Sunstone Lifts 2026 RevPAR Outlook to 9.5%-10.5% After Q3

Sunstone Hotel Investors raised its full-year 2026 RevPAR growth forecast again on Nov. 6, to a range of 9.5% to 10.5%, up from 7% to 9%. If you benchmark your hotel against REIT results, the headline needs one adjustment first: a big piece of Sunstone’s growth comes from a single renovated resort.

That is the takeaway from the lodging REIT’s third-quarter results. Sunstone owns 13 hotels with about 6,200 rooms, so its numbers describe one 13-hotel portfolio, not the U.S. market.

The quarter at a glance

• RevPAR up 11.4% to $235.22 across the 13 hotels, on an average daily rate of $323.55 and 72.7% occupancy.
• Excluding Andaz Miami Beach, RevPAR rose 10.3%, to $238.48.
• Total RevPAR up 10.5% to $394.97, or 9.6% excluding Andaz Miami Beach.
• Net income attributable to common stockholders was $38.7 million, or $0.21 a diluted share, compared with a net loss of $2.9 million a year earlier.

Strip out the renovation before you compare

Sunstone says Andaz Miami Beach went through a “transformational renovation” during 2025, so its 2026 results at that hotel are not comparable to last year’s. The company expects the resort alone to add about 450 basis points to full-year RevPAR growth.

That matters if you use REIT numbers as a yardstick. A hotel that was partly closed or disrupted last year will post an outsized gain this year without any change in the underlying market. Sunstone’s own ex-Andaz figure, 10.3% for the quarter, is the better comparison for a stabilized hotel. Even that is a strong number, which the company credits to demand across segments and to its recent investments.

The same logic runs the other way. Sunstone said hotel margins excluding Andaz rose 50 basis points to 26.7%, and would have risen about 200 basis points without Hilton Key West Resort & Marina, which was under renovation in the quarter, and one-time items.

Where the money is going

Sunstone invested $76.6 million in its hotels in the first nine months of 2026 and expects to spend about $105 million to $115 million for the full year. Most of that is tied to the completed meeting-space renovation at Hilton San Diego Bayfront, renovation work at Hilton Key West Resort & Marina and storm-related restoration at Wailea Beach Resort.

It has also been buying back stock. From the start of the year through Nov. 5, Sunstone put $196.9 million, before expenses, into repurchases of its common and preferred shares, with $310.6 million of authorization left. The company says it redeployed proceeds from asset sales into the buybacks and that they were done at a discount. It sold the Hyatt Regency San Francisco in July.

On the balance sheet, Sunstone had $955.0 million of debt at Sept. 30 at a weighted average rate of 5.22%, including interest-rate swaps it entered in October, and no debt maturities until January 2028.

What management said

“Given our strong performance in the quarter and our revised expectations for near-term trends, we are once again increasing our full year outlook,” CEO Bryan Giglia said in the release. He added that the company is “encouraged by the trends we are seeing for next year, with robust group pace, further recovery in certain of our markets, and additional contribution from our investment activity.”

Sunstone also raised its total RevPAR growth forecast to 8.5% to 9.5%, from 7% to 9%. Guidance is a company forecast, not a result.

What it means for owners

• Adjust for renovations before benchmarking. When a REIT reports a big RevPAR jump, check how much comes from hotels that were closed or under renovation a year earlier. Sunstone discloses its ex-Andaz numbers, and they are the fair comparison.
• Renovation drag shows up in margins, too. Sunstone’s Key West work held back its margin gain in the quarter. Budget for that if you have a renovation coming.
• Group business is the forward signal. Management pointed to group pace for 2027. If your hotel depends on meetings, check your own pace against your comp set now.
• Debt timing matters. Sunstone’s 5.22% average rate includes swaps it entered in October, and it has no maturities until 2028. Owners with floating-rate loans or near-term maturities should compare their position. See our look at what a December rate move means for your hotel loan.

For market context, see our San Diego hotel market and Miami hotel market reports, and our roundup of third-quarter brand results.

Source: Sunstone Hotel Investors, third-quarter 2026 results, Nov. 6, 2026.