Shirin Kanji, senior vice president and chief investment officer at Impact Properties, which has diverse hotel, retail, restaurant, and real estate holdings, watches the market closely and knows that finding the perfect deal for a new build location is difficult. "Real estate that is reasonably priced and well located is hard, so building new is a challenge," he says. However, he notes, "Major brands may find it a worthwhile pursuit to grow unit count in growing areas."