Ryman Hospitality Properties (NYSE:RHP) executives said fourth-quarter results exceeded internal expectations, citing strong holiday programming across the company’s hotel portfolio and better-than-expected volume at its downtown Nashville entertainment venues.
Executive Chairman Colin Reed said full-year results came in above the midpoint of guidance ranges for the entertainment segment and above the high end of guidance for adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) and AFFO per share. Reed added that, excluding the impact of the company’s JW Marriott Desert Ridge acquisition, results were “almost right on the midpoints” of the initial guidance provided a year earlier.
Holiday programming and group trends drove quarter
Fioravanti said ICE! ticket sales rose more than 14% to a record 1.5 million tickets. He highlighted Gaylord National as having its best ICE! season since 2010, while Gaylord Opryland and Gaylord Rockies recorded their best seasons ever. ICE! at the JW Hill Country, in its second year, achieved the highest guest satisfaction ratings for holiday attractions across the portfolio, according to management.
On the group side, Fioravanti said same-store attrition trends improved year-over-year and sequentially from the third quarter. Same-store banquet net ancillary value (NAV) revenues increased nearly 5% despite lower corporate group volumes, and banquet NAV contribution per group room night (a proxy for catering spend per group guest) rose more than 10% year-over-year.
The company booked more than 1.2 million gross group room nights in the quarter for all future years. Management said meeting planner sentiment improved as the quarter progressed, culminating in record room-night revenue and ADR bookings production for all future years in December. ADR on December bookings was up more than 10% compared to December 2024. By the end of December, same-store group rooms revenue, room nights, and ADR on the books for all future years were all-time highs, management said.
2026 outlook: measured assumptions amid macro uncertainty
Fioravanti said the midpoint of the company’s 2026 same-store hospitality guidance implies 2.5% RevPAR growth, which he described as assuming modest growth in group rooms revenue and “flattish” leisure performance. He noted same-store group rooms revenue on the books for 2026 was up about 6% versus the same time last year for 2025, but said the difference between early-year pace and full-year RevPAR expectations reflects assumptions for in-the-year group bookings, attrition and cancellations, and leisure/transient performance. Management characterized this relationship as typical historically.
Same-store total RevPAR guidance at the midpoint also implies 2.5% growth, reflecting expectations for banquet and AV revenue gains from a stronger corporate mix and contribution from a new sports bar at Gaylord Opryland beginning in the second quarter. On costs, the midpoint of same-store hospitality adjusted EBITDAre guidance assumes roughly 2.5% operating expense growth, or about 10 basis points of margin expansion, as the company continues working with Marriott on efficiencies.
Executives repeatedly emphasized uncertainty in the current political and economic environment and its potential impact on meeting volumes and meeting planner sentiment. During Q&A, management said the guidance does not assume a major shift in trends but reflects what the company “doesn’t know about what’s happening in the economy,” pointing to tariff-related volatility and geopolitical issues that can influence planner behavior.
Management also provided first-quarter cadence expectations for 2026, noting a difficult comparison to the prior year and saying Winter Storm Fern was a modest drag on January results. For the same-store hospitality business, the company expects first-quarter RevPAR and total RevPAR to be roughly flat, with adjusted EBITDAre margin down about 100 basis points.
Portfolio investments and Desert Ridge integration
Reed said the company continues to progress a multi-year investment plan at Gaylord Opryland, including refreshing about 40% of existing carpeting and meeting space to date and reaching nearly halfway completion on a 100,000-square-foot meeting space expansion slated to open next year. He said Foundry Fieldhouse, a new sports bar development with premium indoor-outdoor reception space, is scheduled to open in April.
Management said Gaylord Palms and Gaylord Rockies, which received investments in 2024, delivered record top- and bottom-line performances in 2025, and that these improvements are contributing to share gains given the company’s rotational group customer model. Reed noted that for the trailing 12 months through the end of December, the same-store portfolio achieved its highest RevPAR index to the Marriott-defined competitive set in portfolio history, excluding COVID-impacted periods. In Q&A, the company quantified a fourth-quarter same-store RevPAR index of 143% versus the comp set (up 1,200 basis points year-over-year) and a full-year index of 127% (up 610 basis points year-over-year).
On JW Marriott Desert Ridge, Fioravanti said fourth-quarter results were in line with expectations. Transient demand increased nearly 10% year-over-year, supported by expanded holiday programming, which management views as an encouraging indicator ahead of introducing ICE! at the property in 2026. Fioravanti said the meeting space conversion underway remains on track to open in April 2026 and that guidance assumes modest marketing investment for the ICE! launch.
In Q&A, management said early progress on cross-selling and rotational business between the JW properties and the Gaylord hotels included about 22,000 multi-year room nights booked after adding dedicated sales resources to focus on that strategy.
Entertainment segment expands platform; near-term seasonality shifts
The entertainment segment posted fourth-quarter revenue growth of nearly 12% and adjusted EBITDAre growth of nearly 13%, Fioravanti said. Management credited record performance at the Grand Ole Opry tied to “Opry 100” programming in October, as well as a strong show calendar at the Ryman and improved volume in downtown Nashville venues.
Reed outlined ongoing expansion initiatives, including a new agreement to program and manage the 14,000-seat CCNB Amphitheater in Simpsonville, South Carolina. He also said the company plans to expand the Category 10 brand with Luke Combs, with a Las Vegas location expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2026 and a third location planned for Universal CityWalk in Orlando near the Islands of Adventure theme park.
Executives flagged a shift in 2026 entertainment seasonality, with results expected to be weighted more heavily to the second quarter than in 2025. Opry Entertainment Group CEO Patrick Moore said the first quarter comparison is affected by the prior-year launch of Opry 100 as an NBC special and by shifting concert counts toward the amphitheater and festival-heavy second and third quarters. The company expects first-quarter entertainment adjusted EBITDAre to decline by “several million dollars.”
Balance sheet, liquidity, capex, and dividend
CFO Jennifer Hutcheson said the company ended the fourth quarter with $471 million of unrestricted cash and no borrowings on its revolving credit facilities, with total available liquidity near $1.3 billion. The company also retained $29 million of restricted cash for FF&E and other maintenance projects.
At quarter-end, Hutcheson said the pro forma net leverage ratio was 4.3x, based on consolidated net debt to adjusted EBITDAre and assuming a full-year contribution from JW Marriott Desert Ridge. She noted Fitch upgraded the company’s corporate family rating to BB from BB-, lowering the interest rate margin on SOFR for the corporate Term Loan B.
In January 2026, Ryman refinanced its corporate revolving credit facility, increasing capacity from $700 million to $850 million and extending the maturity to January 2030 from May 2027. Hutcheson said pricing and other terms were largely similar, and pro forma liquidity rose to about $1.4 billion.
For 2026, Hutcheson said the company expects capital expenditures of $350 million to $450 million, primarily in hospitality, and declared a first-quarter dividend of $1.20 per share payable April 15, 2026, to shareholders of record as of March 31, 2026. She reiterated that management intends to pay 100% of REIT taxable income through dividends.
About Ryman Hospitality Properties (NYSE:RHP)
Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in the ownership and operation of group‐oriented, large convention center hotel resorts. The company’s portfolio is anchored by its Gaylord Hotels brand, offering integrated resort, convention, entertainment and dining experiences under long‐term management agreements with Marriott International.
Ryman’s flagship properties include Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center near Dallas/Fort Worth and Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.
