Executive Summary

Global hotel capital is entering a new phase.

Between 2026 and 2028, hotels will increasingly be viewed not only as operating businesses within the tourism industry, but as one of the most sophisticated asset classes in global real estate. A hotel is no longer simply a building with rooms, nor merely a hospitality business. It is an operating, financial and real estate platform where property value, hotel performance, brand strategy, contractual structure, capital expenditure, tourism fundamentals and exit strategy must be analysed together.

The world’s leading hotel funds, lodging REITs, listed hospitality trusts, private equity platforms and global real estate asset managers are reshaping the way hotels are acquired, financed, operated, repositioned and sold.

The new competition is no longer only about who owns the largest number of hotels. It is about who can best combine capital, underwriting discipline, operator relationships, cost control, financial structuring, real estate vision and operational expertise.

This report analyses the main global funds and investment vehicles with significant hotel exposure, including:

US lodging REITs;
European hotel property companies;
Asian hospitality trusts;
Japanese hotel J-REITs;
specialist private equity hospitality funds;
global private equity real estate platforms;
major asset managers investing in hotels as part of broader real estate strategies.

The central thesis is clear: during the 2026/2028 cycle, hotel capital will increasingly focus on institutional-grade assets, scalable portfolios, repositioning opportunities, premium leisure destinations, serviced accommodation, extended stay, resorts, urban trophy assets and hotel platforms capable of supporting more sophisticated operating models.

For Italy, this transformation is particularly relevant. The country benefits from one of the strongest tourism demand profiles in the world, but its hotel supply remains fragmented, often family-owned, undercapitalised and not always ready for institutional capital.

This gap between tourism potential and financial maturity creates a major opportunity for investors, owners, advisors, operators and platforms able to read hotels as strategic assets rather than simply as hospitality businesses.

1. From family-owned hotels to a global real estate asset class

For decades, hotels were mainly understood as operating businesses. Their value was associated with the owning family, the location, the commercial name, seasonality and the ability of the hotelier to manage the market.

That interpretation is no longer sufficient.

International capital now evaluates hotels through a much more sophisticated lens. A hotel is assessed through a combination of factors:

real estate value;
normalised EBITDA;
sustainable occupancy, ADR and RevPAR;
competitive positioning;
quality and depth of demand;
lease, management agreement or franchise structure;
brand presence or brand potential;
capital expenditure requirements;
urban planning, technical, cadastral and licensing risk;
debt sustainability;
market outlook;
exit strategy.

In this new framework, the true object of the investment is not simply “the hotel”, but the economic system that the hotel is capable of generating.

A hotel may be acquired to produce stable income, to be repositioned, to become part of a portfolio, to be converted into a luxury asset, to be refinanced, to be sold to a REIT or to be integrated into a wider hospitality platform.

Global hotel capital is looking for three things: asset quality, risk transparency and value creation potential.

2. Methodology: why hotel investment funds are not all directly comparable

Comparing the world’s leading hotel investment funds is more complex than it may appear.

Some companies disclose the market value of their hotel portfolio. Others disclose total assets. Others report historical acquisition cost, net asset value, fund commitments, managed equity or simply the number of hotels and rooms.

For this reason, this report uses a working metric: hotel exposure proxy.

This is not a perfectly standardised AUM ranking. It is a reasoned map of hotel exposure based on public disclosures, market information and comparable metrics where available.

The hierarchy used in this report is as follows:

hotel portfolio market value, where available;
gross asset value or portfolio value;
total assets for pure lodging REITs;
acquisition price or historical cost for selected J-REITs;
committed equity or managed equity for private funds;
inferred value only where official data allow for a reasonable estimate.

This methodological caution is essential. A US-listed REIT, an Asian hospitality trust, a European hotel property company, an African private equity fund and a Brazilian FII do not necessarily publish comparable metrics.

The report should therefore be read as a strategic map of global hotel capital, rather than as a perfectly uniform accounting ranking.

3. The world’s leading hotel-focused investment vehicles

The following table summarises the main global vehicles with significant and relatively visible hotel exposure.

