It's the end of the year and we wanted to offer you up some of our favourite stories of 2023, in case you missed them first time around or if you just want to read again.
Few in the industry were predicting in January that the dealmaking malaise would last a full 12 months, but here we are. Nevertheless, we've still had plenty to write about. Below is an arbitrary list of 10 of our favourite articles.
What ChatGPT means for the hotel industry
HI Take: Generative artificial intelligence has been the tech story of 2023. We're standing at the dawn of a new era with so many possibilities for the hotel investment industry and beyond. At the moment we are probably just scratching the surface.
5 European projects that offer a glimpse into the future of hotel real estate
HI Take: The pandemic upended everything and is forcing cities across the world to reconsider how best to utilise their real estate assets. This story looked at a handful of examples that could provide blueprints.
Middle East investors target European hospitality
HI Take: With traditional buyers struggling to secure financing throughout the year, many sellers were hoping that different sources of capital would arrive. We've definitely seen much more interest from Middle east investors, especially sovereign wealth funds.
Surviving the storm: Weighing the cost of mezzanine finance
HI Take: Speaking of difficult financing ... ordinary lending has been augmented with much more mezzanine loans, which are helping to plug gaps.
Why the hotelisation of offices will be a major opportunity for investors
HI Take: Another big trend we've been tracking this year is what is happening in the office space with relation to hotels and we've noticed a couple of different themes: 1) There's a lot of interest in converting offices into hotels and 2)Those offices that are thriving operationally are borrowing aspects of hospitality.
Investor Profile: Inside Invel’s ‘two-pronged’ hospitality strategy
HI Take: We could have picked any of our indepth Investor Profiles, but we really enjoyed this one unpicking real estate investment and asset manager Invel's strategy.
US hotel market poised for continued expansion despite choppy capital markets
HI Take: Towards the end of this year we turned our attention across the Atlantic with the start of our coverage of the US hotel investment market. All this followed our parent company Questex's deal to buy the NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference. Expect more stories like this in 2024.
Italy focus: Why family-run hotel owners are selling up
HI Take: The southern European hotel investment market has always been slightly different to its counterpart in the north. Because tourism makes up a much bigger part of the fabric of society in Italy, Spain and Greece, individuals and families have historically piled into real estate. But we've noticed in the last few years that things are starting to change.
Saudi Arabia hotel boom prompts supply chain fears
HI Take: Perhaps the biggest story in travel and tourism is what is happening in Saudi Arabia. The country is making a huge investment in hospitality and this is having a knock on impact in the rest of the world.
What’s next in wellness hospitality?
HI Take: The buzziest of all buzzwords. Post-Covid, the wellness industry has never been bigger but what is next in hsopitality.