News & Stories

Munich. Germany, Germany, above all: Hotel investors still regard the German real estate market as the safest haven of all. In this respect, this year's real estate and investment trade fair Expo Real did not provide any new insights – but an increasing boom. The operators were no longer as euphoric. Only the project developers are happy about their powerful positions. The bottom line is: Greed has increased. Therefore, the nuances are even more important now: Treugast verified the currently increasing anxieties with the negative changes in performance.

Munich. That there's an interface between hospitality and healthcare is clear. But now, digitalisation has introduced a third player: housing. The German project manager Drees & Sommer brought these "3Hs" to the table recently in Munich. A successful premier, a discussion with many new names and faces, very open and amazed at what moved everybody in the end: a similar form of helplessness when it comes to digitalisation which requires a completely new way of thinking, and the recognition that the conservative construction industry is holding many things back.

Berlin. Real estate sector summit in Berlin. Project developers, financiers and operators sought answers to the most pressing problems: The lack of qualified staff, rising construction costs and tighter regulation, digitisation and, above all, ever greater shortages in supply in all asset classes – also in the hotel industry. Managers also expected solutions in the fields of new construction and refurbishment from politicians. But Horst Seehofer, German Minister for the Interior, Building and Community has left the sector in the lurch. He cancelled his visit at short notice, citing another more important commitment regarding asylum policy.

Hamburg. The good economic development allows the hotel rooms in Germany to continue to grow, also through new concepts. At the same time, the range of properties available in this area and the average value calculated per room are increasing. However, the transaction volume is currently declining.

Paris/London. InterContinental Hotels Group will launch its Kimpton brand in UK based on an agreement with Foncière des Régions to rebrand and operate 12 high quality open hotels and one pipeline hotel. This deal transfers more capital than AccorHotels' acquisition of Moevenpick this week.

Milan. Gabetti Property Solutions has recently published the umpteenth report on the real estate hospitality market in Italy. Investors' interest has begun to differentiate, not only focusing on upscale and luxury properties, but also taking alternative and trendy accommodation into account such as design hostels and student housing.

Madrid. Hotel transaction 2017 in Spain continued to increase driven by hotel portfolio buyers. Also secondary destination saw a risen interest compared to the past year.

Berlin. Everything is fine. Very fine. The hotel industry and the hotel real estate world are buzzing around the world. The flows of capital continue, crises no longer scare tourists off; therefore, more buildings are being built and more brands are in the making. Under these circumstances, who really wants to hear about first "warning signs" of overheating and imminent downswing that started to show in 2017? This was only a topic spoken about in the hallways of the 21st "International Hotel Investment Forum" in Berlin this week. Its motto "Reaching New Heights" seemed a little sarcastic. Here are the first comments about the current development and details from the hallway talks.

Frankfurt. The British Whitbread PLC hospitality group acquired a portfolio of 19 German hotels of Foremost Hospitality HIEX GmbH. The portfolio consists of 19 Holiday Inn Express hotels that will be renamed to Premier Inn from 2020. This way, the British chain acquires good locations and will become a lot more visible from 2020. And Foremost changed its strategy.

Milan. The Italian hotel investment market reports another record in 2017, growing for the third consecutive year, with a total transaction volume of 1.6 billion euros, up from 1.48 billion in 2016.