Rank	Fund / Vehicle	Headquarters	Indicative Hotel Exposure	Structure	Main Focus
1	Host Hotels & Resorts	United States	approx. US$13 billion	Listed lodging REIT	US luxury and upper-upscale hotels
2	Pandox	Sweden	approx. US$8.7 billion	Listed hotel property company	Northern Europe
3	Park Hotels & Resorts	United States	approx. US$7.7 billion	Listed lodging REIT	US resorts and city-centre hotels
4	Covivio Hotels	France	approx. €6.5-6.7 billion	Listed hotel real estate vehicle	Europe
5	Apple Hospitality REIT	United States	approx. US$4.9 billion	Listed lodging REIT	US upscale branded hotels
6	Invincible Investment Corporation	Japan	approx. US$4.4 billion	J-REIT	Japan
7	Japan Hotel REIT	Japan	approx. US$4.1 billion	J-REIT	Japan
8	CDL Hospitality Trusts	Singapore	approx. S$3.5 billion AUM	Hospitality trust	Asia-Pacific, United Kingdom, Europe
9	Far East Hospitality Trust	Singapore	approx. S$2.56 billion	Hospitality trust	Singapore and Japan
10	Hoshino Resorts REIT	Japan	approx. ¥250.9 billion total assets	J-REIT	Tourism, resorts and ryokan in Japan
11	FibraHotel	Mexico	approx. US$1 billion estimated	Listed FIBRA	Mexico
12	Kasada Hospitality Fund	Africa	over US$500 million	Hospitality private equity	Sub-Saharan Africa
13	Pro-invest hotel funds	Australia	approx. AUD 670 million managed equity	Private equity / fund manager	Australia and New Zealand
14	Hotel Maxinvest	Brazil	approx. R$414 million invested capital	Brazilian FII	Brazil

This ranking highlights one essential point: institutional hotel capital remains heavily concentrated in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Africa, Latin America and Oceania are smaller in scale, but they should not be ignored. These regions may offer higher-yielding opportunities, value-add strategies, platform creation and exposure to markets that remain underpenetrated by global institutional investors.

4. The US model: lodging REITs, liquidity and financial discipline

The United States represents the most mature market for lodging REITs.

Host Hotels & Resorts, Park Hotels & Resorts, Apple Hospitality REIT, RLJ Lodging Trust, Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, Xenia Hotels & Resorts, Sunstone Hotel Investors, DiamondRock Hospitality and Summit Hotel Properties form a highly developed, liquid and financially sophisticated investment universe.

The model is clear: REITs acquire high-quality hotels, often in the upscale, upper-upscale, luxury, resort or urban gateway segments; they rely on professional operators; they invest in targeted capital expenditure; they optimise portfolios; they dispose of non-core assets; they distribute dividends and maintain a disciplined relationship with capital markets.

In this model, the hotel is viewed as a combination of operating cash flow and real estate ownership. Value does not depend only on the quality of the building, but on the ability to convert rooms, meeting space, food and beverage, resort fees, ancillary revenue and capex into shareholder returns.

The key competitive advantage of US lodging REITs is access to liquidity. Their main constraint is sensitivity to economic cycles, interest rates, corporate demand, debt costs and RevPAR volatility.

Host Hotels & Resorts is the global benchmark for scale, portfolio quality and exposure to the luxury and upper-upscale segments. Park Hotels & Resorts is particularly relevant in the resort and city-centre space. Apple Hospitality REIT represents a more standardised model, focused on upscale branded hotels and strong exposure to global brands such as Marriott and Hilton.

For European and Italian investors, the US market is important not only as a source of capital, but also as a benchmark. It shows how a hotel portfolio can be financialised, listed, disciplined and managed according to transparent capital market standards.

5. The European model: hotel landlords, contracts and real estate value creation

In Europe, the model is more nuanced and much closer to the complexity of the Italian market.

Pandox and Covivio Hotels are two strong examples of specialised hotel real estate platforms. The central issue is not simply ownership of hotel properties, but the ability to build industrial relationships with operators, tenants and brands.

Value is created through:

lease structures;
minimum guaranteed rent;
turnover rent;
management agreements;
brand repositioning;
capital expenditure;
conversions;
location selection;
active portfolio management.

