Is owning a hotel profitable?

this depends on many different factors. 

location, size, how is it managed, is it branded, what does the HMA hold, what's the state of the hotel, what's the market currently doing. 

so to answer your question, you will need to be more specific in your question. 

I can say yes for an owner of a400 bedroom hotel in dubai, and no for a120 bedroom hotel in zimbabwe

both have potential to be successful, but it all depends on the rest of the formula