At REITWeek 2010 in Chicago, Jay Shah, CEO of Hersha Hospitality Trust (NYSE: HT), described 2010 as the year the lodging sector turned the corner in terms of fundamental recovery.

"The second quarter data suggests that we are beginning our long climb out (from the bottom)," Shah says.

Shah says Hersha maintains an active sustainability program, called Earth View. The first step, he says, has been tackling lower-hanging energy efficiency opportunities across its portfolio.

Looking forward, Shah says the question of when the debt markets fully return will likely continue to overhang the REIT industry.

"I don't see anything that suggests to me that we won't see a more robust debt market as we get into the latter half of 2011," Shah says. "But I think it is going to slowdown transaction values and possibly keep a bit of a price appreciation on real estate as we move through the rest of 2010."