The European model is particularly interesting because the continent has many historic buildings, urban planning constraints, fragmented markets, cities with strong tourism demand and a wide variety of contractual structures.

In Europe, a hotel is often a hybrid asset: part real estate, part operating business, part contract and part destination platform.

Pandox has built a relevant position as a hotel owner and developer across Northern Europe. Covivio Hotels is one of the leading real estate partners for hotel operators in Europe, with relationships involving major international groups such as Accor, IHG, NH, B&B Hotels, Radisson and others.

For investors, Europe requires deeper expertise than a simple real estate acquisition. Legal, contractual, urban planning, operational, financial and hospitality-specific capabilities are required.

This is precisely why Italy, despite being one of the strongest tourism markets in the world, is not automatically an easy market for institutional capital. The value is there, but it must be made legible.

6. The Asia-Pacific model: trusts, J-REITs and hybrid accommodation

Asia-Pacific is a critical region for understanding the future of hotel capital.

Japan Hotel REIT, Invincible Investment Corporation, Hoshino Resorts REIT, CDL Hospitality Trusts and Far East Hospitality Trust represent a model based on listed trusts, income-producing accommodation assets, distribution discipline and growing exposure to hybrid hospitality formats.

Japan is particularly interesting because it combines international tourism, strong domestic demand, major cities, resorts, ryokan, full-service hotels and a highly structured J-REIT market.

Singapore, by contrast, illustrates a cross-border hospitality trust model. CDL Hospitality Trusts and Far East Hospitality Trust do not invest only in traditional hotels, but also in serviced residences, accommodation-related assets and hybrid formats that reflect the evolution of demand.

Asia-Pacific points to a clear direction: the future of hotel investment will not be limited to traditional hotels. It will include serviced apartments, extended stay, student accommodation, built-to-rent, branded residences, ryokan, resorts and mixed hospitality formats.

This evolution is highly relevant for Italy as well. Many hotel assets could be reinterpreted not only as traditional hotels, but as broader accommodation platforms serving multiple demand segments: leisure tourism, long stay, corporate travel, medical demand, education, senior living, student housing, bleisure and temporary living.

7. The global asset managers: not hotel-pure, but highly influential

Alongside hotel-focused vehicles, there is an even more powerful group of players: global asset managers.

Blackstone, Brookfield, Starwood Capital, KKR, Gaw Capital and other alternative investment platforms do not always disclose hotel AUM separately, because hospitality is often part of broader real estate strategies. However, their influence is substantial.

These players matter because they can:

acquire large portfolios;
target trophy assets;
finance complex restructurings;
execute turnarounds;
acquire distressed assets;
reposition real estate;
create operating platforms;
sell to REITs or core investors;
operate across different layers of the capital stack.

Blackstone has historically been one of the most influential investors in global hospitality. Brookfield operates a relevant hospitality platform. Starwood Capital has deep expertise in opportunistic real estate. KKR and Gaw Capital are examples of investors capable of acquiring, repositioning and exiting iconic assets in capital-intensive markets.

Their presence changes the rules of the game. When these players enter a market, they bring more than capital. They bring underwriting discipline, governance, speed of execution, access to debt, brand relationships and exit capability.

For this reason, a serious report on global hotel investment funds cannot be limited to REITs. It must distinguish between hotel-pure vehicles and global multi-sector platforms, while recognising that the latter often determine pricing dynamics in major transactions.

8. Dominant investment strategies for 2026/2028

Between 2026 and 2028, global hotel capital is likely to concentrate around seven strategic themes.

8.1 Urban trophy assets

Iconic hotels in global cities will continue to attract capital.

Rome, Milan, Paris, London, Madrid, New York, Tokyo, Singapore and Dubai will remain highly monitored markets for institutional investors.

The logic is not only income-based. A trophy asset can offer capital preservation, scarcity value, reputational value, brand repositioning potential and the ability to attract core investors at exit.

8.2 Luxury resorts and premium leisure

The growth of high-end leisure demand has increased investor appetite for resorts, coastal destinations, mountain hospitality, wellness and lifestyle assets.

