The US Lodging Outlook: Middle East Impacts, Lodging Trends, and Mega-Events

Aran assists owners, operators, and destinations to understand the impact of tourism industry trends. He focuses on industry-specific analysis and forecasting, as well as strategy and policy analysis.

He has over 25 years of consulting experience applying analytics, forecasting, project management, research, and financial analysis skills to support client decision-making in the lodging, casino gaming and destination development sub-sectors.

Prior to joining Tourism Economics, he was a Director in the Hospitality & Leisure consulting practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Before PwC, he worked at WEFA Group (now IHS Markit). A graduate of Colby College, Aran earned an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Cindy comes to Tourism Economics with nearly three decades of hospitality industry experience—25 years of which were spent as a revenue management leader for Marriott. Prior to joining Tourism Economics in June 2023, Cindy served as Vice President of Business Intelligence and Market Strategy for Houston First Corporation. There she fostered collaboration across various sales, marketing and tourism teams to maximize revenue and bolster demand in the market using data and analysis. Cindy’s deep, data-driven knowledge of tourism dynamics adds to the wealth of expertise on the Tourism Economics team. In her role as Senior Manager, Client Relations & Insights, she serves as a solution-oriented leader for destination clients, providing valuable business intelligence insights and strategic guidance for achieving organizational goals—especially as it relates to the Symphony Intelligence Platform. Originally from Monterrey, Mexico, Cindy is a graduate of the University of Houston’s Conrad N. Hilton College and lives in Dripping Springs, Texas with her husband and three boys.

Jan Freitag is an accomplished professional in the hotel industry with a career spanning over two decades. Currently serving as the National Director of Hospitality Market Analytics at CoStar Group since October 2020, Freitag specializes in analyzing and presenting insights on the hotel industry's state. Previously, as Senior Vice President at STR from March 2002 to September 2021, Freitag gained recognition as a well-regarded speaker and a trusted source of information in both general and trade media.

Chuck Davison joined Tourism Economics as Vice President of Attribution Solutions, serving a key role in providing clients with extensive data-driven insights for business strategy and technology implementation—in addition to expanding and strengthening partnerships across the industry. In his current role as Vice President, Commercial Strategy & Partnerships, Chuck oversees Americas markets and business development for products across the Tourism Economics suite. With more than 30 years of experience within travel industry verticals, Chuck brings a depth of expertise to the team. He previously served as President and CEO for Visit SLO CAL, spearheading several initiatives over nearly nine years to grow the organization and position it as a premier tourism destination. Throughout his career, Chuck has held several leadership positions across travel verticals, including Vice President and General Manager at Expedia. Chuck was born in Las Vegas, Nevada and holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration – Marketing from University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV).