The hotel industry has come a long way since the sales plunge witnessed during the global financial crisis. Outside of a few pockets of economic and political disturbances worldwide, sales have risen all over the world and are particularly robust in the U.S.

There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the hotel industry's outlook. Below, we discuss five factors why the industry's outlook remains favorable:

Demand Exceeds Supply:  Leisure and transient business travel demand received a much needed boost from the gradual recovery in the broader economy, in turn aiding the hotel industry. With limited supply and strong demand, room rates are witnessing an uptrend.

According to Hyatt Hotels Corporation (H – Snapshot Report) and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (HLT – Snapshot Report), the supply-demand environment in the U.S. is favorable as demand growth is better than supply, which is below the long-term average. This would lead to rate increases and thus drive revenue per available room (RevPAR). In fact, despite the large pipeline of hotels, Smith Travel Research expects the sector's demand growth in 2015 to be 3.3% in the U.S. with only 1.3% increase in supply.