About $31B of CMBS loans backed by hotels are set to mature by 2024—roughly 30% of the total of nearly $102B in securitized hotel loans in the US—and some hotels that rely on business travel and conferences are facing a reckoning as lenders demand more capital from them to refinance—or tell them not to come back at all.

Many hotel loans are floating-rate packages with three-year terms, giving hotel owners more exposure to interest-rate hikes, with a constant need to refinance their debt. Hotels in business districts that cater to business travelers and conference attendees are struggling to refinance loans on properties that have seen values plunge during the pandemic.

Unlike their counterparts geared to resurgent leisure travel and tourism, business-oriented hotels still are suffering from depressed occupancy levels as the rise of remote work shapes a new paradigm with less business travel.