Europe’s hotel market experienced ongoing value growth and recovery in 2015 with hotels in many cities reaching record performance, according to the 2016 European Hotel Valuation Index (HVI), published by global hotel consultancy HVS.
The year was particularly good for hotels in Eastern Europe, which bounced back from declining values in 2014 to reach a 5% increase that matched the European average for 2015. Hotels in northern and southern Europe saw the biggest growth in value per room.
The city that saw the biggest rise in value terms was, for the second year running, Madrid, where hotels saw a 14% increase year-on-year.
“RevPAR in Madrid is still significantly below its previous peak so there is still potential for hotel values in the city to grow further,” commented report author Constance Biria, HVS consulting & valuation analyst.
“Hotel supply in Madrid has not changed significantly in the past year but a 10% increase in visitor numbers has seen occupancy grow pushing up achieved average rates.”
Dublin’s hotels saw the second biggest increase, with a 13% hike on the back of strong interest from investors, a rise in visitor numbers, and the fact the city has a limited pipeline for new properties.
Hotels in Birmingham almost matched this increase at 12.9%, as did hotels in Athens at 12.6%. Properties in Manchester came fifth in the list of the year’s biggest climbers, with values up by 11.6%.
Birmingham and Manchester are proving to be the UK’s most thriving secondary cities, with strong average rates being the main driver along with solid RevPAR growth.
Investors are showing continued interest in both cities with Birmingham currently having 11 new hotels in the development pipeline and Manchester due for seven additional hotels over the next two years.
The top five cities with the highest hotel values remains unchanged with those in Paris topping the list ahead of London, Zurich, Geneva, and Rome. While values in Paris dropped slightly last year (down 0.5%) largely due to terrorist attacks, the city’s dominance in the value stakes is not likely to be threatened.
Other European cities seeing value decreases in 2015 include hotels in St Petersburg (down 2.6%), Istanbul (down 8.9%), and Moscow (down 13.2%). The most volatile markets in this year’s HVI were considered to be St Petersburg, Athens and Prague, although Dublin was the fifth most volatile.
“Despite pockets of poorer performance, 2015 was a vintage year for the hotel industry across Europe,” commented report co-author Sophie Perret, HVS director.
“There may be an undercurrent of concern for 2016 but there is still abundant equity in most markets as well as inexpensive debt making investment in hotels an attractive option. However, there is a prevalent feeling that the hotel industry could reach the peak of the current investment cycle in the next few years, so a different investment climate might be around the corner. “
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