Hotel companies have taken a hard look at their balance sheets and are now implementing strategies on how to spend their cash. Executives from Starwood, Rezidor, Jumeirah, Marriott and Hilton talked development at the International Hotel Investment Forum in Berlin.

Diane Morefield, previously CFO of Equity International, will assume her new responsibilities on April 12 in Chicago.

Roger Bootle, managing director of Capital Economics Ltd., told attendees at the International Hotel Investment Forum that the world should expect seven "quite profound" consequences of the economic recession.

Hotel investment players warn that issues looming outside the industry could further hamper the recovery.

"We believe this is the first capital of its kind to come out. This move signals the new beginning of CMBS in regards to the hotel real estate sector," said John Stueber, president of Summit Capital.

As mortgage lending builds its reputation as a viable investment based on an improving risk/return profile, traditional lenders have re-entered the space in search of high-quality senior lending opportunities.

As the weeks of the new decade advance, the forward economic motion observed in most markets is encouraging. But the rate of travel for property markets is very different across the world.

Hunter Realty Associates is listing the 124-room Holiday Inn & Suites Front Royal at Blue Ridge Shadows Resort in Virginia for $15.5 million.

According to findings from Jones Lang LaSalle's 2010 Lenders' Production Expectations Survey, 43 percent of respondents expect their loan production to range from $2 billion to $4 billion in 2010.

Prior to joining HREC, Lukens served as SVP for Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels and VP of acquisitions for Wyndham Worldwide, acquiring property for their timeshare group.