Resorts are no longer viewed only as seasonal assets. They are increasingly seen as experiential platforms capable of generating high ADRs, ancillary revenue and international positioning.

8.3 Extended stay, serviced residences and hybrid accommodation

The boundaries between hotels, temporary living, serviced apartments, student housing and built-to-rent are becoming less rigid.

Investors are seeking more resilient formats, diversified demand and more controllable operating cost structures.

This trend favours trusts and platforms capable of managing accommodation assets in a broader sense.

8.4 Aggregatable portfolios

Institutional capital prefers scale, standardisation and governance.

Many markets, including Italy, offer attractive individual assets but few truly institutional portfolios.

Investors capable of aggregating hotels by geography, segment, contractual structure or brand may create more value than through single-asset transactions.

8.5 Distressed opportunities and restructuring

Higher interest rates, cost pressure, post-pandemic debt burdens and deferred capex will create distressed and special situation opportunities.

Not all distressed hotels are poor assets. Some are good real estate assets with weak capital structures, poor governance, outdated management or no credible business plan.

8.6 Capex and repositioning

Capital is not only looking for already-performing hotels. It is also looking for hotels that can be improved.

An asset with a strong location but an obsolete product may become attractive if the business plan demonstrates that capex, branding, distribution and management can generate a real increase in EBITDA and asset value.

8.7 ESG, energy efficiency and financial sustainability

Sustainability will no longer be just a reputational matter.

It will affect access to debt, real estate value, operating costs, compliance and attractiveness to institutional investors.

Energy-inefficient hotels without a credible ESG plan may increasingly suffer a valuation discount.

9. What hotel funds really look for when they buy hotels

A professional fund does not buy a hotel simply because it is “beautiful” or “well located”.

It buys an investment thesis.

There are seven key elements.

9.1 Clear and sustainable demand

Demand must be legible: leisure, corporate, MICE, luxury, medical, education, airport, resort, long stay or bleisure.

The clearer the demand driver, the easier it is to assess risk and return.

9.2 Competitive positioning

A hotel must have a reason to win in its market.

That reason may be location, scale, brand, views, history, product, pricing power, distribution or scarcity of competing supply.

9.3 Credible business plan

A fund wants to understand how the asset moves from its current state to its future state.

Optimistic assumptions are not enough. Investors need numbers, benchmarks, capex, timing, ramp-up assumptions, sensitivity analysis and downside scenarios.

9.4 The right operator

The value of a hotel depends heavily on its operating model.

An asset may require a lease, a management agreement, a franchise, a white-label operator, direct management or a hybrid model.

The wrong operating model can destroy value.

9.5 Exit strategy

An investor enters when it can also see a way out.

The key question is: who will buy this hotel in five or seven years?

A REIT? A core fund? A family office? A hotel chain? A sovereign investor? An operator?

9.6 Clean documentation

Legal, planning, cadastral, technical, environmental, tax, accounting and operating due diligence must be prepared.

An undocumented asset is either discounted or rejected.

9.7 Governance

International investors dislike opacity, family conflicts, incomplete data and unprofessional negotiations.

Governance is part of value.

10. The most relevant hotel capital platforms to monitor for Italy

Not all global hotel funds are equally relevant to Italy.

Some matter because of their global scale. Others matter because they can acquire trophy assets. Others are relevant for value-add strategies, restructuring, family-owned portfolios or real estate conversions.

For the Italian market, relevance does not depend only on AUM. It depends on the compatibility between the investor’s strategy and the type of asset available.

