Hilton (NYSE: HLT) has today announced the signing of two hotels under Hilton’s new premium economy conversion brand, Spark by Hilton, as part of a wider agreement with Verkehrsbuero Hospitality. Spark by Hilton Vienna Donaustadt and Spark by Hilton Vienna Messe Prater will both open later this year.
Hotel & Tourism Investment Forum – HTIF 2024, the most influential hospitality conference in Bulgaria and one of the most visited in Europe will cover a broad range of topics, including sustainable hospitality investments and operations, strategic management, digitalization, revenue management, and human resources.
For H1 2024 a total of €655M was transacted, a near fourfold increase on the approximately €173M traded in H1 2023 – this pushed transaction volumes over the past year to an all-time high of almost €790M. Activity was supported by continued good operational performance across the sector and a couple of large deals including the sales of the Shelbourne Hotel and a majority stake in the Dean Hotel Group.
Prime yields have moved modestly higher over the past twelve months but looking forward we expect them to stabilise, boosted by gradually looser ECB monetary policy with the first steps in this journey occurring in June with a 25 basis point interest rate cut. With growing appetite among investors and liquidity in the debt markets, we expect to see a gradual yield sharpening for prime assets as we progress into 2025.
Despite ongoing supply growth, the occupancy and ADR in Irish hotels remained healthy in H1 2024, with only minor softening relative to H1 2023. While RevPAR in Ireland declined by 1.2% to €125 in H1 2024, it was the 3rd-highest level in Europe. In Dublin, the occupancy reached 80% in H1 2024, the second highest in Europe, albeit a minor decline from 2023. This, combined with a 4% drop in ADR, resulted in a 5% RevPAR decrease, although 23% above pre-Covid level in 2019.
510 new rooms were delivered in Dublin in H1 while Premier Inn also opened their first hotel in Cork in January. We estimate there are currently in excess of 1,700 hotel rooms under construction in Dublin (around 6% of Dublin’s room stock) while two hotels in Cork are also due to open later this year. The new supply is welcome to satisfy growing demand, particularly in the Dublin market, albeit the increased competitiveness might constrain occupancy and ADR growth.
Ireland’s economic outlook continues to support the hotel sector. Employment hit another all-time high of 2.71 million while wages (up 4.7% year on year in Q1) are now growing in real terms as inflation (2.2% in June 2024) eases. Tourist trends also continue to be strong. Overnight trips by foreign visitors (over rolling 12-month periods) gradually rose in the first half of the year as has the average spend.
At 58 meters tall - just a little taller than the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but with considerably more heft - the St. Pauli bunker in Hamburg, Germany, has dominated the city skyline for just over 80 years.
PPHE Hotel Group, the international hospitality real estate group which develops, owns and operates hotels and resorts, is pleased to announce that following the successful conclusion of a recent public inquiry it has been granted planning permission for a mixed-use hotel-led development in London’s vibrant South Bank area.
Radisson Hotel Group is proud to announce the addition of seven hotels, including six signings and one opening, in the Turkish market in the first half of the year. These development milestones bring the Group closer to reaching 100 hotels by 2030.
Marks debut of The Unlimited Collection brand and expansion of lyf brand with six new property signings in Europe
The NUMA Group, Europe's leading operator of a fully digitalised hospitality platform, today announces the acquisition of a lifestyle apart hotel brand Native Places (https://nativeplaces.com) from Native Holdings.
Scandic has signed a long-term lease agreement for two new Scandic Go hotels in central Gothenburg and Umeå. The hotels are expected to open in 2026 with a total of 276 rooms, and the project involves converting existing office buildings. This will bring the number of Scandic Go hotels in the company’s pipeline to five with a total of 876 rooms in Sweden and Finland.
Blackstone Real Estate (“Blackstone”) announced on June 26th that funds managed by Blackstone have completed the acquisition of Village Hotels, a hotel owner, operator and developer, from affiliates of KSL Capital Partners, a leading investor in travel and leisure businesses.
The return of portfolio transactions has bolstered UK hotel investment during the first six months of 2024 with investment totalling £3 billion, up from £990 million over the same period in 2023 and far beyond last year’s full year total (£2 billion), according to Knight Frank.
Hilton (NYSE: HLT) today announced a franchise agreement with Bohemian Hotels ehf. to open Akureyri "Skáld" Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton, in the northern Icelandic countryside, as well as a stunning new property in Iceland's capital city, Reykjavik.
Marriott International, Inc., announced its plans to expand its portfolio in France with the expected addition of 10 properties with over 1,000 rooms by the end of 2025. The anticipated openings will further strengthen the company’s footprint in France, where it currently has a portfolio of 69 properties with over 12,000 rooms across 16 brands and 29 cities, including Paris, Nice, Cannes, Lyon, Strasbourg, Marseille, Reims, Lille, Bordeaux and Toulouse.
Ruby Hotels proudly announces its second project in the Netherlands, following the success of its flagship in Amsterdam. Located in Rotterdam's vibrant Glashaven district, the new project will offer approx. 225 meticulously designed rooms and lively public areas. Partnering with Foruminvest, a European hotel developer, promises to deliver an unparalleled Lean Luxury experience in one of Rotterdam's most exciting neighborhoods.
Azora, the Madrid-based European real estate investment manager, has completed the acquisition of two hotels and two adjacent buildings to the hotels in central Brussels on behalf of its Azora European Hotel and Lodging Fund (“AEHL” or the “Fund”).
Travelodge, the UK’s first budget hotel brand which operates over 600 hotels across the UK, Ireland and Spain, continues its Spanish expansion and has today announced the opening of five new Travelodge hotels; Alicante Puerto, Barcelona del Valles, Madrid Alcala de Henares, Malaga Aeropuerto and Murcia, totalling 635 rooms.
IHG Hotels & Resorts (IHG), one of the world’s leading hotel companies, announces the signing of nine hotels across Portugal, adding 976 rooms to the country’s growing and strong pipeline, as it continues to benefit from rapid growth. The signings cover three IHG brand collections including luxury and lifestyle, with the announcement of Kimpton Lisbon, Hotel Indigo Albufeira and Hotel Indigo Faro - and its Essentials Collection which comprises six signings across the Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express brands – including suites offerings.
UK’s largest hotel business seeks an additional 30% more rooms in Ireland as it responds to high demand and an undersupply of branded hotel rooms.
Bob W, the tech-powered hospitality operator, is expanding its London presence in the serviced apartment space with three new openings, taking the brand’s total number of properties in the capital to 13.
ActivumSG, a leading independent pan-European real estate investment manager, has completed the sale of the 118-room Palacio Solecio hotel in Malaga. The asset has been purchased for €51 million by an undisclosed buyer.