CDP Real Asset and CDP Immobiliare: tourism, hotels and Italy’s real estate heritage

CDP Real Asset and CDP Immobiliare are two fundamental reference points for understanding the role of public-institutional capital in the future of Italian hospitality.

After the dossiers on Hines Italy, Kryalos, COIMA, DeA Capital Real Estate, Castello SGR, Gruppo Statuto and Gruppo Barletta, the transition to CDP is a natural one.

So far, we have analyzed major private developers, SGRs, funds, private owners, lifestyle platforms and operators capable of transforming hotels, resorts and iconic properties into investment products.

With CDP Real Asset and CDP Immobiliare, we enter a different dimension.

Here, the issue is not only return.

It is not only the trophy asset.

It is not only luxury.

It is not only the private platform.

It is not only the international brand.

Here, the issue is the relationship between real estate heritage, public interest, patient capital, tourism, urban regeneration, social infrastructure, territorial development and the competitiveness of the national system.

This distinction is decisive.

CDP Real Asset should not be read as a normal private SGR.

CDP Immobiliare should not be read as a simple developer.

The CDP Group has a particular role in the Italian market: it intervenes where private capital may need a catalyst, where real estate heritage requires structure, where investments require a long-term horizon and where economic value must interact with territorial impact.

In the hotel sector, this role is very important.

Because Italy does not only need luxury hotels.

It also needs to upgrade existing properties.

It needs to support national operators.

It needs to strengthen Southern Italy.

It needs to enhance public or former public real estate.

It needs to improve accommodation infrastructure.

It needs to make its tourism heritage more competitive.

It needs to connect tourism, regeneration, sustainability, employment and territory.

CDP Real Asset is relevant precisely because it works on this boundary.

Between public capital and the market.

Between real estate funds and tourism development.

Between heritage and impact.

Between hotels and national infrastructure.

The investment thesis

The central thesis is that CDP Real Asset and CDP Immobiliare are fundamental to Italian hospitality because they represent a form of patient, institutional and territorial capital capable of intervening where the market alone does not always reach.

Their role should not be read only as the acquisition of hotels or the redevelopment of properties.

It should be read as the construction of tourism infrastructure.

From this perspective, a hotel is not only a real estate asset.

It is also:

• an economic anchor for the territory;

• a generator of employment;

• tourism infrastructure;

• a tool for urban regeneration;

• a lever for deseasonalization;

• an element of international attraction;

• a service platform;

• an activator of supply chains;

• a container of architectural heritage;

• a driver of local development.

CDP Real Asset can influence hospitality through ten main levers:

• Fondo Nazionale del Turismo;

• acquisition and redevelopment of accommodation properties;

• hotel sale and leaseback;

• support for the growth of operators;

• intervention in tourism areas with unexpressed potential;

• enhancement of public or former public properties;

• urban regeneration;

• sustainability and digitalization;

• public-private partnerships;

• patient capital with territorial impact.

The lesson for the Italian market is very clear.

Tourism is not only demand.

It is infrastructure.

Strong destinations are not enough.

Competitive accommodation facilities are needed.

Attracting visitors is not enough.

Value must be created in the territories.

Owning public heritage is not enough.

It must be transformed into economic, social and tourism functions.

CDP Real Asset and CDP Immobiliare are important because they work precisely on this transformation.

What CDP Real Asset is

CDP Real Asset SGR is the CDP Group platform dedicated to fund and asset management activities in the real estate and infrastructure sectors.

Its mission is built around four major areas:

• social housing;

• real estate value creation;

• tourism;

• infrastructure.

This structure is important because it shows that tourism is not read as an isolated sector.

It is read within a broader system.

Hospitality interacts with housing.

With urban regeneration.

With the enhancement of public real estate.

With sustainable infrastructure.

With social impact.

With public and private capital.

This is the central point.

CDP Real Asset does not work only on the hotel as a property.

It works on the hotel as part of a territorial ecosystem.

The difference compared with many private investors is clear.

A private fund may seek return, exit, liquidity and asset enhancement.

CDP Real Asset must also seek additionality, complementarity with the market, financial sustainability and positive territorial impact.

This is a different logic.

It does not replace the market.

It accompanies it.

It does not necessarily compete with private capital.

It can catalyze it.

It does not work only to enhance a single property.

It works to generate broader effects.

What CDP Immobiliare is

CDP Immobiliare is a CDP Group company active in property development and real estate value creation.

Its role is connected to the management, transformation and enhancement of properties, often linked to complex portfolios, areas to be regenerated or assets that require professional development processes.

In relation to hospitality, CDP Immobiliare is relevant because many Italian properties with potential hotel use were not originally hotels.

