Hotel investors are more confident about the lodging sector now than they were in late 2016, according to new research from JLL. The firm’s North America Hotel Investor Sentiment Survey collected more than 5,000 data points from hotel investors to measure their expectations for 2018.

“Investor sentiment notched a notable increase in early 2018, resulting in a more optimistic environment than we’ve seen in a number of quarters,” said Arthur Adler, Americas chairman at JLL’s hotels and hospitality group. “Strong RevPAR trends, a robust macroeconomy, the rising stock market, and corporate confidence from tax reform and other governmental initiatives have helped fuel investors’ confidence. In addition, hotels provide favorable, strong risk-adjusted returns and a hedge against inflation.”

Investors expressed a more confident outlook for three-quarters of the North American markets in the survey, versus one year ago. Los Angeles; Washington, D.C.; an