Greece Tops Europe for Hotel Investment, Surveys Find | GTP Headlines
Athens, identified by Questex as Greece’s most active hotel investment market, continues to attract growing interest from international investors seeking premium hospitality assets. Greece has emerged. . .
Athens, identified by Questex as Greece’s most active hotel investment market, continues to attract growing interest from international investors seeking premium hospitality assets. Greece has emerged asEurope’s preferred destination for hotel investment, topping Italy, Spain and France, according to two new international investor surveys presented in Athens on Tuesday. The two surveys point togrowing international confidence in Greece’s hospitality sectorand a continued shift of institutional capital toward Mediterranean markets. The findings were presented during an R&R Forum press briefing organized byQuestex, a global business intelligence company specializing in the hospitality, travel and real estate sectors, ahead of this year’sR&R Forum, one of the leading resort and residential hospitality investment events for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), which returns to Athens in November. The research combines findings from Hospitality Investor’s June survey of more than 62,000 international subscribers and the Investor Pulse Check conducted among delegates at the International Hospitality Investment Forum (IHIF) EMEA in Berlin earlier this year. Together, the research offers a snapshot of where leading hospitality investors see the strongest opportunities across Europe. Institutional capital turns to GreeceA Questex survey highlights a widening gap between Greece and competing European markets in attracting international hospitality investment. Source: QuestexAccording to the Hospitality Investor survey,43 percentof respondents identified Greece as their preferred European investment destination, ahead of Italy at 29 percent and Spain and France at 14 percent each. The findings mark a notable shift from previous years and underscore Greece’s growing appeal to international investors. Alexi Khajavi, President of Hospitality & Operational Real Estate at Questex, said the change reflects a broader transformation in how investors view the Greek market. “Greece is clearly attracting more interest from the part of investors and our investor council has no Greek investors on it. So this is really a view of foreign capital looking to deploy into Greece,” he said. The research also points to ashift in the type of capital entering the market. Rather than targeting distressed or turnaround opportunities, investors are increasingly seeking professionally managed luxury assets. Fifty-seven percent of respondents said they are targeting five-star hotels, while a further 29 percent are looking for three-star resort properties with value-add potential. Urban hotel assets attracted no investment interest. Demand outpaces supplyQuestex survey findings show investor preference for professionally managed luxury hotels, while interest in urban hotel assets remains limited. Photo © Greek Travel Pages (GTP)Khajavi said investor appetite is increasingly focused oninstitutional-grade assets, but the supply of such hotels in Greece remains limited. “What we’re seeing is that the five-star luxury assets under professional management is really the asset that is emerging,” he said. “There’s an incredible amount of demand for these assets… just not enough stock in the market to meet that demand. ”The broader Investor Pulse Check reinforces that trend, showingcontinued confidence in European hospitalitydespite geopolitical uncertainty. More than four in 10 respondents plan to increase their hotel investment allocations over the next year, while72 percentof those reallocating operational real estate capital are directing it toward hotels. In addition, despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, the surveys suggest investors are adjusting their strategies rather than pulling back. Among Hospitality Investor respondents, none reported reducing or pausing investment activity, while57 percentsaid they are redirecting capital toward more resilient European markets. Growth brings new challengesWhile investor confidence in Greece remains strong, Khajavi said continued growth will depend on addressing operational challenges rather than attracting additional capital. “Seasonality, labor costs and energy costs are the three hurdles for foreign investment into the Greek leisure market,” he said, noting that international investors also face a limited supply of experienced third-party hotel operators and continue to prefer renovation projects over greenfield developments. Khajavi also identifiedAthensas the country’s most active hotel investment market, followed by islands including Mykonos, Paros, Milos and Santorini. He added that the Peloponnese is attracting growing interest, supported by infrastructure improvements such as the expansion of Kalamata Airport and continued investment around Costa Navarino, while investor appetite remains limited elsewhere in the country. R&R Forum returns to AthensThe findings were presented during a press briefing ahead of this year’s R&R Forum, which will take place in Athens from November 16 to 18 at the Divani Apollon Palace & Thalasso hotel. Organized by Questex in partnership with Enterprise Greece, the Greek state’s official investment and trade promotion agency, the event brings together investors, developers, hotel owners and hospitality leaders from across Europe, the Middle East and Africa to discuss trends shaping resort and residential hospitality investment. “The continued success of the R&R Forum and its return to Athens for a third consecutive year underscore Greece’s growing importance as a leading destination for hospitality investment and international business collaboration,” said Enterprise Greece CEOMarinos Giannopoulos. “Recent Questex findings placing Greece at the top of European hospitality investment preferences confirm the strong confidence of the global investment community in the country’s prospects. ”The findings are expected to shape discussions at the R&R Forum in Athens this November, where investors, developers and hotel owners from across EMEA will examine the next phase of hospitality investment in Greece and the wider region. 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