Hotel real estate: a high value-added strategic asset class
Hotel real estate: a high value-added strategic asset class
An asset class in its own right
In recent years, hotel real estate has established itself as an independent asset class, distinct from commercial or residential real estate. Its performance is based on a dual lever: the value of the real estate asset and the operating performance of the hotel operation.
This hybrid character - both real estate and business operations - makes it particularly attractive in a context where investors are looking for yield, diversification and resilience.
A market structured around complex operations
Unlike traditional real estate investment, the acquisition of hotel assets is often a question of equity capital or capital restructuring. The typical deal takes the form of :
- the purchase of shares in hotel operating companies or real estate companies owning the premises (PropCo / OpCo),
- an M&A operation involving in-depth audits,
- multi-level due diligence.
The need for a multidisciplinary approach
Each acquisition requires a set of specialized audits:
- Corporate, accounting and tax audit: analysis of consolidated balance sheets, off-balance sheet commitments, legal structuring, local and international taxation.
- Operational audit: analysis of HR management, management or franchise contracts, occupancy rates, RevPAR, GOP, etc.
- Real estate audit: verification of technical, town-planning and environmental compliance, analysis of asset expansion or repositioning potential.
This 360° approach involves the use of specialist consultants, notably in the hotel industry, international taxation, corporate finance and asset management.
A sector underpinned by solid fundamentals
Hotel real estate is benefiting from favorable megatrends:
- Growth in international and local tourism,
- Hybridization of uses (workation, lifestyle, eco-hospitality),
- Reduced rental risk (via management contracts or franchises),
- differentiated customer experience.
They also offer attractive returns, with IRRs often higher than traditional asset classes, provided they are managed efficiently.
A resilient, transformable asset
The ability to reposition a hotel asset (upmarket, change of brand, transformation into a coliving or managed residence) makes it a particularly agile asset class, capable of adapting to economic cycles and market changes.
Conclusion
a strategic asset for well-informed investors... with the right support.
Hotel investment requires expertise, structuring and customized support. At every stage, it mobilizes a dense ecosystem: lawyers, tax specialists, auditors, technical experts, hoteliers, financiers...
Properly managed, it represents a unique opportunity to create long-term value, at the crossroads of real estate, hospitality and private equity.
But beyond sector-specific skills, it is essential to rely on a cross-functional coordinator:
a true orchestra conductor capable of steering the entire process, negotiate the overall transaction, arbitrate between the sometimes conflicting interests of the parties, and ensuring the strategic, legal, economic and human coherence of the deal.
Because in this type of operation, value is not created solely on the asset, but in the way the transaction is conducted: fine-tuned, fluid, diplomatic... and a win-win situation for all parties.