They may be:

• former public properties;

• historic complexes;

• barracks;

• former offices;

• large compounds;

• central palaces;

• assets to be disposed of;

• areas to be regenerated;

• constrained properties;

• unused or underused assets.

The issue is not only selling them.

The issue is understanding what function they can have.

In some cases, the best use may be a hotel.

In others, serviced apartments.

In others, student housing.

In others, senior housing.

In others, mixed-use with a hospitality component.

In others again, culture, services, residential or social infrastructure.

The strength of a platform such as CDP Immobiliare lies in the ability to read heritage not as a sum of buildings, but as a system of functions to be activated.

This is very important for Italy.

Because the country owns an enormous real estate heritage, but not always one capable of generating value.

CDP and patient capital

The most important concept is patient capital.

In the hotel market, many projects need time.

Time to acquire.

Time to obtain permits.

Time to redevelop.

Time to find an operator.

Time to stabilize operations.

Time to generate impact.

Time to build reputation.

Private capital often seeks shorter timeframes.

Private equity seeks returns within defined windows.

Opportunistic funds seek value creation and exit.

Developers seek transformation and monetization.

CDP can intervene with a different logic.

This does not mean giving up economic sustainability.

It means accepting that some projects require a longer horizon and produce value that is not only financial.

This is especially important in tourism.

A redeveloped hotel in a secondary destination may not immediately generate trophy-asset returns.

But it can generate employment, local economic impact, reputation, tourism flows, new demand and territorial development.

Patient capital is essential to transform potential into market.

Fondo Nazionale del Turismo

Fondo Nazionale del Turismo is the most important tool for understanding the role of CDP Real Asset in hospitality.

The fund was created to support the Italian tourism and hotel sector, encouraging the improvement of accommodation infrastructure, the growth of operators and the redevelopment of properties.

The logic is very interesting.

It is not only about buying hotels.

It is about using a real estate fund to address a structural weakness of the Italian market: the imperfect separation between real estate ownership, hotel operations, capex and industrial growth.

Many Italian hotel operators own the properties they manage.

This can be a patrimonial advantage.

But it can also become a limit.

Because capital remains locked in the walls.

The operator does not have sufficient resources to grow.

Capex is postponed.

The product ages.

The company remains small.

The real estate asset is not enhanced.

Fondo Nazionale del Turismo attempts to intervene precisely here.

It acquires properties.

It frees up resources.

It encourages reinvestment.

It supports operator growth.

It redevelops properties.

It improves the national tourism product.

This is a very important logic for Italy.

FT1, FT2 and FT3

The structure of Fondo Nazionale del Turismo is divided into different tools.

Compartment A includes FT1 and FT2.

FT1 is more focused on acquiring hotel assets to redevelop or reposition, often in tourism areas with unexpressed potential.

FT2 works instead on real estate deconsolidation, for example through sale and leaseback transactions, with the objective of freeing up resources for operators.

Compartment B includes FT3, connected to PNRR resources and to the redevelopment of tourism and accommodation assets.

These three logics cover different needs.

FT1 responds to the need for asset transformation.

FT2 responds to the need to free up capital for operators.

FT3 responds to the need to use public resources to redevelop properties and strengthen the competitiveness of Italian tourism.

This architecture is very useful.

Because the hotel market does not have only one problem.

It has many.

There are hotels to buy and relaunch.

There are operators to finance.

There are properties to redevelop.

There are disadvantaged areas to support.

There are properties to digitalize.

There are assets to make sustainable.

A single tool would not be enough.

Several levers are needed.

Tourism as national infrastructure

The most important point in the CDP model is the interpretation of tourism as national infrastructure.

In Italy, tourism is often read as a spontaneous sector.

We have art.

We have the sea.

We have culture.

We have landscapes.

We have historic cities.

We have cuisine.

We have demand.

But this vision is incomplete.

Tourism does not work by itself.

It needs infrastructure.

Accommodation facilities.

Transport.

Services.

Energy.

Digital systems.

Training.

Capital.

Operators.

Governance.

Public spaces.

Sustainability.

Marketing.

An obsolete hotel property in a strong destination reduces the potential of the territory.

A redeveloped resort can increase it.

A closed hotel weakens a community.

A relaunched hotel creates employment.

Unused public heritage represents a cost.

Heritage transformed into a tourism function can create value.

CDP Real Asset is important because it brings this infrastructural reading into hospitality.

TH Resort Ostuni

The TH Resort Ostuni case is very useful for understanding the CDP logic.

Ostuni is a destination in Puglia with strong tourism appeal and significant international attraction.

The project concerns an intervention to relaunch and expand accommodation capacity, with investments aimed at improving the property and moving it toward a more competitive positioning.

