Judging by the attitudes on display at The Lodging Conference last week in Phoenix, many people in the hotel industry are both wildly optimistic and scared to death at the same time. Every presentation or speaker rant seemed like a prolonged version of good news/bad news: The hotel industry is humming along with a long string of monthly improvements in operating performance (STR reported a healthy 7.2% hike in RevPAR in August, for example), yet most speakers expressed at least some concern at what effect worsening U.S. and world macroeconomic factors will have on levels of business for the rest of 2011 and beyond.

“Sure, we’re concerned by some of the indicators,” said Best Western President & CEO David Kong, citing a turbulent stock market and the downward push on lodging stocks. “Typically, there is a .7 correlation between stock indices and hotel RevPAR, which means we could see a slowdown in business in a couple of months.”

But, as if on cue, Kong swung the pendulum back to optimism, noting that 90% of Americans are still at work, corporate America has strong balance sheets and hotel supply growth is in check. “Still,” he added, “it’s important we all plan for any contingencies.”

Despite the improvement in fundamentals, the industry is still far away from its years of peak performance in the middle of the last decade. Profits, for example, last year were still $10 billion below the high-water mark year of 2007 ($28 billion), said Vail Brown of STR. Of course, she had her nugget of good news, too, noting the industry is on pace to sell one billion roomnights this year, a record.

The expected “CMBS bomb,” as one speaker called it, was another looming topic of concern for many Lodging Conference speakers. A potential $12 billion in hospitality CMBS maturities come due next year and very little capital is available to refinance these loans. In fact, distressed hotel specialist Steve Van, CEO of Prism Hotels, said in a pre-conference news release, “The greatest single misconception in the hotel loan industry is that robust annual income growth of 7%-plus will make everything OK in 2012. For RevPAR growth in 2012 to support replacement loans for the billions in notes coming due, growth would have to be more like 64%.”

The other question about the much-anticipated CMBS maturities tidal wave is how that supposed crisis will be resolved. Ashford Hospitality Trust President & CEO Monty Bennett wondered whether the federal government will intervene and create a marketplace for distressed properties, such as was done through the Resolution Trust Corp. in the mid-1980s, or promote a prolonged “extend and pretend” strategy.

“We prefer the extend and pretend path, but the outcome may depend on next year’s presidential election,” he said.

Like many other speakers, Bennett pointed to the macroeconomic uncertainty and its continuing effect on the hotel industry in the form of little or no financing for hospitality transactions or new development.

“Until investors feel comfortable about the world situation, it will be a tough slog for lenders to go further out on the risk spectrum,” said Bennett.

As usual, a few press announcements were made at this year’s event. But unlike last year, when several new brands (Virgin Hotels and B Hotels) were introduced at the conference, this year’s crop of releases was less headline-worthy. Nevertheless, here’s a recap:

• Richfield Hospitality added four management contracts, bringing the number of hotels in its portfolio to 34. The additions include the 270-room Crowne Plaza Melbourne Oceanfront Resort on the east coast of Florida; the 282-room DoubleTree by Hilton Dallas-DFW North; the 190-room Four Points by Sheraton Philadelphia Northeast; and the 193-room Crowne Plaza Pittsburgh Airport.

• Doug Dreher, president & CEO of The Hotel Group based in Seattle, focused his press visits on the company’s performance. He said the portfolio of 27 hotels achieved a 12% increase in RevPAR in 2010 and is on track to post an 8% increase this year. The firm has 35 employees on a transition team to renovate a former Marriott in South Bend, IN it purchased last month. THG rebranded the property as a DoubleTree and will complete the renovation next summer.

• The day before the conference opened, Hyatt announced it is rebranding its Summerfield Suites extended-stay brand as Hyatt House, the name of the company’s original hotel dating back to the 1950s. The recently purchased Sierra Suites portfolio will also be branded with the not-so-new name.

• Luxe Hotels, a Los Angeles-based boutique brand and representation service, said it plans to add six licensed properties in the U.S. by 2013. The boutique portfolio currently includes company-owned properties in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills and its first licensed hotel, a former Holiday Inn in downtown Los Angeles.

• Florida-based Driftwood Hospitality Management added four properties to its management portfolio: the 217-room DoubleTree in Wilmington, DE; the 125-room Comfort Inn in Hunt Valley, MD; the 115-room Best Western PLUS in Porterville, CA; and the rebranded 135-room Staybridge Suites at the Orlando airport.