If 2011 was the Year of the REITs forhotels, then 2012 might be the Year of Watching the Clock. It can'tbe denied that there's a great deal of uncertainty regarding theeconomy, the election and the direction of CMBS—to name but a fewissues—but as the year opens, it seems that industry professionalsshould prepare to dust off their timepieces and start to plan.Things may be starting to recover, but among those entrenched inhotels, the consensus seems to be "don't get too excited—yet."

In short, lodging is a sector filled with cautious optimism.After all, the gains in early 2011 put hotels back on the map.

The sector is certainly well positioned, coming off of arelatively strong 2011. A slight second-half softening experiencedthroughout the industry is expected to give way to a new wave ofdemand and, depending on the segment, more development. Butquestions remain, and these are on the lips of all practitioners nomatter the discipline: What will be the availability of capital(especially given the growing concerns over CMBS) and what will theelection mean?