The hotel asset class has come a long way, a very long way. Damaged by the length and depth of the Covid crisis, it has demonstrated its resilience. RevPAR (revenue per room) trends bear witness to this. By 2023, this asset will have won everyone's approval. First of all, domestic and international customers are once again eager to travel, more inclined to consume services than goods. Secondly, French and international investors are redirecting their allocations to this product. A product less affected by rising interest rates than its neighbors, and surprisingly impervious to geopolitical unrest. The fourth-largest asset class in the European real estate panel, the hotel industry is nibbling away at market share behind office, retail and logistics, which are themselves subject to headwinds. And it is establishing itself as a key asset in the portfolios of institutional investors. It's no longer a niche. We're talking about a real asset class, robust and solid, with a considerable reserve of votes in a context of redistribution of cards and allocations.
By 2023, France will be leading the way, dominating the European hotel investment rankings. Notably, this year it has the luxury of displacing England, which is accustomed to the top of the podium.
For the first time, the hotel sector even outstripped logistics on the transaction front at the end of the 1st quarter, with a total of €1.2 billion invested, compared with €3 billion for 2019.The hotel industry has regained its stripes and even strengthened its position on the French commercial real estate scene. In one direction: the 80-key minimum hotels positioned in France's major metropolises, where competition is fierce among investors for outdoor, leisure, seaside and mountain products. Of course, with the exception of a few trophy assets that have fallen into the hands of international players, the French investment market is still very much a Franco-French one. There is undoubtedly room for improvement.
And what about Paris? The world's leading tourist destination has nothing to worry about. STR ranks the French capital at the top of the RevPAR recovery at the end of April 2023. "With occupancy levels recovering compared to the same period in 2019, something that many many key cities have yet to benefit from, the French capital holds a unique position to drive rates. At the end of April, Paris RevPAR is up 50% on 2019," argues Aoife Roche, Sales Director at STR. As for the occupancy rate, it stands at around 76% across the Paris region. Slightly better than in Europe (70%), much better than in France (67%).
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