The case is important for at least five reasons.

The first is geographical.

Southern Italy is central to the strategy of strengthening Italian tourism.

The second is industrial.

The intervention supports a national operator, not only a property.

The third is real estate-related.

The asset is enhanced through capex and redevelopment.

The fourth is tourism-related.

The property can help increase quality, overnight stays and destination competitiveness.

The fifth is systemic.

The intervention shows how CDP can work with selected operators to improve the tourism offer.

This is an important lesson: public-institutional capital can help Italian operators grow without necessarily replacing them.

QC Terme Salsomaggiore and Thermae Berzieri

The Thermae Berzieri project in Salsomaggiore is one of the most significant cases.

Here, the issue is not only hotel-related.

It is thermal.

It is cultural.

It is architectural.

It is territorial.

It is tourism-related.

It is identity-driven.

The Thermae Berzieri represent a historic and artistic heritage of enormous value.

Their redevelopment, carried out through CDP Real Asset and in partnership with QC Terme, shows one of the most interesting directions for Italy’s future: transforming major historic properties into platforms for wellness, tourism and local development.

This case is fundamental because it concerns a very important category: Italy’s thermal heritage.

Italy has many thermal destinations with great history.

Salsomaggiore.

Montecatini.

Chianciano.

Abano.

Fiuggi.

Ischia.

Saturnia.

And many others.

Many need repositioning.

Traditional thermal tourism is no longer enough.

Wellness is needed.

Medical wellness is needed.

Hospitality is needed.

Architectural quality is needed.

Brand is needed.

Management is needed.

Experience is needed.

The Salsomaggiore case shows that institutional capital can help give new life to destinations that have lost centrality but still retain enormous value.

Ibis Styles Roma EUR and sale and leaseback

The Ibis Styles Roma EUR transaction is interesting because it introduces a different logic: hotel sale and leaseback.

In this model, the operator or owner sells the property but continues to operate the hotel through a lease or another contractual structure.

The logic is to free up capital.

For a hotel operator, selling the real estate can make it possible to:

• reduce debt;

• finance growth;

• improve the product;

• invest in new properties;

• strengthen operations;

• release immobilized resources;

• focus on operating activity.

This model is very important for Italy.

Many Italian operators are too heavily invested in real estate and insufficiently capitalized to grow.

They own properties but do not have enough resources to expand, renovate or compete with international chains.

Sale and leaseback can be a development lever if built correctly.

It should not be a distressed sale.

It should be a strategic choice.

Through Fondo Nazionale del Turismo, CDP can make this transaction more orderly, more sustainable and more growth-oriented.

Real estate deconsolidation and operator growth

Real estate deconsolidation is one of the most important themes for Italian hospitality.

Many Italian hotels were born within an ownership-driven logic.

The family owns the property.

The family manages the hotel.

The operating company and the property company often coincide or are closely connected.

This model worked for decades.

But today it shows clear limits.

Competition is stronger.

Required capex is higher.

International brands are entering the market.

Digital distribution is more complex.

The customer is more demanding.

Labor costs are more significant.

Sustainability requires investment.

In this context, keeping all capital inside the property can block growth.

Deconsolidation can allow the operator to become more industrial.

The owner of the real estate can be an institutional investor.

The operator can focus on operations, quality, brand and development.

This separation between real estate and management is one of the keys to the modernization of Italian hospitality.

CDP and tourism in Southern Italy

CDP’s role in Southern Italy is particularly important.

Southern Italy has some of the most beautiful destinations in the Mediterranean.

Puglia.

Sicily.

Campania.

Calabria.

Basilicata.

Sardinia.

Molise.

Abruzzo.

But tourism potential is not always fully expressed.

There are many reasons:

• seasonality;

• insufficient infrastructure;

• lack of high-quality hotel product;

• fragmented management;

• limited capitalization;

• not always adequate accessibility;

• recruitment difficulties;

• weakness of the service system;

• limited brand presence;

• deferred capex.

Private capital enters more easily where returns are already legible.

CDP can also intervene where returns must be built.

This is a fundamental difference.

A resort in an emerging destination may be too risky for a purely opportunistic investor.

But it may be strategic for the country.

If properly redeveloped, it can generate flows, employment, reputation and new demand.

Southern Italy needs this activation logic.

CDP and secondary areas

Italian tourism cannot live only on Rome, Milan, Florence, Venice, Capri, Lake Como and the Amalfi Coast.

The future will require a smarter distribution of flows.

Secondary areas can become very important.

Not because they are minor.

But because they have potential that has not yet been fully expressed.

Villages.

Thermal destinations.

Lesser-known mountain areas.