Fund / Platform	Investor Type	Most Likely Transactions in Italy	Target Assets	Relevance for Italy
Blackstone	Global private equity real estate	Portfolio acquisitions, trophy assets, resorts, complex transactions	Luxury hotels, resorts, institutional portfolios	Very high
Brookfield	Global real estate platform	Large-scale transactions, full-service hotels, repositioning opportunities	City hotels, resorts, mixed-use hospitality	Very high
Starwood Capital	Opportunistic real estate investor	Value-add, special situations, transformation-led assets	Repositioning hotels, conversion assets, resorts	High
KKR	Global alternative investment manager	Iconic assets, platforms and special situations	Trophy assets, portfolios, upper-upscale hotels	High
Gaw Capital	Real estate private equity	Selective cross-border and gateway-market transactions	Urban hotels, luxury assets, iconic real estate	Medium-high
Covivio Hotels	European hotel landlord	Real estate partnerships, leases, selective acquisitions	Hotels in primary cities and European destinations	Very high
Pandox	Hotel-focused property company	Acquisitions of operating hotels and European portfolios	Full-service, business and leisure hotels	High
Host Hotels & Resorts	US lodging REIT	More relevant as a benchmark than as a frequent Italian buyer	Luxury and upper-upscale hotels	Medium as buyer, high as benchmark
Apple Hospitality REIT	US lodging REIT	Benchmark for standardised branded hotels	Upscale branded hotels	Medium
Japan Hotel REIT / Asian J-REITs	Hospitality REITs	Benchmark for listed income-producing hotel vehicles	Stabilised income-oriented hotels	Medium
Kasada Hospitality Fund	Hospitality private equity	Benchmark for emerging markets and platform creation	Value-add hotels and development assets	Low as Italian buyer, high as model
Pro-invest Group	Hospitality fund manager	Benchmark for integrated hospitality and operating platforms	Lifestyle hotels, extended stay, serviced accommodation	Medium as operating model

The table highlights a fundamental point: Italy should not only look at funds that may directly acquire Italian hotels. It should also study the investment models that are redefining global hotel capital.

Blackstone, Brookfield, Starwood Capital, KKR and Gaw Capital represent transformational capital. They are capable of entering complex transactions, acquiring iconic assets, supporting significant capex and building platforms.

Covivio Hotels and Pandox represent a European model that is particularly relevant to Italy: hotel real estate ownership, operator relationships, lease structures, active asset management and portfolio value creation.

For Italian hotel owners, the strategic question is not only: “Who could buy my hotel?”

The better question is: “Which type of capital can best unlock the value of this asset?”

An opportunistic fund will look for upside and an attractive entry basis. A REIT will look for stable income and transparency. A European hotel landlord will focus on contracts, operators and location. A family office may seek long-term capital preservation. An industrial operator will look for management synergies.

Understanding these differences is essential when structuring a sale, partnership, restructuring or hotel M&A transaction.

11. Implications for Italy

Italy is one of the most attractive hotel markets in the world, but also one of the most complex.

It benefits from exceptional tourism demand, iconic cities, unique leisure destinations, valuable real estate and a powerful national brand.

At the same time, the market is characterised by fragmented ownership, relatively small average hotel size, many family-run businesses, uneven documentation, deferred capex and operating models that are not always aligned with institutional investor standards.

This creates a major contradiction: Italy is highly attractive to international capital, but not always ready to receive it.

Funds are particularly interested in:

luxury and upper-upscale hotels in major cities;
coastal and mountain resorts;
historic assets suitable for conversion;
aggregatable family-owned portfolios;
underperforming hotels in strong locations;
distressed opportunities;
real estate assets suitable for hospitality conversion;
hotels with international brand potential;
assets where capex and management can increase EBITDA.

The problem is not a lack of demand.

The problem is turning Italian hotel assets into investable products.

To become investable, a hotel must be legible to a fund. It must present reliable data, a credible business plan, scenario analysis, a clear operating model, value creation potential and a strong financial narrative.

12. Operational box: what truly makes a hotel investable

A hotel becomes attractive to a fund not when it is simply “for sale”, but when it is legible as an investment.

A hotel asset becomes investable when it offers at least ten fundamental characteristics.

Factor	Why it matters to a fund
Strong location	Reduces demand risk and improves exit liquidity
Reliable operating data	Allows investors to reconstruct EBITDA, RevPAR, ADR, occupancy and margins
Credible business plan	Turns the asset from a property into a financial project
Measurable capex	Helps estimate cost, timing, return and execution risk
Clear operating model	Supports the choice between lease, management agreement, franchise or direct management
Clean documentation	Reduces legal, planning, cadastral, technical and tax risk
Repositioning potential	Creates upside for value-add and opportunistic investors
Coherent brand or operator	Improves bankability, performance and credibility
Transparent governance	Reduces negotiation uncertainty and reputational risk
Plausible exit strategy	Allows the fund to understand who may buy the asset in the future

The difference between an attractive hotel and a non-investable hotel is often not the location, but the preparation.

