Braemar Reports 14.4% Growth in Comparable RevPAR in Third Quarter
Key Facts
Braemar Hotels & Resorts said comparable revenue per available room (RevPAR) rose 14.4% year over year to $284 in the third quarter of 2026, marking the second-highest reading for the period in the company's history. The company said in its results that the only higher reading came during the sector's post-pandemic recovery in 2022. Growth came as both average daily rate and occupancy improved, lifting hotel operating revenue. But the results also included a large net loss tied to a fee for terminating the external advisory agreement. The company's BHR shares closed at $1.54 on November 5, 2026.
Comparable average daily rate rose 8.6% from the year-earlier period to $419, while comparable occupancy increased 5.3% to 67.9%, the company said. The combination of higher rates and occupancy indicates that RevPAR growth did not rely on either factor alone. Broader revenue measures also improved: comparable total RevPAR rose 10% to $452. Comparable hotel revenue increased 9.9% to $95.2 million. The gains therefore extended from revenue per available room to total hotel revenue during the quarter.
Comparable operating profitability measures improved alongside revenue: comparable hotel EBITDA was $12.9 million, up 20.7% from the third quarter of the prior year. Comparable EBITDA margin widened 122 basis points to 13.6%. By contrast, Adjusted EBITDAre was about $3.9 million, compared with $16.4 million a year earlier. The company said the comparison was affected by the prior period including hotels that have since been sold, and noted that the third quarter is traditionally the least profitable because of the portfolio's seasonality. The differing earnings measures reflect the effects of portfolio scope and the timing of asset sales, alongside the performance of comparable hotels.
By property type, comparable RevPAR at urban properties rose 23.3% to $211, outpacing the 5.9% increase to $457 at resort properties. The figures show a clear difference in the pace of improvement between the two categories, while revenue per room remained higher at resort properties. At the net level, the company posted a loss attributable to common shareholders of $240.9 million, or $3.51 per diluted share. The year-earlier quarter's loss was $8.2 million, or $0.12 per diluted share. The company said the difference was mainly due to a $480 million termination fee payable to the external adviser recorded during the quarter.
The fee stems from Braemar's transition to self-management, announced on June 12, 2026, after a strategic review in which it decided to terminate its advisory agreement with Ashford and directly employ the management team. The company estimated that directly employing the team would reduce general and administrative expenses by more than $25 million annually once the transition is complete. In its third-quarter results, it said it still targets completing the move to a self-managed REIT in mid-November 2026. The target completion date followed the closing of the sale of Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale, which was completed on October 28 for $372 million. The plan places expense reductions within a reshaping of the company's structure after the sale.
In a subsequent financing move, Braemar refinanced the mortgage on The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe, on October 30 with a new $60 million loan at a floating rate of SOFR + 2.65%. The company said its nearest hard debt maturity moved to December 2028 after the financing was completed. Net debt to total assets was 33.3% at the end of the third quarter. The developments combine the sale of one resort with the refinancing of another property as the company prepares to complete its targeted management transition in mid-November. BHR shares closed at $1.54 in the November 5 session, according to EL7 data.