Less saturated coastlines.

Inland areas.

Medium-sized cities.

Less famous cultural destinations.

Distributed heritage.

Here, the private market may be more cautious.

CDP can play a catalytic role.

It can help make these destinations more investable.

It can support the first cycle of redevelopment.

It can attract operators.

It can improve the quality of the offer.

It can create a demonstration effect.

In this sense, CDP should not be seen only as an investor.

It should be seen as a market activator.

Public real estate and hospitality

One of the most interesting themes is the enhancement of public or former public real estate.

Italy has an enormous heritage:

• barracks;

• former hospitals;

• former schools;

• historic palaces;

• former public offices;

• monumental complexes;

• seaside colonies;

• railway properties;

• military areas;

• central buildings;

• unused properties.

Many of these assets could have tourism or hospitality functions.

But the transformation is complex.

It requires:

• urban planning analysis;

• constraints;

• permits;

• remediation;

• accessibility;

• permitted use;

• business plan;

• operator;

• capex;

• sustainability;

• relationship with local communities;

• management model.

Not all public properties should become hotels.

But some should.

Others can become student housing.

Others senior housing.

Others cultural spaces.

Others mixed-use.

The important thing is to move beyond the logic of the inactive property.

An unused public asset is a cost.

A reactivated public asset can become value.

Former Geological Institute and Palazzo Canevari

The case of the former Geological Institute, Palazzo Canevari, in Rome, is a useful example of real estate value creation.

It is not necessarily a pure hotel case.

But it is important because it shows the type of asset on which a platform such as CDP can intervene.

These are properties with historic, urban and symbolic value.

Properties that require complex interpretation.

Selling them is not enough.

Restoring them is not enough.

It is necessary to understand what function they can have in the contemporary city.

In Rome, many historic properties can become:

• hotels;

• cultural venues;

• managed residences;

• institutional offices;

• student housing;

• serviced apartments;

• mixed-use assets;

• training centers;

• innovation spaces;

• integrated public and private functions.

The point is always the same: heritage must return to producing value.

Economic, urban, social and cultural value.

CDP and urban regeneration

The relationship between CDP and urban regeneration is central.

Hospitality does not live outside the city.

It lives inside the city.

A hotel performs better if the district works.

If public spaces are vibrant.

If services are adequate.

If mobility is efficient.

If perceived safety is high.

If the urban context is attractive.

For this reason, urban regeneration is a hotel lever.

Not only a real estate lever.

By working on social housing, student housing, senior housing, public real estate, infrastructure and tourism, CDP Real Asset can significantly influence the quality of contexts.

A social housing project can improve a district.

A student residence can create urban life.

A tourism property can generate flows.

A redeveloped asset can activate services.

A former public complex can become a new centrality.

The hotel of the future will increasingly depend on the quality of the urban ecosystem.

Student housing, senior housing and hospitality

CDP Real Asset also works on social housing, student housing and senior housing.

These sectors may seem distant from hotels.

In reality, they are very close.

They all belong to the world of managed real estate.

An advanced student residence requires:

• reception;

• services;

• maintenance;

• community;

• security;

• common spaces;

• pricing;

• occupancy;

• operating management;

• customer experience.

An advanced senior housing product requires:

• services;

• light assistance;

• wellness;

• security;

• community;

• shared spaces;

• professional management;

• relationship with the territory and healthcare system.

These logics are very close to hospitality.

The boundary between living and staying is increasingly mobile.

Student housing, senior housing, serviced apartments, aparthotels, long stay, medical hospitality and traditional hotels are part of the same transformation: a property does not generate value only because it exists, but because it is managed.

CDP is important because it operates across many of these categories.

CDP and sustainability

Sustainability is a fundamental axis of the CDP strategy.

In the hotel sector, this theme is decisive.

Hotels consume energy.

Water.

Materials.

Services.

Maintenance.

Labor.

An inefficient hotel can become economically fragile.

A hotel redeveloped with sustainability in mind can improve costs, reputation, financeability and value.

Hotel sustainability includes:

• energy efficiency;

• consumption reduction;

• water management;

• materials;

• digitalization;

• accessibility;

• guest wellbeing;

• social impact;

• local supply chains;

• governance;

• certifications;

• climate resilience.

In the CDP case, sustainability is not only a market requirement.

It is part of the mission.

Investments must generate economic value but also positive impact.

This is particularly important in projects financed with public or PNRR resources.

CDP and tourism digitalization

Fondo Nazionale del Turismo, especially in the component connected to PNRR resources, also recalls the theme of digitalization.

This theme is fundamental.

Many Italian hotels are still weak digitally.

They have underperforming websites.

Non-optimized booking engines.