Many Italian hotels have excellent locations, history, tourism demand and commercial potential, but they come to market without clean data, without an industrial plan, without operating model analysis and without a clear investment thesis.

For institutional capital, this is a problem.

A fund cannot base a decision on intuition, expectations or generic storytelling. It needs numbers, scenarios, risks, contracts, benchmarks and alternatives.

Making a hotel investable means building an information and strategy platform capable of answering five questions:

What is the current value of the asset?
What is the potential value after operational, contractual or real estate interventions?
How much capital is required to unlock that value?
Which operating model maximises returns?
Which type of investor is best suited to this transaction?

Only when these questions have clear answers does the hotel become truly legible to the market.

13. What hotel owners must do before approaching funds

An owner who wants to sell, bring in capital, find a partner, refinance or reposition a hotel must prepare before going to market.

There are six essential steps.

13.1 Professional hotel valuation

A proper hotel valuation must integrate real estate methodology, income-based valuation, normalised EBITDA, cap rates, comparables, repositioning potential and sensitivity analysis.

13.2 Operating model analysis

The owner must understand whether the current management model is the best possible option or whether the asset requires a different structure: business lease, management agreement, franchise, white-label operator, direct management or industrial partnership.

13.3 Investable business plan

A fund does not buy promises. It buys numbers.

The business plan must include verifiable assumptions, prudent scenarios, capex, execution timing, ramp-up and expected returns.

13.4 Data room preparation

Documentation should be gathered before the asset is taken to market: contracts, licences, planning documents, financial statements, management data, occupancy history, ADR, RevPAR, costs, staffing, debt, litigation, supplier agreements and operator contracts.

13.5 Asset positioning

A hotel must be presented properly: not only what it is today, but what it can become.

A mediocre asset does not become a great investment simply because it is marketed well. But a good asset that is poorly presented can be undervalued or rejected.

13.6 Investor targeting strategy

Not all funds are suitable for all assets.

A trophy hotel, a family-owned resort, a distressed property, a midscale hotel, an urban portfolio and a conversion asset require different investors.

This is part of the advisor’s role: identifying the capital that is coherent with the asset, rather than simply “putting the hotel on the market”.

14. The new competition: not only hotel brands, but capital platforms

Global hotel competition is no longer only a matter of Marriott, Hilton, Accor, IHG, Hyatt or independent operators.

It is increasingly a competition between capital platforms.

Those who control capital can decide:

which assets to acquire;
which brands to introduce;
which operators to select;
which hotels to renovate;
which markets to enter;
which portfolios to build;
when to sell;
at what return to exit.

Capital does not replace the hotel operator, but it redefines the operator’s perimeter.

The operator manages. The fund determines allocation, risk, return, timing and strategy.

For this reason, hotel owners must learn to engage not only with banks and operators, but also with funds, investors, advisors, asset managers and hospitality real estate platforms.

15. 2026/2028 outlook: what to expect

Between 2026 and 2028, the hotel investment market will be selective.

Not everything will rise. Not every hotel will be attractive. Not all funds will buy in the same way.

The most likely scenario is polarisation.

On one side, excellent assets in strong locations will continue to attract capital, even at demanding prices.

On the other, secondary, obsolete, undercapitalised or poorly planned hotels may face significant valuation discounts.

Liquidity will return where risk is understandable. Funds will pay for quality, scarcity, upside and credible management. They will be far more cautious with assets affected by uncertain capex, weak business plans, unproven demand or complex ownership structures.

The most attractive markets will be those where three elements converge:

strong tourism demand;
limited supply;
the ability to improve operating performance.

Italy clearly belongs to this category, but only for assets that are professionally prepared.

16. Why this report matters for Italian investors and hotel owners

International capital is not an abstract concept.

It is a concrete force that can change the future of a hotel, a family business, an independent hotel group or even a destination.

