Every so often an interview is also a reunion. Before he led the Boston University School of Hospitality Real Estate Program, Kaushik Vardharajan spent fifteen years at HVS, the global consulting firm focused exclusively on the hospitality industry. For this interview, Kaushik sits down with Rod Clough, who is now running it across the Americas. This episode of the Distinguished Podcast was recorded on the road at the NYU International Hospitality Investment Forum in New York City. Rod Clough, President of the Americas for HVS, built his career over more than three decades. With some of the deepest data in the industry behind him, Rod shares: Why this year&#x27;s performance has surprised almost everyone Where the opportunities lie well beyond the headlines How to leverage AI while maintaining expert judgment at the heart of a valuation Email us at shadean@bu.edu The “Distinguished” podcast is produced by Boston University School of Hospitality Administration. Host: Arun Upneja, Dean Producer: Mara Littman, Executive Director of Strategic Operations and Corporate Relations Research and Content Creation: Lan Lu Marketing: Anne Dawson Editing: Isabella Laikin and James Leon Music: “Airport Lounge&quot; Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Rod Clough: 2026 Hotel Market Outlook, RevPAR, and AI in Valuation

Distinguished | Hospitality Leadership Podcast with Dean Upneja 

Every so often, an interview is also a reunion. Before he led a real estate program, Arun Upneja spent 15 years at HBS, the global consulting firm focused exclusively on the hospitality industry. For this interview, Kaushik sits down with the man now running it across the Americas. This is the Distinguished Podcast from the Boston University School of Hospitality Administration.

Recorded on the road at the NYU International Hospitality Investment Forum in New York City. Our guest is Rod Clough, President of the Americas for HBS, who has built his career there over more than three decades. With some of the deepest data in the industry behind him, Rod explains why this year's performance has surprised almost everyone, where he sees opportunities well beyond the headline markets.

What brokers and clients are really feeling, and how HBS is leading into AI without giving up the human judgment at the heart of evaluation. Here is the conversation. Rod Clough, President of the Americas for HBS. Rod, such a pleasure to have you. Thank you for joining us. Thank you for having me. Pleasure to be here.

And Rod, you've spent 31 years at HBS. I personally have known you for 26. So we go way back. And it's incredible what you have done at HBS over those 31 years. Thank you. And I still remember how much I enjoyed working with you and working for you. So this is even more of a pleasure to have you on this podcast. Thank you. Thank you. So Rod, we'll dive right into it. Perfect.

Rod Clough: 2026 Hotel Market Outlook, RevPAR, and AI in Valuation

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.

Rod Clough: 2026 Hotel Market Outlook, RevPAR, and AI in Valuation

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast, not the earnings call.

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.