No CRM.

Fragmented data.

Limited revenue management.

Excessive dependence on OTAs.

Low automation.

Limited customer knowledge.

Real estate redevelopment is not enough if it is not accompanied by management modernization.

A renovated hotel that remains digitally weak is still vulnerable.

The future of Italian hospitality requires:

• physical infrastructure;

• digital infrastructure;

• managerial skills;

• pricing systems;

• direct distribution;

• data control;

• automation;

• integrated marketing.

CDP can support this transformation if it connects real estate capex to the improvement of management quality.

CDP and national operators

One very important aspect is support for the growth of national operators.

Italy has many hotels but few large national hotel operators with international scale.

This is a limitation.

Fragmentation makes it difficult to:

• market effectively;

• sustain capex;

• attract staff;

• negotiate distribution;

• create brands;

• develop systems;

• compete with global chains;

• manage portfolios;

• attract capital.

CDP can help national operators grow.

Not by directly managing hotels, but by providing financial and real estate tools.

Sale and leaseback is one of them.

Redevelopment partnerships are another.

Investment in accommodation facilities is another.

If Italian operators become stronger, Italy’s hotel heritage also becomes more competitive.

This is a strategic issue for the country.

CDP and TH Resort

The relationship with TH Resort is particularly interesting because it combines tourism, public capital, industrial growth and Southern Italy.

TH Resort is one of Italy’s most relevant leisure operators.

Support for properties such as Ostuni shows how CDP can intervene not only on the property, but also on strengthening the operator.

This is a key point.

Italian tourism needs operators capable of managing multiple properties, investing in training, innovating the product and improving standards.

A single renovated hotel is useful.

An operator that grows is even more useful.

Because it can bring expertise to multiple destinations.

It can increase employment.

It can invest in people.

It can build brands.

It can raise the level of the national product.

CDP can therefore become a lever for the industrialization of Italian tourism.

CDP and thermal tourism

Thermal tourism is one of Italy’s major opportunities.

For years, many thermal destinations lost appeal.

The traditional model weakened.

Demand changed.

Properties aged.

Some thermal towns lost centrality.

But the potential is still enormous.

The wellness world is growing.

Demand for wellbeing is strong.

Health tourism and medical wellness can grow.

The population is aging.

International guests are looking for experiences connected to health, relaxation, longevity and nature.

Italian thermal destinations can become competitive again if they are rethought.

The Salsomaggiore case with QC Terme shows one possible path.

It is not enough to reopen a thermal establishment.

A contemporary product must be created.

Wellness.

Design.

Service.

Architecture.

Territory.

Hospitality.

Experience.

CDP can play an important role in this segment, because many thermal destinations require long and complex investments.

CDP and open-air hospitality

In contemporary tourism, alternative formulas to the traditional hotel are also growing.

Open air.

Glamping.

Lodges.

Chalets.

Evolved villages.

Hostels 2.0.

Hybrid solutions.

This theme is important because Italy has many natural areas, coastlines, mountains and inland territories that can benefit from more flexible accommodation models.

Not everything has to become a five-star hotel.

Not everything has to become a traditional resort.

Demand is increasingly segmented.

There are young guests.

Families.

Sports travelers.

Digital nomads.

Experiential tourists.

Nature-conscious guests.

Travelers seeking comfort but also authenticity.

CDP can contribute to the growth of these models if it places them within a logic of quality, sustainability and territorial development.

The point is not only to increase beds.

It is to improve the quality of the offer.

CDP versus Invimit

The comparison with Invimit will be central in the next dossier.

Both belong to the world of public and institutional real estate, but with different functions.

Element	CDP Real Asset / CDP Immobiliare	Invimit
Identity	CDP platform for real estate and infrastructure fund and asset management, plus property development	MEF-owned SGR for the management and enhancement of public real estate
Hospitality	Fondo Nazionale del Turismo, property redevelopment, support for operators	Potential enhancement of public properties also for tourism use
Strength	Patient capital, funds, public-private partnerships, tourism	Public heritage, real estate funds, rationalization and enhancement
Logic	Activate investments and territorial impact	Make public real estate productive
Hotel reading	Tourism infrastructure to support	Possible real estate value-creation function

CDP works more directly on tourism through dedicated tools.

Invimit works more directly on public heritage to be enhanced.

The two logics can be complementary.

CDP versus Castello SGR

The comparison with Castello SGR is very useful.

Castello SGR represents a private platform specialized in hospitality, resorts and luxury leisure.

CDP represents public-institutional capital with system-wide objectives.