Understanding who the world’s leading hotel investment funds are means understanding:

who buys;
what they look for;
how they value assets;
which markets they monitor;
which returns they expect;
which assets they reject;
which transactions they can finance;
which operating models they consider credible.

For Italy, this knowledge is essential.

The country has a large number of assets with potential. But potential alone is not enough. Institutional capital enters when it finds preparation, data, governance and vision.

17. Conclusion: hotel capital rewards prepared assets

The global hotel investment market for 2026/2028 will be dominated by a new form of selection.

Funds will not simply look for hotels to buy. They will look for value platforms: assets in strong locations, with demonstrable demand, improvable operations, sustainable capex, clean documentation and a credible exit.

Large US REITs will continue to dominate in terms of scale and liquidity. European landlords will strengthen their role as real estate partners to hotel operators. Asian trusts will develop new income-producing accommodation formats. Private funds will seek returns in emerging markets, special situations and repositioning strategies. Global asset managers will continue to lead the most complex, large-scale and transformational transactions.

For Italian hotel owners, the message is clear: owning a good hotel is not enough. The hotel must be made investable.

Making a hotel investable means building a professional interpretation of value, preparing the data, defining the operating model, clarifying the market scenario, measuring risk and presenting the transaction in the language of capital.

Those who can do this will be able to attract funds, investors, industrial partners and international platforms.

Those who cannot may remain outside the new geography of global hotel capital.

Methodological Note

The figures included in this report are estimates or company-disclosed data based on annual reports, investor presentations, official announcements and publicly available sources.

Because different vehicles use non-homogeneous metrics — portfolio value, total assets, acquisition price, equity commitment, managed equity or invested capital — the ranking should be read as a reasoned map of hotel exposure, not as a perfectly comparable accounting league table.

The report also distinguishes between hotel-focused vehicles, where hotel exposure is more directly visible, and global asset managers, which invest in hotels as part of broader multi-sector real estate strategies.

Hotel Management Group

The advisory platform serving hotel capital

The Global Hotel Investment Funds Report 2026/2028 highlights a profound transformation: global hotel capital is not simply looking for hotels to acquire, but for assets that can be understood, structured, repositioned and integrated into coherent investment strategies.

In this environment, the Hotel Management Group ecosystem serves investors, owners, funds, family offices, hotel operators, financial institutions and real estate platforms seeking to approach hotel transactions with method, vision and technical capability.

Hotel Management Group operates as a professional ecosystem dedicated to the analysis and value creation of hospitality real estate, integrating hotel, real estate, financial and operational expertise.

Its objective is to support hotel capital in the most sensitive phases of the decision-making process, including:

hotel and tourism scenario analysis;
competitive positioning analysis;
economic and real estate hotel valuation;
investment advisory;
hotel M&A;
hotel acquisitions and disposals;
hotel portfolio analysis;
hotel business restructuring;
turnaround and special situations;
operating model analysis;
business leases, management agreements, franchising and hybrid structures;
business plans for investors, banks and funds;
data room preparation;
advisory for extraordinary transactions;
analysis of the relationship between real estate, operations, brand and capital.

The mission of the Hotel Management Group ecosystem is to help investors and owners transform hotels, portfolios and complex transactions into projects that are legible, financeable, manageable and value-accretive.

In the new global hotel investment market, the difference will not be made only by those who own the asset. It will be made by those who know how to interpret it correctly, structure it professionally and present it to capital with a solid investment thesis.

To explore hotel valuation, hotel management, hotel investment and hospitality strategy topics, the ecosystem also provides access to dedicated editorial and professional platforms:

the hotel guides on www.robertonecci.it;
the Investimenti Alberghieri blog on www.investimentialberghieri.it;
the InvestHotel blog on www.investhotel.it;
the corporate and advisory platform of Hotel Management Group on www.hotelmanagementgroup.it.

Hotel Management Group serves hotel investors who want to read the market with professional tools, evaluate complex transactions, understand operating models, structure acquisitions or disposals, and approach M&A, restructuring and value creation processes with a top-advisor mindset.

Global hotel capital rewards prepared assets.

Hotel Management Group helps prepare, interpret and unlock their value.

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