Host Hotels & Resorts, America’s largest lodging real estate investment trust, has completed the $1.1 billion sale of two premier luxury properties – the 444-room Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World® Resort and the 125-room Four Seasons Resort and Residences Jackson Hole in Wyoming. The transaction, announced on 18 February 2026, marks one of the most significant single asset disposals in the US luxury hotel market so far this year.
The Bethesda-headquartered REIT acquired the two resorts in 2021 and 2022 for a combined $925 million. The disposal delivers an 11.0% unlevered internal rate of return over Host’s ownership period and a 14.9x trailing twelve-month EBITDA multiple – a figure the company notes is significantly higher than its own current trading multiple on public markets.
President and CEO James Risoleo described the sale as “another important step in advancing our capital allocation strategy,” adding that the proceeds would further strengthen what the company calls its “fortress balance sheet.” Host closed the first quarter of 2026 already holding $2.4 billion in total available liquidity, a 2.6x leverage ratio, and no debt maturities due this year.
Exiting ahead of costly capex
A key element of the deal’s economics is the capital expenditure Host will no longer need to fund. The company estimates that approximately $88 million in capital investment would have been required at the two properties over the next five years – costs that now pass to the buyer and are factored into the EBITDA multiple calculation.
This pattern is deliberate. Host has systematically disposed of properties facing substantial near-term capital requirements, freeing its workforce and operational resources for reinvestment in higher-performing assets. The January 2026 sale of the 232-room St. Regis Houston for $51 million – at a 25.0x EBITDA multiple – followed the same logic: approximately $49 million in avoided future capex made the disposal arithmetic compelling.
For HR and operational leaders, the capex avoidance strategy carries direct workforce implications. Major renovation programmes typically generate significant disruption to hotel staffing – temporary redundancies, retraining demands, and the complex task of maintaining service standards through construction phases. Exiting these assets before such cycles begin effectively transfers those workforce management challenges to incoming owners.
Eight years of disciplined recycling
The Orlando and Jackson Hole sales continue a long-running pattern of portfolio recycling that has reshaped Host’s asset base considerably. Since 2018, the company has disposed of approximately $6.4 billion in hotels at a blended 16.7x EBITDA multiple, compared with $4.9 billion in acquisitions over the same period at a 13.6x blended multiple. Selling consistently above acquisition cost – by roughly three EBITDA turns on average – has given Host a structural financial advantage over peers.
This discipline is now translating into balance sheet strength that provides meaningful strategic optionality. Proceeds from the Four Seasons sale are expected to generate an approximately $500 million capital gain. If Host cannot complete a tax-efficient like-kind exchange into a qualifying acquisition, it has indicated it would distribute the gain to shareholders. The company has not assumed any new acquisitions in its 2026 guidance, suggesting management is content to hold dry powder while market conditions evolve.
Workforce economics under pressure
The sale comes as Host disclosed significant wage cost pressures running across its entire portfolio. The company forecasts wage rates will rise approximately 5% in 2026, following growth of slightly over 6% in 2025. Wages and benefits represent roughly 50% of comparable hotel operating expenses, making labour the single largest cost variable in the company’s margin outlook.
This context matters for hospitality HR leaders across the sector. Host’s 2026 comparable hotel EBITDA margin guidance of approximately 29.2% – flat to 2025 – reflects a deliberate effort to neutralise wage inflation through operational productivity improvements negotiated with brand operators. The company has ongoing transformational capital programmes with both Hyatt and Marriott International specifically structured to generate improved operating performance and protect margins against cost headwinds.
What comes next
The Four Seasons Orlando condo development adjacent to the resort is excluded from the sale and continues under Host’s ownership. Twenty-eight of 40 units are now sold or under contract, with eight villas scheduled to complete construction in the first half of 2026, representing a continuing revenue stream independent of the hotel disposal.
Looking further ahead, the Sheraton Parsippany is also under contract to sell for $15 million, with completion expected in the first half of this year. Combined with the Four Seasons and St. Regis Houston transactions, Host will have disposed of four properties in the opening months of 2026 alone – a pace of activity that signals management confidence in current deal valuations while the luxury travel environment remains robust.
Risoleo noted during the company’s Q4 2025 earnings call that Host remains “optimistic about the state of travel for luxury and upper-upscale hotels, as affluent consumers continue to prioritise spending on experiences.” That tailwind, combined with a strengthened balance sheet and reduced capex burden, positions the company to move quickly if acquisition opportunities emerge at compelling multiples – likely the defining strategic question for the remainder of 2026.