Element	CDP Real Asset	Castello SGR
Identity	Patient and institutional capital	Private SGR with hospitality focus
Hospitality	Fondo Nazionale del Turismo, redevelopment, national operators	Resorts, luxury, HIIP, hotel credit
Strength	Territorial impact, public resources, catalyst role	Tourism specialization and assets to relaunch
Hotel reading	Infrastructure of the national system	Asset to reposition and enhance
Destinations	Also secondary areas and Southern Italy	Leisure, luxury, resorts, art cities

Castello seeks hospitality value.

CDP seeks hospitality value and national impact.

CDP versus DeA Capital Real Estate

DeA Capital Real Estate is a major private institutional platform.

CDP has a more public and territorial mission.

Element	CDP Real Asset	DeA Capital Real Estate
Identity	CDP platform for real assets and infrastructure	Major Italian real estate SGR
Hospitality	Fondo Nazionale del Turismo, PNRR, redevelopment	Funds, historic assets, conversions, portfolios
Strength	Patient capital, additionality, impact	Management scale, funds, governance
Hotel reading	Accommodation property as territorial infrastructure	Asset to make institutional
Capital	Public-institutional and catalytic	Institutional and managed

DeA institutionalizes the asset.

CDP activates the system.

CDP versus Gruppo Barletta

Gruppo Barletta works on experience, lifestyle and storytelling.

CDP works on infrastructure, territory and redevelopment.

Element	CDP Real Asset	Gruppo Barletta
Identity	Public-institutional capital	Private real estate and lifestyle hospitality group
Hospitality	Redevelopment, funds, tourism, operators	Hotels, clubs, trains, experiences, brands
Strength	Territorial impact and patient capital	Creation of experiential formats
Hotel reading	Infrastructure to make competitive	Experience to make desirable
Tourism	National system	Story of Italy

CDP creates conditions.

Barletta creates experiences.

Both logics are necessary.

CDP versus Gruppo Statuto

Gruppo Statuto represents the major private owner of trophy hotels.

CDP represents the public-institutional platform.

Element	CDP Real Asset	Gruppo Statuto
Identity	Patient and institutional capital	Private luxury owner
Hospitality	Tourism as national infrastructure	Trophy hotels and global brands
Strength	Territorial development and redevelopment	Iconic assets and rarity
Hotel reading	Property to support and improve	Icon to enhance
Destinations	Also areas less covered by private capital	Milan, Rome, Venice, Taormina, Capri, Como

Statuto buys icons.

CDP can help build markets where the icons are not yet ready.

CDP versus COIMA

COIMA works on the city as an urban platform.

CDP works on real assets, social infrastructure, tourism and heritage.

Element	CDP Real Asset	COIMA
Identity	Real asset platform of the CDP Group	Private-institutional urban regeneration
Hospitality	Tourism, redevelopment, funds, territories	Urban effect and mixed-use
Strength	Patient capital and impact	Creation of urban centralities
Hotel reading	Tourism infrastructure	Function within an urban ecosystem
Italy	Territories, Southern Italy, public real estate, tourism	Milan and major urban districts

COIMA creates strong urban contexts.

CDP can also intervene where the context still needs to be activated.

CDP versus Blackstone

The comparison with Blackstone shows two opposite logics.

Blackstone is global private capital.

CDP is national, patient and institutional capital.

Element	CDP Real Asset	Blackstone
Identity	Italian public-institutional capital	Global private equity and real estate
Hospitality	Support, redevelopment, national system	Acquisition of platforms and portfolios
Strength	Additionality, impact, territory	Scale, capital, global execution
Hotel reading	Tourism infrastructure to improve	Asset class to transform and monetize
Horizon	Long-term and impact-oriented	Return and value creation

Blackstone seeks opportunities that are already scalable.

CDP can help make scalable the opportunities that are not yet ready.

Where a CDP logic can work in Italy

Area	Potential opportunity
Southern Italy	Resorts to redevelop, operators to support, experiential tourism
Puglia	Villages, resorts, open air, leisure properties to modernize
Sicily	Sea-and-culture resorts, historic properties, secondary destinations
Calabria	Coastline, villages, tourism villages, underused heritage
Basilicata	Maratea, inland areas, slow and cultural tourism
Campania	Thermal destinations, coast, inland areas, public heritage
Sardinia	Seasonal resorts, open air, sustainability and deseasonalization
Italian thermal destinations	Wellness, medical tourism, senior hospitality, regeneration
Medium-sized cities	Business/leisure hotels, student housing, urban regeneration
Inland areas	Villages, slow tourism, distributed accommodation, public heritage
Mountains	Open air, lodges, wellness, dual seasonality
Rome	Public real estate, heritage hospitality, student housing, mixed-use

The CDP logic is not only about luxury.

