(Maria Wood is senior editor of Real Estate Forum.)

PHOENIX-Even with uncertainty in the debt markets due to the fallout from the subprime mortgage sector, lodging executives speaking at the 13th annual Lodging Conference here on Wednesday were fairly optimistic that any impact on the economy and therefore the industry would be short-lived. Indeed, some expressed the view that a correction was long overdue.

During the opening general session power panel entitled “Hot Topics and Hotel Trends,” a group of executives weighed in on the probable impact of the credit crunch on the economy and the possibility of a recession. “There will definitely be a slowdown,” said Walter Isenberg, president and CEO of Sage Hospitality Resources LLC. “The question is when. RevPAR doesn't go up forever, but I'm cautiously optimistic for 2008.”