By Callum Keown

Marriott, Hyatt and other U.S. hotel stocks have been caught up in the travel sector selloff since the Iran war began. But the selling may be overdone.

Marriott International has fallen more than 7% since the conflict began, while Hyatt Hotels is down 11% and Hilton Worldwide is about 6% lower. France's Accor has tumbled 17%, while London-listed Holiday Inn-owner InterContinental Hotels is down about 6%.

However, U.S. hotel stocks could be in line for a rebound -- with or without a swift end to the conflict. First, the Middle East makes up a small proportion of the companies' global footprint.

"For the most part, today, the impact of the conflict seems largely limited to the region," Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano said at a JPMorgan conference Thursday. Around 4% of the company's global rooms are in the Middle East and the region accounts for 4% of its global fees, he added.

For Hyatt Hotels, less than 5% of the company's fee revenue comes from the Middle East, Chief Financial Officer Joan Bottarini said at the same conference a day earlier. Around 3% of Hilton's global rooms are in the Middle East and Africa region, according to its latest annual filing.

Even the impact on the companies' limited Middle East revenues may not have been severe so far.

"Interestingly in markets like the UAE, you had very high occupancy at the start of the conflict because of the inability of folks to get commercial flights out of the region," Marriott CEO Capuano said. "But we're running pretty weak occupancies right now," he added.

Hyatt's Bottarini also said the company had fully occupied hotels in the region in the early part of the conflict, though that has since started to fall. "We have seen occupancy levels go down as people have -- whether they were traveling outside of the country and getting to their homes and obviously less travel inbound.

That initial occupancy boost could help offset the subsequent drop in demand, but hotels in the Middle East could face a prolonged period of weak demand even if the war ends soon.

J.P.Morgan analysts maintained an Overweight rating on Hyatt stock in a note Wednesday. They said management noted that Europe and Asia strength has offset weaker Middle East, while the U.S. has remained solid during a fireside chat at the conference. The analysts also noted that less than 5% of annual fees come from the Middle East.

There are still risks ahead, though.

"If the conflict expands, there's obviously real risk," Capuano added. "I think the bigger question is around oil prices and the ripple effect that has on commercial flight pricing."

Air travel demand appears to be staying strong. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said Monday was the carrier's best ever day of bookings, while Germany's Deutsche Lufthansa has reported a sharp rise in long-haul flight demand since the conflict started.

Airfares -- and the impact on demand -- remain a key risk that could impact the hotel sector across other regions too. But if the fallout remains contained to the Middle East, U.S. hotel stocks could prove resilient.

Write to Callum Keown at callum.keown@dowjones.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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March 13, 2026 10:54 ET (14:54 GMT)

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