It concerns assets that can generate impact beyond their own income statement.

Which assets would be most CDP-ready

Not all Italian hotels are suited to a CDP logic.

The most coherent assets are those where territorial value exists alongside real estate value.

Type of asset	Possible CDP logic
Resort in an area with unexpressed potential	Acquisition, redevelopment, partnership with operator
Operating hotel with operator needing capital	Sale and leaseback, resource release, growth
Historic thermal property	Recovery, wellness, specialized operator
Unused public property	Enhancement, hotel, student housing or mixed-use
Hotel in Southern Italy	Capex, quality, deseasonalization
Obsolete tourism village	Relaunch, open air, glamping, services
Asset in a medium-sized city	Business/leisure hotel, urban regeneration
Former public complex	Tourism, cultural or managed residential function
Property in an inland area	Slow tourism, distributed accommodation, territory
Hotel owned by national operator	Support for industrial growth

The lesson is clear.

A CDP-ready asset does not have to be only profitable.

It must be capable of generating development.

How to make an asset interesting for a CDP logic

An Italian hotel asset becomes more interesting for a CDP logic when it has ten characteristics.

1. Territorial impact

The investment must generate benefits for the destination, employment and the local supply chain.

2. Real tourism potential

Demand must already exist or be capable of being developed.

3. Need for capex

The asset must be able to improve through measurable investment.

4. Credible operator

An operator capable of managing the relaunch is needed.

5. Sustainability

Energy efficiency, environmental impact and social quality must be part of the project.

6. Additionality

The intervention must make sense because the market alone does not fully cover the need.

7. Clear governance

Ownership, permits, contracts and intended use must be legible.

8. Coherence with the territory

The project must strengthen the local vocation.

9. Digitalization

Redevelopment must also include management and commercial modernization.

10. Financial sustainability

Impact is not enough. The project must be economically viable.

A hotel must not only be beautiful.

It must be useful, manageable and sustainable.

Why many Italian assets are not yet ready

Many Italian tourism assets have potential but are not yet ready for an institutional logic.

The issues are frequent:

• fragmented ownership;

• complex permits;

• unquantified capex;

• weak management;

• incoherent debt;

• high seasonality;

• obsolete product;

• insufficient digitalization;

• poor energy sustainability;

• lack of brand;

• weak reporting;

• accessibility difficulties;

• weak integration with the territory.

These problems do not eliminate value.

But they make it difficult to activate.

CDP’s role can be precisely to make activatable what the market struggles to read.

What the Italian market can learn

The CDP Real Asset / CDP Immobiliare case offers many lessons for Italian hospitality.

1. Tourism is infrastructure

Hotels, resorts, thermal properties and accommodation facilities are part of national competitiveness.

2. Patient capital is necessary

Some projects require long horizons and territorial impact.

3. Southern Italy must be activated

The South has enormous potential, but requires capex, operators and infrastructure.

4. Public heritage must become productive again

Unused properties can become economic, social and tourism value.

5. Sale and leaseback can help operators

Freeing up immobilized capital can support growth and quality.

6. Thermal destinations are a major opportunity

Wellness can relaunch historic destinations.

7. Sustainability is mandatory

It is no longer communication: it is competitiveness, cost control, financeability and impact.

8. Digital must accompany capex

A renovated but non-digitalized hotel remains weak.

9. National operators must grow

Italy needs stronger, scalable and more professional operators.

10. Public and private must collaborate

The future of Italian hospitality requires partnership, not separation.

To explore these themes further, readers may consult the hotel guides published on www.robertonecci.it, the articles available on the Investimenti Alberghieri blog and the updates published on the InvestHotel blog.

CDP as a benchmark for hotel investors

CDP Real Asset and CDP Immobiliare are benchmarks for at least ten categories of market participants.

The first category is institutional investors. CDP shows how capital can generate both return and impact.

The second category is hotel operators. Real estate deconsolidation can free up resources for growth.

The third category is public owners. Unused heritage can become an economic and social function.

The fourth category is destinations. A redeveloped hotel can change the trajectory of a territory.

The fifth category is lenders. Tourism requires financial tools coherent with capex, seasonality and operations.

The sixth category is advisors. CDP-like transactions require expertise in funds, real estate, tourism, territory, ESG and operators.

The seventh category is family owners. Selling the walls and continuing to operate can be a strategy, not a defeat.

The eighth category is local administrations. Tourism regeneration requires public-private coordination.

The ninth category is private funds. CDP can create markets where private capital will enter at a later stage.

The tenth category is the national system. Hospitality is an industrial lever, not only a tourism sector.

CDP teaches that in hospitality, capital must not only buy.

It must activate.

Redevelop.

Support.

