With little new hotel development and few transactions in the last five years, investors globally have amassed an appetite—and capital—for new deals, leading to an increase in capital markets activity and heightened cross-border capital flows. Seeking high-quality investments in stable markets, Asian investors dominated global hotel transactions in 2013 and look set to repeat their high level of activity in 2014. Chinese and Singaporean investors combined are forecasted to account for over 60 percent of the total capital invested in hospitality outside Asia.

The growing worldwide spend of just two groups—Millennials and Chinese travelers—is expected to drive a strongly performing global hospitality sector over the next several years. Millennials' influence over the business travel spend—they are a third of the market and projected to be half of the market within the next five years—is driving hoteliers to modify services and amenities to appeal to their desire for value, innovation, immediacy, convenience, and mobility.

“Everything from booking applications for your smartphone to room service ordered from in-room tablets and expanded fee-based loyalty programs designed to maximize the stay experience are being put on the table by hoteliers looking to capture the millennial dollar,” says Fishbin. Yet, Chinese leisure travelers may eclipse even the Millennial spend.

In 2012, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, Chinese tourists overtook Germans and Americans as the world's biggest spenders with more than $100 billion spent on travel. Chinese tourists are the fastest growing segment of the market. As a result, look for more hotels to offer in-room amenities targeted at Chinese guests, such as slippers, Chinese teas, Chinese language newspapers and TV as well as adding Chinese food to restaurant menus.