Ask any experienced real estate operator or investor about the four main property types and the following will roll effortlessly off their tongues: office, industrial, retail and residential. Noticeably missing is hotel real estate.

Though it would be a stretch to insist the four major property types be expanded to five to accommodate hotels, it is worth noting that hotel fundamentals have never been better — despite a formidable onslaught from Airbnb, VBRO and other members of lodging’s shared economy. What’s more, there is every reason to believe hotel economics will get better yet, as tourism (especially from Asia) continues to explode, with the United States being one the chief destinations.

Deloitte research found that, from 2009 to 2017, U.S. hotel gross bookings grew from $116 billion to $185 billion, and Oxford Economics reports more than 2,200 new hotels, motels, inns and bed-and-breakfasts were added over the past three years, bringing the number of U.S