Catalyze.

Measure impact.

Involve operators.

Make heritage competitive.

And transform tourism into national economic infrastructure.

FAQ on CDP Real Asset, CDP Immobiliare and hotels

What is CDP Real Asset?

CDP Real Asset SGR is the CDP Group platform dedicated to fund and asset management activities in the real estate and infrastructure sectors.

What is CDP Immobiliare?

CDP Immobiliare is a CDP Group company active in property development and the enhancement of properties and complex real estate portfolios.

Is CDP a hotel operator?

No. CDP is neither a hotel brand nor a hotel operator. It operates as an institutional investor, fund manager, developer and catalyst for real estate and tourism interventions.

What is Fondo Nazionale del Turismo?

It is a real estate fund managed by CDP Real Asset SGR and promoted with the Ministry of Tourism to support the growth, redevelopment and competitiveness of Italy’s tourism and accommodation heritage.

What are FT1, FT2 and FT3?

FT1 is oriented toward the acquisition and redevelopment of hotel assets; FT2 also works on real estate deconsolidation and sale and leaseback; FT3 uses PNRR resources to acquire and redevelop tourism and accommodation properties.

Why is sale and leaseback important for hotels?

Because it allows the operator to free up capital immobilized in real estate and reinvest it in growth, capex, quality and development.

What does TH Resort Ostuni teach?

It shows how CDP can support the growth of a national operator and improve an accommodation property in a Southern Italian destination with strong potential.

What does QC Terme Salsomaggiore teach?

It shows how historic thermal heritage can be redeveloped and transformed into a platform for wellness, tourism and territorial development.

Why is CDP important for Southern Italy?

Because it can intervene with patient capital in areas where tourism potential is strong, but the private market may be more cautious.

What can Italy learn from CDP?

That tourism must be treated as strategic infrastructure, through funds, capex, sustainability, digitalization, operators and territorial impact.

Conclusion

CDP Real Asset and CDP Immobiliare are fundamental cases for understanding the future of Italian hospitality.

Not because they are hotel operators.

Not because they are hotel brands.

Not because they coincide with an international chain.

Not because they work only on luxury.

They are important because they represent a decisive function for the country: transforming heritage, public-institutional capital and real estate funds into tools for tourism, urban and territorial development.

In Italy, the problem is not the lack of beauty.

It is not the lack of demand.

It is not the lack of destinations.

It is not the lack of heritage.

The problem is often the lack of competitive product.

Capex.

Strong operators.

Modern accommodation facilities.

Sustainability.

Digitalization.

Patient capital.

Coordination between public and private.

CDP Real Asset works precisely on this boundary.

Between tourism and infrastructure.

Between hotels and territory.

Between operator and property.

Between public heritage and the market.

Between investment and impact.

Between PNRR and competitiveness.

Between national capital and local development.

With Fondo Nazionale del Turismo, CDP intervenes to support accommodation properties and operators.

With FT1, it works on acquisition and redevelopment.

With FT2, it works on real estate deconsolidation and operator growth.

With FT3, it uses PNRR resources to strengthen tourism and accommodation heritage.

With TH Resort Ostuni, it shows how to support a Southern Italian destination and a national operator.

With QC Terme Salsomaggiore, it shows how thermal heritage can be reborn.

With sale and leaseback transactions such as Ibis Styles Roma EUR, it shows how real estate can become a lever for industrial growth.

For the Italian market, the lesson is very clear.

It is not enough to have hotels.

They must be made competitive.

It is not enough to have public properties.

They must be reactivated.

It is not enough to have tourism.

It must be transformed into economic infrastructure.

It is not enough to have operators.

They must be helped to grow.

It is not enough to have heritage.

It must be connected to capital, operators, sustainability and territory.

In the contemporary market, the most important hotel is not always the most luxurious one.

It is the one that can generate value for the asset, for the operator, for the destination and for the territory.

CDP Real Asset and CDP Immobiliare teach precisely this: the future of Italian hospitality will not be built only by major global brands, private funds or trophy-asset owners.

It will also be built by the country’s ability to use its real estate heritage as infrastructure for tourism development.

Hotels to redevelop, resorts in Southern Italy, thermal properties, public real estate, hotel sale and leaseback, national operators, real estate funds, PNRR assets, student housing, senior housing and complex hospitality transactions require an integrated reading of real estate, operations, capital, credit, sustainability, territory, operators and market.

For hotel valuations, investment transactions, development, repositioning, strategic advisory and hospitality asset enhancement, visit Hotel Management Group.

Hotel Management Group supports owners, investors and operators in the valuation, development and enhancement of hotel assets.

Roberto Necci - r.necci@robertonecci.it