Industry authority sources · 2026
Authority resources for hotel operators
The seven industry research and trade sources every independent hotel operator should know. Each page covers what the source provides, when to consult it, and how to access content. These are the foundations behind the citations on this site.
AHLA
American Hotel & Lodging Association
The principal US hospitality trade association covering policy, research, sustainability, and workforce data.
HTNG
Hospitality Technology Next Generation
The hospitality-technology standards body driving interoperability between PMS, channel manager, and guest-journey vendors.
Phocuswright
Phocuswright
The travel-industry research firm covering market sizing, OTA economics, traveller behaviour, and technology adoption.
Skift
Skift Research
The travel-industry media and research outlet covering daily industry news plus deep market research.
Hotel Tech Report
Hotel Tech Report
The hotel-technology buyer reviews and benchmarks site, with the annual HotelTechAwards.
Cornell SHA
Cornell School of Hotel Administration / Center for Hospitality Research
The leading academic research centre for hospitality management, particularly strong on revenue management and operations.
STR
STR (CoStar Group)
The hospitality industry benchmark data source for STAR Reports, market data, and competitive analytics.
Why this index exists
Independent hotel operators face vendor-driven research everywhere. The seven sources above are the closest the industry has to authoritative neutral parties: trade associations (AHLA), standards bodies (HTNG), independent research firms (Skift Research, Phocuswright), buyer reviews (Hotel Tech Report), and academic sources (Cornell SHA, STR). When this site cites a statistic, the underlying source is usually one of these seven.