Europe is witnessing a surge in hotel activity in the past few years. With the increase in leisure travel, including from Asian markets, and a gradual recovery of corporate and group travel, the sector’s hotel and tourism sector is set to see a steady rise this year, revealed CBRE’s latest market outlook for Europe.
Riding on this momentum, hotel companies have been planning to increase their European portfolio to meet the demands of travelers. Marriott International announced plans to add roughly 100 hotels totaling more than 12,000 rooms to its portfolio by 2026. Marriott said it will add these properties through conversions and adaptive reuse projects.
These new additions will account for more than 40% of Marriott’s European development pipeline slated to open during that period. The growth plans will strengthen the group’s existing presence in Europe, where it has more than 800 properties with roughly 150,000 rooms under 25 brands across 47 countries.
Marriott said it is witnessing interest for hotel conversions and adaptive reuse projects in countries like Italy, the U.K., Spain and Turkey across all brand segments.
Conversions with Marriott give owners and franchisees the opportunity to leverage the company’s brands, competitive affiliation costs, revenue generation engines and Marriott Bonvoy, said Satya Anand, president, Europe, Middle East & Africa, Marriott International.
Four Points Express by Sheraton, Marriott’s latest midscale brand, and Residence Inn by Marriott account for more than 25% of the group’s expected additions through conversions and adaptive reuse projects in Europe by the end of 2026. In the premium segment, Tribute Portfolio and Autograph Collection comprise more than 20% of the anticipated additions through the same period.
Marriott’s luxury segment is also witnessing an increase in conversion and adaptive reuse developments, with The Luxury Collection, W Hotels, The Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis Hotels & Resorts accounting for over 10% of the expected additions by the end of 2026.
“We are seeing significant interest from independent hoteliers, developers and investors looking to leverage the efficiencies and advantages of renovating and rebranding existing hotels and properties,” said Jerome Briet, chief development officer, Europe, Middle East & Africa, Marriott International.
“We are particularly seeing momentum across The Luxury Collection, Autograph Collection and Tribute Portfolio brands which allow hotels an opportunity to keep their identity and personality while pulling into the power of Marriott’s global systems,” Briet added.
Responding to the increased demand for leisure stays in Europe, Hilton is aiming to expand its resort portfolio with 10 hotels totaling over 1,500 rooms which will open in time for summer. These new additions will be under Hilton’s Curio Collection by Hilton, Tapestry Collection by Hilton and DoubleTree by Hilton brands.
Hilton announced franchise agreements for four hotels – Hilton Alvor, opening in 2026, and Cala San Miguel Hotel Ibiza, Curio Collection by Hilton, The Club Cala San Miguel Hotel Ibiza, Curio Collection by Hilton and Numo Ierapetra Beach Resort Crete, Curio Collection by Hilton, which join upcoming resorts opening in Italy, Greece, Croatia and Malta this summer.
With leisure destinations, such as Sardinia and Greece, seeing a rise in popularity in the last few years, in the last year alone Hilton signed over 20 resorts in Europe, Middle East and Africa under six of its brands.
“Last year alone, more than a fifth of our openings in Europe, Middle East and Africa were resort hotels and, working with a range of owners, we are looking forward to continued growth across this market segment, particularly in Mediterranean island destinations. With 10 European resort hotels due to open in time for the summer season, we’re introducing properties to popular destinations including Ibiza, the Algarve and Crete, expanding our range of resorts across the region under different brands,” said Patrick Fitzgibbon, senior vice president, development, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Hilton.
According to CBRE’s 2024 real estate market outlook for Europe, growth in RevPAR is likely to ease to a high single-digit rate this year. This indicates a return to more normalized levels of growth in demand. Hotel demand is expected to surpass supply, given the recent increases in construction and borrowing costs. This difference is expected to be most marked in popular tourism locations which already have prime hotel space and where demand will continue to be strong.
Upper upscale, upscale and upper midscale hotel projects touched record highs in Europe by the end of Q4 2023, according to the latest construction pipeline report by Lodging Econometrics. The U.K. led the region with the highest number of projects, followed by Germany, France, Turkey and Portugal. These five countries account for 51% of the projects in the region’s overall pipeline.
A total of 316 new hotels totaling 41,866 rooms opened across Europe in 2023. With demand for hotels running strong across the market this year, 348 new hotels totaling 48,559 rooms are anticipated to open by the end of 2024, the report added.