Just been looking back at some solid hotel reits that were worth considering a few years back, and honestly the fundamentals on a lot of these are still pretty interesting if you're looking to diversify beyond crypto and tech stocks.

So here's the thing about hospitality REITs - they give you exposure to real estate income without having to buy actual properties. You're basically buying into companies that own and operate hotel portfolios, and you get a piece of the dividend payments. The appeal is pretty straightforward: steady income from room bookings, capital appreciation as property values grow, and you can access markets globally without the headache of direct property management.

Back in 2023, some of the biggest names in this space were Host Hotels & Resorts, which had nearly 80 luxury properties worldwide. They were showing a dividend yield around 4.3% with solid revenue growth. Apple Hospitality REIT was another major player with over 200 properties across 37 states and a juicy 6.3% dividend yield at the time. If you were into mid-priced markets, Park Hotels & Resorts had around 60 premium properties with strong growth metrics.

There were also some interesting luxury-focused plays like Pebblebrook Hotel Trust with nearly 50 properties in premium destinations, offering around 4.2% yields. Then you had Ryman Hospitality Properties, which owned iconic entertainment venues including the Gaylord Hotels and the famous Ryman Auditorium in Nashville - that one showed 9% revenue growth back then. RLJ Lodging Trust was another solid select-service option with close to 100 mid-priced hotels and 6.2% dividend yields.

The smaller cap options included Sunstone Hotel Investors with 15 high-end properties and DiamondRock Hospitality Company operating 35 upscale hotels. These showed lower dividend yields but had their own appeal depending on your risk tolerance.

Now, if you were actually considering hotel reits as part of your investment strategy, the typical approach would be: first, research the specific properties and markets - look at occupancy rates, location diversification, and read their financial reports. Second, figure out what you actually need from the investment - are you chasing income or growth? What's your risk tolerance? Third, buy shares through a broker, and fourth, monitor performance regularly since market conditions change.

The real appeal of hotel reits is the income generation and liquidity - these trade on major exchanges so you can buy and sell easily. Plus you get professional management handling the day-to-day operations. The downside? Market risk can hit hard, many use leverage which adds complexity, and concentration risk if they're heavy in one market. Rising interest rates also squeeze returns since it increases borrowing costs.

Looking back, hotel reits offered a way to get real estate exposure with dividend income that often beat other income-generating investments. Whether they still make sense depends on current interest rates and the hospitality market outlook, but the sector structure itself hasn't changed - it's still a solid way to diversify a portfolio if you're comfortable with hospitality sector dynamics.