total liquidity, including approximately $448.3 million of unrestricted cash and $600.0 million available under its revolving credit facility, with $2.2 billion of debt outstanding.

The board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.15 a common share, paid October 15, 2026, and a third-quarter dividend of $0.4875 on Series A preferred shares, paid October 30, 2026.

The full-year outlook also includes net interest expense of $101.0 million to $103.0 million, cash corporate G&A of $34.5 million to $35.5 million, renovation capital expenditures of $80.0 million to $90.0 million, and diluted weighted-average common shares and units of 151.7 million. Potential acquisitions, dispositions, financings, or share repurchases are not incorporated and could change the outlook materially.